Interesting Facts & Statistics

trencherman said:

First we got rid of paper bags to avoid cutting down trees. Then we avoided butter and replaced it with execrable margarine. We went low fat by going all hog on carbohydrates. Why can't we find alternatives that are not worse than what we are replacing?

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The real key is replacing the car.

I think the earlier points were correct that we look for easy solutions. No real sacrifice required. We all do it it's only human nature.:blushing:

How many will approach the problem of the car by switching, as far as is possible, to cycling and using public transport... not many. Some but not many.

If you cycle you unquestionably are helping the environment. And you get fit, and you get fresh air.

But of course the ideas that get traction are those that promise an easy change. An electric car with a bright green eco sticker so you can brag to the world about what an angel you are... but really where does the electricity come from? Probably from the burning of gas. Plus where do you get the power to build each and every electric car. That's right from fossil fuels. And if you want enough wind turbines and solar panels to power the electric cars (even possible... for a BILLION new carsX_X) it's the same dilemma. You are using fossil fuels and various other resources to build those too.

If we really accept, in our hearts, that climate change is a huge and urgent problem... then we take it seriously enough to cycle and use public transport.

And yes as said earlier grow food instead of driving to shops for it (and how did it get to the shop in the first place... where did it come from... what resources were used to achieve that...).

You get the electric car too if you need a car. But if you feel the problem is that incredibly urgent, you should be cycling, walking, on trains and buses.

If climate change is just something to hype and use for political ends, then the cosy and easy option of the electric car is enough. If it's not, the problem really is super-urgent, and you believe that, you make the sacrifices. Every day. And you get healthier and happier and even save a few bucks doing so.

Just my tiny contribution. It sounds radical, but you start small with one cycle to work (or just to the local shop) per week. Then twice per week. Then get the train to work one a week. Then twice a week... you get the picture of where you end up with a bit of gradual discipline.

So speaking to your point about good alternatives, good isn't always easy. Good can mean rewarding. And the most rewarding things are often the things that challenge us. At least a bit.

Mardo said:

The real key is replacing the car.

I think the earlier points were correct that we look for easy solutions. No real sacrifice required. We all do it it's only human nature.:blushing:

How many will approach the problem of the car by switching, as far as is possible, to cycling and using public transport... not many. Some but not many.

If you cycle you unquestionably are helping the environment. And you get fit, and you get fresh air.

But of course the ideas that get traction are those that promise an easy change. An electric car with a bright green eco sticker so you can brag to the world about what an angel you are... but really where does the electricity come from? Probably from the burning of gas. Plus where do you get the power to build each and every electric car. That's right from fossil fuels. And if you want enough wind turbines and solar panels to power the electric cars (even possible... for a BILLION new carsX_X) it's the same dilemma. You are using fossil fuels and various other resources to build those too.

If we really accept, in our hearts, that climate change is a huge and urgent problem... then we take it seriously enough to cycle and use public transport.

And yes as said earlier grow food instead of driving to shops for it (and how did it get to the shop in the first place... where did it come from... what resources were used to achieve that...).

You get the electric car too if you need a car. But if you feel the problem is that incredibly urgent, you should be cycling, walking, on trains and buses.

If climate change is just something to hype and use for political ends, then the cosy and easy option of the electric car is enough. If it's not, the problem really is super-urgent, and you believe that, you make the sacrifices. Every day. And you get healthier and happier and even save a few bucks doing so.

Just my tiny contribution. It sounds radical, but you start small with one cycle to work (or just to the local shop) per week. Then twice per week. Then get the train to work one a week. Then twice a week... you get the picture of where you end up with a bit of gradual discipline.

So speaking to your point about good alternatives, good isn't always easy. Good can mean rewarding. And the most rewarding things are often the things that challenge us. At least a bit.

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Maybe I'm part of the solution and not part of the problem since I've never owned a car and doesn't even have a drivers licence (I'm 58 years old)?

However "the problem" (maybe there are more than one single problem? maybe there are 2,3,4 or a gazillion of interconnected problems?) is a lot more complicated than we normally will allow. What we love most often is moralistic finger-pointing at the individual...

Let's take free plastic bags as an example! As I said earlier in this thread, free plastic bags were discarded in Sweden in the aftermath of the first Oil Crisis in the mid 1970s, but of course anyone could buy as many as they liked. The situation on the plastic bag front today is basically the same, and paper bags cost more than plastic bags...

But let's look at the moralistic finger-pointing that doesn't occure: All the innumerable companies who as an absolute necessity just has to wrap up the majority of their products in some kind of plastic.

