Climate change post

Thanks to guest blogger Schalk Cloete!

Check out this very cool animation about water and think a bit about how much we take this precious resource for granted.

Climate change has a massive impact on water security in regions which are dependent on glacial runoff water in the dry season. A large portion of China gets its dry season water from melting glaciers in the Tibetan plateau. Various other countries in Asia, South America and Africa are also dependent on glacial runoff. Unfortunately, due to global warming, vitally important glaciers around the world have already shrunk by 20-80%.

Then there is the effect of our rapid increases in consumption. Agriculture uses about 70% of the global freshwater supply. A juicy 500 g steak, for example, needs a whopping 8000 litres of water to produce. Due to the rapid increase in population and meat consumption, global water demand is projected to exceed supply in two decades' time. Wonder what we will do then…

There are some sound reasons why some doom prophets project WWIII to break out over water. We should do our best to prove them wrong.

Climate change post: Consumerism and happiness

Our modern day society is tainted by one great myth: excessive consumption brings happiness. Fortunately, this myth has been proven false through various scientific studies. Unfortunately, too few are aware of this fact...

Over the past few decades, the amount of stuff that the average person consumes has increased tremendously, but subjective happiness scores seem to stay very constant within most developed countries. The only things that really seem to be taking off together with our consumption are stuff like depression, divorce, violent crime and teen suicide.

Things scientifically correlated to happiness include health, relationships and job satisfaction. Beyond that which is needed for a comfortable life, material wealth is a very weak indicator of happiness.

In summary, consumerism makes first world citizens consume like we had five planets and leave carbon footprints ten times that which is sustainable. It ruins personal health, finances and relationships. And, of course, it brings absolutely zero happiness. So in order to be happier and help us reach a sustainable society: watch this video, think, share and care!

Thanks to Schalk Cloete for contribution.