sábado, 5 de outubro de 2019
“The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science”
“The advisory opinion determined that Monsanto’s
practices are in violation
with human rights standards”
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14747731.2019.1592067
“Is Meat a Luxury?”
Abstract: Once
perceived as a nutritional and occasional bonus, meat has now daily presence in
the affluent West, serving human appetite for food. Although meat is not a
product typically associated with luxury, its large ecological footprint poses
the question whether it is time to challenge consumers' perception about
animal-based proteins. The purpose of this chapter is to gain a perspective on
how consumers respond to the idea of meat being a luxury product. A 2017 Sydney
study investigated the concept of luxury meat and meat consumption amongst three generations – Xers,
GenY and GenZ. It shows the emerging meaning of luxury goods related to meat that is sustainable, healthy
and socially responsible, in response to climate change and feeding the
world's population. https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/is-meat-a-luxury/199395
acima o resumo de uma interessante publicação que ajuda a complementar o que se
tinha escrito aqui https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2019/09/consumir-muita-carne-um-habito-das.html Tenha-se presente que até mesmo a famosa McDonald´s já percebeu que o futuro terá forçosamente que ser diferente do passado e há uma semana atrás fez algo antes considerado impensável https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/26/business/mcdonalds-plant-based-burgers-canada.html
tinha escrito aqui https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2019/09/consumir-muita-carne-um-habito-das.html Tenha-se presente que até mesmo a famosa McDonald´s já percebeu que o futuro terá forçosamente que ser diferente do passado e há uma semana atrás fez algo antes considerado impensável https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/26/business/mcdonalds-plant-based-burgers-canada.html
Science: “Flying is a luxury and a privilege”
“Flying
is a luxury and a privilege that must be reserved for a fraction of the
events that we use it for right now,” she argues. Cobb is one of a small but a growing minority of academics who are cutting back on their air travel because
of climate change” https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2019/05/why-some-climate-scientists-are-saying-no-flying
“We
are Earth scientists, academics, and members of the public who either don’t fly
or who fly less”
https://noflyclimatesci.org/
Academia's crucial role in advancing toward a Type One Civilization
In the concluding pages of his book, "History of the World," Andrew Marr cites the perspective of astronomer Martin Rees, who underscores that humanity is confronted with a 50% risk to survival in the coming two decades. Rees emphasizes that the Earth cannot sustain a population of 9 billion people given the current consumption and pollution patterns. This underscores the individual responsibility each of us bears to evolve into a sustainable citizen.
In his 1999 work, physicist Kaku (1999) delineated two overarching trends shaping our world. Presently, we exist as a Type Zero Civilization, according to the Kardashev scale. However, Kaku envisions a future where we ascend to a Type One Civilization, representing our collective aspiration and hope for progress. “a multicultural, scientific, tolerant society”.
He wrote that “the European Union is the beginning of a type one economy…these European countries, which have slaughtered each other ever since the ice melted 10,000 years ago...they have banded together, put aside their differences to create the European Union”. Michio Kaku highlighted a critical challenge facing humanity—the successful transition from a Type Zero to a Type One Civilization. According to his insights, this transformative journey may span approximately 100 years
The aforementioned passage emphasizes the pivotal role of universities in shepherding the transformation from a sectarian society to a “multicultural, tolerant, scientific society". Endowed with the ability to appreciate not only the worth but, crucially, the profound significance of other Earthlings in this world (Morton, 2019). Undoubtedly, religious terrorism poses a significant impediment to the advancement toward a Type One Civilization, as religious terrorists strive to impose a “monocultural, intolerant,
theocratic society”.
Universities should already have undertaken efforts to understand the factors behind the appeal of the destructive message propagated by religious terrorism, particularly in its influence on numerous young Europeans. Notably, Professor Benjamin Stora, a historian at University Paris-XIII, posits that a significant part of the challenge stems from universities being deeply entrenched in their academic agendas, with limited attention to pressing public issues. This instance underscores a profound problem, one that technology alone cannot remedy, mirroring the complexity inherent in various other societal challenges.
Moreover, universities cannot fully realize their mission if they persist in emulating corporate practices. Corporations often adhere to the motto "show me the money," a principle markedly different from the ethical standards proclaimed by many Western universities. Even companies in nations recognized for their exceptionally high ethical standards, such as the emissions scandal at Volkswagen demonstrated, find themselves entangled in questionable practices. Regrettably, such instances are not isolated occurrences.