Just to give a few simple examples from the last few days: 1) I had to buy some batteries. First of all you can't buy precisely the number of batteries you need, you'll have to buy a standard size package, so if you need 3 batteries you can't buy that - you'll have to buy a standard package with 4 batteries. And guess what? No matter what the size of the package, the batteries are always wrapped up in plastic....

2) Another example: I had to buy some matchboxes. Same situation: you can't buy the number of matchboxes you need, you'll have to buy a standard size package. Where the matchboxes are wrapped up in plastic...

I could give hundreds of examples just from the last few weeks, but the principle is the same: Standard sizes, wrapped up in plastic.

Who ever mentions this standard-sizing and standard plastic wrapping as a problem? Fuckin' no one. But if I walk to the store and has to buy a plastic bag - then the moralistic choir starts shouting.

I'd say we are pretty blind to the complexity of the bigger picture...

Huzza - let's go back to the dark age!

Question: do you travel to your holiday in Spain, France, Italy Greece or wherever with a walking staff or with a horse-drawn carriage? Or perhaps by plane?????

Do you want to annihilate every modern industry and make every country in the world again back to an agricultural state? Wasn't that the goal of the Red Khmer?

gorgik9 said:

Maybe I'm part of the solution and not part of the problem since I've never owned a car and doesn't even have a drivers licence (I'm 58 years old)?

However "the problem" (maybe there are more than one single problem? maybe there are 2,3,4 or a gazillion of interconnected problems?) is a lot more complicated than we normally will allow. What we love most often is moralistic finger-pointing at the individual...

Let's take free plastic bags as an example! As I said earlier in this thread, free plastic bags were discarded in Sweden in the aftermath of the first Oil Crisis in the mid 1970s, but of course anyone could buy as many as they liked. The situation on the plastic bag front today is basically the same, and paper bags cost more than plastic bags...

But let's look at the moralistic finger-pointing that doesn't occure: All the innumerable companies who as an absolute necessity just has to wrap up the majority of their products in some kind of plastic.

Just to give a few simple examples from the last few days: 1) I had to buy some batteries. First of all you can't buy precisely the number of batteries you need, you'll have to buy a standard size package, so if you need 3 batteries you can't buy that - you'll have to buy a standard package with 4 batteries. And guess what? No matter what the size of the package, the batteries are always wrapped up in plastic....

2) Another example: I had to buy some matchboxes. Same situation: you can't buy the number of matchboxes you need, you'll have to buy a standard size package. Where the matchboxes are wrapped up in plastic...

I could give hundreds of examples just from the last few weeks, but the principle is the same: Standard sizes, wrapped up in plastic.

Who ever mentions this standard-sizing and standard plastic wrapping as a problem? Fuckin' no one. But if I walk to the store and has to buy a plastic bag - then the moralistic choir starts shouting.

I'd say we are pretty blind to the complexity of the bigger picture...

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Very good argued!!!! :thumbs up::thumbs up::thumbs up::thumbs up:

Shelter said:

Huzza - let's go back to the dark age!

Question: do you travel to your holiday in Spain, France, Italy Greece or wherever with a walking staff or with a horse-drawn carriage? Or perhaps by plane?????

Do you want to annihilate every modern industry and make every country in the world again back to an agricultural state? Wasn't that the goal of the Red Khmer?

Click to expand...

I don't see it in terms of having to choose between one extreme or the other extreme. Rather I think we need to start by compromising a little.

If you truly accept that climate change is an urgent problem, then the question is simple: can we continue to live as we are doing? If not what has to change?

Cycling (or walking) to the local shop instead of driving, maybe taking the train into work some days, if you can. Is this really so radical? If you truly accept in your heart that climate change is a HUGE and URGENT problem, then surely a little sacrifice here and there is the way to go. IF our present day, modern consumerism is what is creating the problem, then perhaps we should be stepping back from it in our own personal lives?

What is the role of individual responsibility?

There isn't going to be a top down directive to for example mandate cycling to the local shop, or getting the train to work when you can. How would you police it?

To some extent there has to be a grass roots effort. Individuals willing to improve their lives, their health & the environment into the bargain. The reward is not some treat, toy or newfangled luxury. It's a guaranteed, honest-to-God contribution. Difficult? Of course. We after all surrounded by materialism and consumerism.

The problem, as usual, is too much. A little less of this and that seems so foreign to us. Why?

12 Facts That'll Change Your Perception of Time Forever


This video is well worth the watch! It has some crazy facts that made my head spin a little. Especially #10.

RazzmaTazz said:

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This video is well worth the watch! It has some crazy facts that made my head spin a little. Especially #10.

