Sept 25, 2022: A derailed orbit in a heterodox market

 

There is a debate about which came first- the chicken or the eggs.

 
Does need provoke scientific inventions, or does a new apparatus create necessity?

 
Historians argue whether advancement in civilization is the outcome of war or war is the fruit of human progress. 
 
Natural disasters and pandemics damage and kill but teach lessons about a better life for humans. However, the better life of humans paws nature, and nature's revenge rewards calamities to humans. 
 
I think all the examples work both ways.  
 
Somedays before, some of my classmates got together at the university, where we did our MSc. in Environmental Sciences. One environmentalist friend showed me a poor woman collecting plastic bottles from the roadside garbage and commented- you know what significant work she is doing to our environment? I stared at the poor lady and replied- she was earning her livelihood. My environmentalist friend digressed. After a while, tesla came to our discussion, and we all said in unison that it is business. I question myself- what is the difference between Elon Musk and the poor lady? Both were contributing to our environment. Based on their capability- the work size is different. The poor lady is doing it merely for her livelihood- on the other side, Elon Musk is doing it for his trillion-dollar business. The poor lady does not understand what contribution she contributed by collecting plastic bottles; Elon Musk has crystal knowledge- of how much carbon a tesla car will emit in the environment compared to a gasoline car. So, why do we call livelihood when we point to the poor lady and a business when considering Elon Musk? Because a poor lady searches for food to live, Elon Musk is an industry. 
 
I do not want to be judgemental- who is good or not good. Elon Musk runs his business according to business ethics, following laws and regulations. However, I have a fancy sympathy for the poor lady. I think- if Elon Musk would suspend his one space project (I do not know how and when a space project will do good for humanity) and spend the money on poor people by launching a project where these poor people can gain some skills and get some work- millions of poor people would get a better life.

Elon Musk's space projects may bring tremendous happiness to humankind- I do not understand when & how it will happen. But I see the poor lady searching for the plastic bottle in the roadside garbage. Maybe for the future human developed civilization, we have to sacrifice. We may be the chicken or the eggs.

Sep 12, 2022: A derailed orbit in a heterodox market

I used to write poems, short stories, etc., intermittently. However, after completing my master's in environmental sciences, I started sharing contemporary environmental phenomena monthly from renowned magazines and presenting them to people who might be interested. I had little scope to interpret or give my opinions in the process- as if I was an extra mike after a microphone. I did not get any meaning in continuing it- I was yearning to liberate myself.  

I had mixed feelings when I quit the monthly publication's aggressiveness. My friends may think- oh, eventually, I surrender. Yes, I gave away- my submission is to my inner call. Now I will write whatever I want to write. 

Indeed, I will no longer be with the mainstream environmental genre. Hopefully, I will enjoy it. As- I was in the habit of this scenario from my childhood. I grew simultaneously with my friends, but I always was on the other rail- in the curve market.

I write hundreds of words for my livelihood- business letters, reports, agreements, training modules, policy procedures, etc. But I will write for myself- if I write- without any meaning. 

The cost of living is surging, interest rates are creeping up, recession threatens many countries, and an energy crunch is roaring. In most developed countries, the pandemic created the biggest fall in life expectancy since the second world war. A deadly conflict in Ukraine is pushing the cost of everything from energy to a loaf of bread. Climate change is a growing threat, as record droughts, heatwaves, and floods in various parts of the world. Climate change and conflict could make things even worse. 

In such circumstances, I learned one more shocking news- James Lovelock has passed away. He has had a tremendous impact on me, although I did not read a single book by him. But Lovelock touched me with his Gaia hypothesis, which I learned in my Environmental Sciences classroom. From childhood- I learned and worshiped our earth as 'Dharitri mata'- the mother earth. And, for the first time, Lovelock argued- he scientifically tried to prove that earth is a self-regulating living organism- life on earth behaves like a mega-organism. All live organisms combine through their interactions with each other and the physical systems around them.  

Due to poverty, Lovelock's student life was not smooth. He had to struggle and compromise his desire with financial ability unless he flourished by the mid-1960s- he became an independent scientist, consulting for organizations such as Shell and NASA. Despite stumbling in life, Lovelock was an example of compassion. After graduating in 1941, he was offered a job as a technician at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. They told him to study the effect of heat on the skin by exposing shaved rabbits to heat radiation, but he preferred to burn himself. He found that after a week or so of repeated exposure, the pain became merely a sensation of pressure. But the area of his arm he used in the study remained insensitive for the rest of his life. 

Lovelock died at age 103. He died on July 26, his 103rd birthday. 

Everybody called James Lovelock- Jim.
 
Rest in Gaia, Jim.