Not to mention
that corporations have a long tradition of avoiding paying their fair share of taxes. Beyond that, they exhibit a well-documented inclination to exert influence on governments to align with their highly lucrative agendas. This underscores the critical role that academia must play as a guardian of the moral values crucial for upholding democracies. The widespread occurrence of scientific misconduct in academia is undeniably the most conspicuous outcome of adopting a corporate replication approach. Each instance of such misconduct contributes to the gradual erosion of the credibility upon which universities rest, undermining their reputation as pillars of integrity.
Initially established in medieval times with the noble mission to pursue a "triadic structure of human engagement with the world", Truth (Academic Inquiry and Knowledge), Good (Ethics and Morality), and Beauty (Aesthetics and Culture), universities underwent a gradual evolution towards a more utilitarian purpose over time. While some managed to strike a delicate balance between their original ideals and practical utility, many universities lost their way. Continuing down this misguided path poses the risk of universities deviating from their true essence, resembling neither genuine educational institutions nor corporations. In my vision, universities play a distinctive role in inspiring, instilling hope, and nurturing the development of sustainable citizens essential for constructing the envisioned Type One Civilization—a society characterized by multiculturalism, tolerance, and a steadfast commitment to scientific progress.
Citizens are entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding such a society, recognizing that what we possess is contingent upon what we are prepared to protect. The future we aspire to achieve demands concerted effort and unwavering persistence. I am keenly aware that Europe stands as the sole region boasting a social model that encompasses education, healthcare, minimum wages, paid annual holidays, and retirement plans. However, the longevity of this model hinges on Europe's sustained economic competitiveness. For instance, the diverse socio-economic landscapes within the European Union are evident in the 2017 average youth unemployment rate, standing at approximately 17%. This figure encompasses disparate realities, such as exceeding 40% in Greece and remaining below 7% in Germany.
Back in June 2015, the Final Report of the High-Level Expert Group on Key Enabling Technologies mentioned that
Europe was confronted with a structural erosion of its manufacturing base
risking losing its competitive manufacturing capacity. The decline that also
took place in the US is due not only to a shift in services but also to the fact
that investment in that area is falling. EU investments experienced a decline of approximately 14%, contrasting sharply with the notable increase of 92% in investments within the collective regions of China, South Korea, and Taiwan. No wonder then that in the global manufacturing map, Asian
countries have become the major players while Europe loses ground. Still, the
idea that increasing investment in the manufacturing sector will allow Europe to
create several million new jobs as it is written in the above report is a
short-sided vision because it forgets two things.
Firstly, Europe's destiny lies in becoming a beacon of a Type 1 Civilization rather than engaging in a race with Asia for manufacturing supremacy. Secondly, in the medium term, virtually all manufacturing industries are poised to undergo computerization. Encouragingly, Europe has already established groups dedicated to addressing this challenge. However, the downside is that Asian countries are also actively engaged in tackling this transformative shift. The advent of computerized industries in the future will present myriad challenges, extending beyond concerns about unemployment and debates over a universal basic income. More significantly, it prompts a profound exploration of how unemployment can serve as an opportunity for individuals to discover the true purpose of their existence. It's important to note that such a discourse extends beyond the scope of this document.
The cited report predominantly referenced universities in the context of patent applications and underscored the necessity for more robust partnerships between academia and industry. Notably, the High-Level Group, chaired by Pascal Lamy—President Emeritus of the Jacques Delors Institute, which is recognized as the Lamy Report—issued 11 crucial recommendations. Additionally, the report highlighted various constraints in Europe, reiterating the persistent issue of underperformance in patenting activity: "The EU trails well behind many
trading partners when it comes to innovation. It spends less than half as much
on business R&D as a share of GDP compared to South Korea...The EU produces
three times less quality patent applications than Japan. The amount of venture
capital available in the EU is at least five times lower than in the US; the
number of fast-growing start-ups, so-called unicorns, is equally five times
lower”
What the Lamy Report has omitted in that particular statement, is the specific contributions of public and private sectors to bridge the identified gap. However, on page 11 of the report, it acknowledges that the deficiency in private-sector research and development (R&D) is a primary factor hindering Europe from achieving the target of 3% of gross domestic expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP. A similar pattern is observed in Europe's patenting activity, second only to Japan. This discrepancy is largely attributed to the comparatively lower level of patenting activity in Europe's private sector compared to that of Japan.
The same can be said about the patenting activity of Europe which only
falls short when compared to Japan because the private sector in
Europe has a much lower patenting activity than Japan´s private sector. This implies that proposing a solution wherein universities are tasked with generating a significantly larger number of patents than they currently do to compensate for shortcomings in the private sector would be counterproductive. Such a move would irrevocably alter their mission.