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Wow - honestly this was really an "amazing stuff"! Very, very interesting!:thumbs up::thumbs up::thumbs up::thumbs up:

The New Year has started with unusually low sea ice at Arctic and record low at Antarctic, according to National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The People's Word of 2018

Čebela (a bee) is Slovenian dictionary 2018 word of the year.

Birds are in decline in France and across Europe due to insect decline and the need to produce food as part of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy
Anon URL

Australia just had its hottest December ever recorded

Australia reported its hottest day on record for December and it was also the warmest December ever, during a heatwave that began last month and has continued into January, the country’s Bureau of Meteorology said on Thursday.

Every Australian state and territory was affected by the heatwave at some stage and numerous locations reported their highest daily maximum temperature on record for December or January, with some locations exceeding their previous records by large margins, it said.

Housing price statistics

House prices rose by 4.3% in both the euro area and the EU in the third quarter of 2018 compared with the same quarter of the previous year. The highest annual increase in house prices in the EU for the third quarter of 2018 was recorded in Slovenia (+15.1%).

Top 3 destinations for foodies 2019

Discover BBC Good Food's top 3 destinations for food lovers to visit in 2019. Tick these fabulous foodie countries off your travel bucket list.

1. Matera, Italy



Italy’s cave-studded mountaintop city is a hot ticket for 2019, not just because it’s a European Capital of Culture with all the adherent arts events, but also because Matera has uniquely-preserved Cucina Povera cuisine. Today, within easy reach of Puglia’s popular hilltop towns and beautiful beaches, Matera’s historically remote location means distinct food: soups with local pulses such as black chickpeas, local Senise peppers, and fennel-flavoured Lucanian sausage, plus roast lamb and game dishes flavoured with floral mountain herbs – all available in restaurants set in the atmospheric former cave dwellings that make this entire city an UNESCO landmark.

2. Amsterdam, Netherlands



With Eurostar’s new direct service, the Dutch capital is just 3 hrs 40 minutes from London – tempting in itself, but Amsterdam’s food scene is increasingly irresistible. This is where vegan and vegetarian food, for one, gets inventive. Try the plant-based posterchild dish, Dutch Weedburger (made with seaweed, not marijuana), plus masterpiece menus at such vanguard venues as the Meatless District, and the adventurous De Culinaire Werkplaats. It’s also one of Europe’s greenest cities, for both sustainability and leafy park space. So you can eat guilt-free, then bike or walk it off.

3. Ljubljana, Slovenia



Small but perfectly formed, the so-called 'Europe in miniature' is so much more than that. Slovenia’s food culture is little bit Eastern European, a little bit Alpine, a little bit Med, but very much its own thing, too. The tiny capital, Ljubljana, has hipster coffee spots and killer burger joints but also cosy old country restaurants where rustic cuisine reigns supreme. Think: pršut (air-dried ham), zlikrofi (a ravioli-like pasta filled with herby pork), and indulgent gibanica cake (a blend of shortbread and fruity strudel) – dishes that are plentiful in beautiful lake and mountain towns like Bohinj and Bled. Chefs like Ana Roš are leading the charge for inventive Michelin-starred Slovenian cuisine, and there’s a little stretch of coast, too, where simple shellfish and fish carpaccio dishes are a fresh counterpoint to hearty inland eats.

Haiducii you made my mouth watering. Amsterdam I know very well - and there you will not only find a good cuisine...... -

Things We Say Today Because Of Shakespeare

haiducii said:

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Hrrmmm...what about the quip (from "Hamlet") I cite most often:

WORDS,WORDS,WORDS

And my favourite line (from "Macbeth", act 5, scene 5):
Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Or this, just a few lines earlier, in the same play, same act, same scene:

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in his petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

I think it's for the best that I won't get me started on his Sonnets, but I guess I'll have to quote the majestic ending of nr 146:

So shalt thou feed on death, that feeds on men,
But death once dead, there's no more dying then.

A ranking of countries by air pollution



Source: AirVisual 2019

To interpret the above table, it is neccessary to also consider the population density of the country. Crowded cities will always have worse air quality than rural areas. Bangladesh is a particularly overcrowded country with only a small coastline to allow access to fresh sea air, so its no surprise that it scores so badly.
Iceland is lightly populated and completely surrounded by clean (as long as there no cruise liners about) sea air so it is easy for it to come out with the best air quality.
If there is a winner then it must be the Netherlands who manage to keep their particulate count low despite having a high population density. The Dutch are such nice people, they treat their country kindly, it's an example for the rest of the world to aspire to.