We are lucky today. The Earth Overshoot Day has come almost a week earlier this year compared to 2016. We have beaten our own record again, as the 2016 Earth Overshoot Day was on the 8th of August, and this year it’s today, on the 2nd. We are getting better at this. In case I’m being too fine with the irony, I’m going to tell you what the hell is the Earth Overshoot Day, why should we worry about it, and what’s more important, how to reduce our ecological footprint.
Category: Science
In that letter signed by more than 100 Nobel laureates to Greenpeace, the United Nations and the world nations, they were asked to explicitly support genetically modified organisms as the only way to end world hunger. Last week I stepped in muddy terrain and started talking about this issue. This is the second part, with ethics and politics for everyone’s tastes.
Several weeks ago I spent lots of time arguing about the letter signed by more than 100 Nobel laureates. In the letter, they urged Greenpeace and the United Nations to support genetically modified organisms as the only way to put an end to global hunger. I feel the urge to give my opinion about almost everything, so I’m going to talk a bit (well, not a bit, it’s a 2 part post) about GMOs in general and this letter in particular.
The simple fact of eating an apple can have a bit of an ecological footprint. Look at the label. Maybe, if you are in Spain (sorry guys, I’m Spanish), that apple has traveled all the way from Chile to your hand. Amazing, right? That’s what needs to be done if you want to eat apples throughout the year. Something similar occurs with almost everything we consume. Electricity, clothing, electronic devices…
It’s common to worry about the air pollution in cities: traffic, industry and some heating systems team up to create an unhealthy environment. Although we tend to think about our homes as a pollution-free space, this is not completely true. Nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide levels may be lower indoors, but other toxic compounds known as VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) are higher indoors than outdoors. Paint, furniture, printers, nail polish removers and other household products are common sources of VOCs.