Regarding the availability of venture capital, it is evident that universities have limited influence in that domain. Regarding the report's observations on so-called unicorns, it's noteworthy to recall Salim Ismail's perspective. As one of the founders of Singularity University, he recently remarked that the challenge for European entrepreneurs lies in a lack of ambition. Instead of aspiring to establish global enterprises, many focus on creating companies tailored for local or regional markets. Fortunately for Europe, the scenario in Asian countries is not as promising as certain reports suggest. For instance, China may have a
fierce determination backed by the power of a State with a high investment
capability. However, they have an educational system that promotes conformity and
obedience, not creativity and innovation which are needed in the present and in
the future (Chu, 2017). It´s true Asian students have good scores on Pisa tests but
that´s not a proxy for innovation and even less for creativity.
Decades ago, Alvin Toffler shared insights from his visits to Asian countries, highlighting what he considered a peculiar notion of innovation. In these places, the emphasis seemed to be on having students memorize a multiplication table spanning 1 to 100, in contrast to the Western approach of focusing on the table from 1 to 10. More recently, Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, echoed these sentiments, noting that the Chinese education system's emphasis on calculus and memorization of exercises is a mistake, as it primarily caters to manufacturing jobs (Ma, 2017). It is worth noting that in the early 20th century, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom collectively generated 95% of the world's citations and accounted for 97% of their collection. However, by the 21st century, these percentages have undergone a significant reduction, dwindling to 46% and 58%, respectively, marking a substantial decrease of nearly half (Dong et al., 2017). Nevertheless, despite the increased publication output from China and other Asian countries, they find themselves ensnared in a publication trap (Quan et al., 2017).
Wu (2017) recently highlighted that, despite three decades of reforms, the lingering influence of the Soviet era is palpable in Chinese universities. Consequently, major scientific accolades such as Nobel Prizes, Field Medals, and Turing Awards remain and are likely to continue being, predominantly awarded to Western countries. Moreover, the ascent of China's manufacturing industry to the pinnacle of the global stage, which has instilled a sense of apprehension in Europe, has also been a significant catalyst for environmental challenges. Regrettably, many forecasts of China's rise have underestimated the consequential environmental impacts associated with its industrial growth. Inevitably, China will reach a point where it must confront and address these challenges. In the medium term, the internal tensions arising from its development model—economic, technological, and even political—will become increasingly difficult for China to manage. This presents Europe with a strategic window of opportunity to fortify its economic advantage.
Update on
April the first 2020 – Barry Gills, Professor at the University of Helsinki,
wrote that: “As the existing order begins to disintegrate a new social order
must be built…We shall need...a new type of global social covenant...we must move now rapidly towards a post
nationalist mentality, based on our common human interests”
Update on November 17th, 2020 - The President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, wrote in The Economist "The World in 2021" that "...we have a unique asset - our convening power...Our offer to the world is clear. Let us join forces for our common good"
sexta-feira, 4 de outubro de 2019
Daniel Oliveira, Carlos Fiolhais e o fascistazito que ainda hoje temos que suportar
Tendo há
algum tempo atrás malhado no Daniel Oliveira por conta das suas infelizes
declarações sobre o PAN no post intitulado “O PAN é mais perigoso do que o
Estado Islâmico, o ébola e o antrax....todos juntos” devo agora por uma
questão de justiça avaliar positivamente o seu recente comentário que leva o
título “Quando os militares mandam nos políticos” e de que abaixo reproduzo um
pequeno extracto:
“...Temos um ministro que em vez
de acautelar os interesses do país e o respeito pela dignidade do Estado fica às
ordens dos interesses de uma corporação, mesmo que ilegítimos ou até
criminosos. Para esta inversão das coisas contribui o discurso dominante
que apouca o poder simbólico dos políticos eleitos e agiganta a “dignidade das
Forças Armadas”, como se ela estivesse acima do Estado democrático..”
Sobre
este mesmo tema também o Carlos Fiolhais escreveu ontem no Público,
assim
cumprindo um dever enunciado em 1967 aqui https://chomsky.info/19670223/ pelo
Noam Chomsky, dever esse que manda dizer a verdade ao poder, qualquer
poder.
Nenhum
dos dois porém teve tempo e espaço para também mencionarem a pouca vergonha de
que se deu conta no link:https://www.publico.pt/2019/01/23/sociedade/noticia/militar-arrependido-suspeita-generais-envolvidos-corrupcao-messes-1859047 a
qual ajuda a contextualizar o problema num cenário mais amplo de degradação de
valores e já agora também o caso do inacreditável General que costuma escrever
no semanário Sol e que há alguns meses atrás escreveu o impensável:
“Sou
contra a ideia republicana de "um cidadão, um voto"; sou a favor da
ideia de que um cidadão deve dispor de um número de votos correspondente ao
montante de impostos que paga"
Uma ideia
bizarra que significaria que a Srª Amorim (e outros de igual fortuna) teria
direito a milhões de votos, significando isso que aqueles milhões de
Portugueses que pagam poucos impostos seriam assim cidadãos de segunda
categoria e também que os muitos Portugueses que não pagam impostos seriam
nesse contexto cidadãos de quarta, quinta ou sexta categorias, enfim, quase
sub-humanos. A bizarra “ideia” torna desde logo evidente que o
Sr. General não concorda com o teor do Artº10 da Constituição da
República, que fala do sufrágio universal e igual, a mesma que ele
jurou cumprir e defender mesmo que com risco da própria vida:
"Juro, como português e como militar, guardar e fazer guardar a Constituição e as leis da República...mesmo com o sacrifício da própria vida."
"Juro, como português e como militar, guardar e fazer guardar a Constituição e as leis da República...mesmo com o sacrifício da própria vida."
juramento
que como agora se percebe fez contrariado, pois por sua vontade já a teria
alterado, pelos menos na parte dos impostos. E a péssima verdade é que este
militar não está sozinho pois já se sabe que muitos deles, como por exemplo
aqueles envolvidos na pouca-vergonha de Tancos também não gostam nada desta
Constituição (a mesma que juraram cumprir e defender ainda que com risco da
própria vida) e prefeririam claramente uma outra que lhes desse carta-branca
para agirem como agiram à semelhança do que acontece em países da América
Latina.
P.S – a
revista Sábado informa em pormenor que o Director do DCIAP não permitiu que os
Procuradores do processo, que é aquela vergonha nacional e internacional (os
Espanhóis têm-se divertido bastante com o caso) de Tancos fizessem perguntas ao
Presidente da República e ao Primeiro-Ministro. Nada de chocante nesta parte
porque ele saberá porque decidiu como decidiu e os especialistas de Direito
Penal não demorarão a julgar se a decisão está conforme com a Lei. Porém
entendo como inadmissível e até escabroso que o Director do DCIAP tenha
fundamentado a decisão utilizando doutrina e jurisprudência de 1931 a 1939,
saída da pena de um fascistazito grande amigo do Salazar e Presidente da
Assembleia Nacional, não em uma, não em duas mas durante três legislaturas. Um
bandalho de papel passado, que aproveitou à grande e à Francesa a amizade com o
Salazar, quando ao mesmo tempo, outros na academia pagaram com grave prejuízo
da sua vida profissional e pessoal, terem-se recusado a lamber o cú ao
Salazar. Será que na
Alemanha a justiça ainda hoje continua a fundamentar decisões com base na
jurisprudência produzida pelos amigos académicos do Hitler que ocuparam
posições de topo na hierarquia nazi ?
Um vício incurável e uma herança imunda
Não
obstante o consumo anual de vários milhões de toneladas de pesticidas por parte
do agro-negócio que o recente estudo no link abaixo https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718343420
mostra
que já vão começando a fazer mossa nos solos europeus e haver até quem acredite
piamente que a continuarmos nesse ritmo o máximo que poderá acontecer é ainda
termos a felicidade de ficarmos com menos insectos desagradáveis e com menos aves barulhentas,
importa também dar uma olhada noutro recente estudo abaixo que dá conta que as
empresas do agro-negócio não querem reduzir a quantidade de pesticidas pois
parece que estão “viciadas” no abuso: “It
has been recognized that maximizing profit is not the only driver of farmers'
behavior … show farms overuse pesticides compared with the
profit-maximizing levels.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800919300552
Somando
os tais pesticidas aos antibióticos mencionados aqui
obtêm-se
o belo resultado que foi noticiado no link abaixo
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/08/pesticides-antibiotics-polluting-streams-europe-wildlife que
porém é apenas uma pequena parte da herança imunda que a presente geração
pretende deixar às futuras gerações, a magnitude da totalidade dessa herança foi quantificada
de forma brilhante aqui
https://www.docdroid.net/c1hnxzz/2019-greta-thunberg.pdf
https://www.docdroid.net/c1hnxzz/2019-greta-thunberg.pdf
An incurable vice and a filthy inheritance
Notwithstanding
the annual consumption of several million tons of pesticides by the
agri-business that the recent study on the link
shows
that they are already starting to make a dent in European soils, the fact is
that some lunatics really believe that if we continue at this rate, the worse
that can happen is just having less nasty insects and fewer noisy birds.
On
this issue its also important to take a look into recent study below that shows
the agri-business companies do not want to reduce the amount of pesticides
because they seem to be "addicted" to abuse:
“It has been recognized that maximizing profit is not
the only driver of farmers' behavior … show farms overuse pesticides
compared with the profit-maximizing levels.”
When
adding pesticides to antibiotics we get the beautiful result that was reported
on the link below https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/08/pesticides-antibiotics-polluting-streams-europe-wildlife
which, however, is only a small part
of the filthy inheritance
that the present generation intends to leave to future generations. The real size
of this inheritance has been brilliantly quantified in here. https://www.docdroid.net/c1hnxzz/2019-greta-thunberg.pdf
Engenharia Civil__Mudar para quê ?
Recentemente
comentei uma entrevista de um responsável da Universidade de Carnegie Mellon,
engenheiro civil de formação e o facto da estrutura curricular do curso de
Engenharia Civil em Portugal ter na sua concepção substanciais diferenças
quando comparada com a estrutura do seu equivalente da UCBerkeley. https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2019/10/ainda-sobre-os-fachidiots-da-engenharia.html
O
facto de nos últimos anos o curso de Engenharia Civil em Portugal ter voltado a
reiniciar um novo ciclo descendente em termos de número de ingressos, deveria
ser suficiente para espoletar alguma mudança, embora o facto de qualquer
mudança ao nível académico implicar forçosamente que haja áreas que possam
ganhar novo protagonismo e outras que antes dominavam (como a área das estruturas) e percam aquele que tinham, o que faz com
que isso seja muito pouco provável, pois ensina o Darwinismo que só a ameaça da
extinção força a mudança e já se sabe que as instituições públicas nunca se
extinguem porque os bolsos que as sustentam são muito fundos.
Neste
contexto é pertinente relembrar que há 5 anos atrás quando a procura do curso
de engenharia civil sofreu uma enorme queda, e o curso de engenharia civil da
Universidade de Coimbra, que até aí admitia todos os anos mais de uma centena, admitiu somente 5 (cinco) alunos na primeira fase, o Director
daquele curso apontou o dedo a vários supostos “culpados”, nos quais incluiu a Ordem dos Engenheiros, porém na altura o Bastonário Matias Ramos, não se ficou e devolveu-lhe
a acusação, ao dizer que as universidades se limitaram de forma inerte a assistir
de camarote, sem terem a coragem de nada mudarem de
substancial na sua estratégia https://observador.pt/especiais/um-curso-em-vias-de-extincao/
Nessa
altura o mesmo Director vaticinou que “Com a falta de engenheiros que vai haver, quem entra agora
vai ter emprego fácil e bem
pago daqui a uns anos”. Entretanto vários anos passaram mas
os empregos fáceis e bem pagos na área da Engenharia Civil esses é que nem
vê-los. Só mesmo no estrangeiro porque por cá ainda há empresas de construção a
oferecer remunerações de 750-800 euros. Valor bastante abaixo da remuneração da
“carreira” dos estivadores que se inicia em 1400 euros e chega a ultrapassar o
vencimento de um Professor Associado com exclusividade. Mas quem sabe talvez
seja daqui a 5 anos que os tais empregos fáceis e bem pagos na Engenharia Civil
possam vir a ocorrer ou talvez a situação deste curso fique ainda pior. Quem cá
estiver verá. Seja como for há uma pergunta que faz sentido, será possível
agregar maior valor acrescentado ao curso de engenharia civil ou a actual estrutura curricular já está optimizada nesse aspecto?
Se
na indústria da construção a maior percentagem do valor acrescentado está nos
edifícios e não nas estruturas, então porque é que a estrutura
curricular está muito longe de reflectir isso mesmo ? E porque é que ao
contrário da industria automóvel, que já há muito que passou a apostar na
maximização do conforto dos clientes (um certo construtor de carros Alemão
possui um departamento com um orçamento generoso só para estudar o barulho que
faz uma porta quando se fecha por conta da questão: How can we go about re-engineering the sound so it sounds more expensive and more high quality? a indústria de construção de edifícios (e o curso de engenharia civil) dedica pouca atenção ao conforto
dos ocupantes dos edificios, que é precisamente onde o valor acrescentado ainda pode crescer de forma
significativa ?
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