Utopian Ground

Sustainability in industry

2010-03-11T10:13:00.000-08:00

Today brands have to adapt to market realities if they want to survive. Those who remain fixed in their positions will tend to disappear.
Take the example of the American auto industry. Remain in their ideals of big cars, polluters who spend lots of fuel. The reality today is different. People do not want that kind of product. They prefer to hire from smaller sizes due to lack of space in the city and spend less. Additionally people prefer cars reliable.
The American auto industry prefers to remain in their status quo. They do not want to lose the pride of producing large and powerful cars.
When electric cars going global will be dramatic for large General Motors brand.
Do not forget a famous saying "what is good for Ford is good for the American people." Today is no longer the case. The American auto industry collapsed and disappeared with it jobs and the supply of parts.

Extinction of the Aztec Civilization

2010-01-25T05:13:00.000-08:00

Tenochtitlán was the capital of the Aztec civilization. The reasons why this civilization disappeared still remain a mystery but there are a number of factors that may explain it.

1 - The act of colonizing a virgin country, through a particular religion, is always an act of extreme violence that always leads to rejection of the local population. The colonized are always the oppressed and the oppressors are the settlers.

2 - Diseases brought by Spanish explorers and bad hygiene habits and vices that local people do not know.

3 - Droughts caused by climate change.

4 - A mix of the two previous reasons.

The intense production of sunspots on the Sun which caused long periods of drought, which in turn emptied the fields and led to the hunger of people. The study of rings of certain trees is closely related to the maximum of sunspots. The science of cutting trees is the "dendrology". The production of more solar heat generates changes. Many ancient civilizations had the sun as God and may not know this phenomenon. And when they gave periods of drought the population understood the phenomenon as a punishment of their Sun God. Hence the human sacrifices in an attempt to appease the Sun God.

During the period of discovery the most common form of transport diseases (involuntarily) to other continents was by rats traveling in boats. These were the most effective way to carry the virus. But the sailors themselves carried in their bodys new diseases to these continents.
In the new continents certain viruses did not exist and immune systems of the local population was not prepared to react to these new virological agents.
The colonists themselves were living with the virus without being affected. They had an immunological structure richer and diverse. In other words, the settlers had a library of DNA registration and wider as the locals had never dealt with the situation.

The combination of these two factors: drought and transport of unknown viruses in the new continents led to a plague that decimated the local population.

This explains the fall of a civilization that was advanced for its time, it dominated astronomy and mathematics, in addition to its rich culture that display an aesthetic language. A civilization that can exceed the level of survival, grow and express themselves culturally through records in the architecture it is always considered as advanced in relation to others.

5 - However there is another factor that was crucial and was not reported yet. Some ancient civilizations had a weakness that led to its extinction. It was the fact that they are isolated. When some disaster happened could not turn to outside help or look for another place to move because their horizon was limited. The civilizations that dominated the sea and expanded their horizon always had more advantage over others who had never seen the rest of the world beyond its site. These were doomed to failure because they are frozen in space.

Other more subtle forms of extinction of civilizations, not the case, it is by confrontation techniques of language and mathematics. Some systems of mathematical knowledge or written language are more effective and simpler than others. And those who remain in the more obsolete tend to be overcome.

It's the clash of cultures that leads to the development and progress of humanity but also the extinguishment of certain civilizations.

Media coverage of natural disasters

2010-01-20T08:32:00.000-08:00

Why an earthquake with hundreds of victims cause more media coverage than thousands of deaths from AIDS or malaria?
The silent deaths, those you do not see on television are as if they never existed.

The Nazi leaders executed orders of extermination in a cold way, without feeling any human suffering around. Some never saw the Jews dying despite having given orders.
Similar is the launch of an atomic bomb. An act done at a high distance watching from far away to the destructionso. If you don't see human suffering it is more comfortable.

When it happens a natural disaster, seen as an abnormal phenomenon, in which die at once in the same place a significant number of people cause so much impact in the media. The phenomenon of AIDS or malaria, which causes larger number of victims is accepted by the society as a natural phenomenon, not troublesome. Deaths from AIDS or malaria deaths are silent, do not display in the media but are more deadly.

Democracy in developing countries

2010-01-20T08:12:00.000-08:00

A country may be very rich in raw materials but if it is badly governed and if it never makes the benefit of their sources is considered underdeveloped.
It is curious to note that most leaders of countries considered poor or underdeveloped, despite its natural wealth, are antagonistic to its population. In other words, people who have enriched by the military regime, powerful, influential, always dressed in expensive clothes moving in the most expensive cars in the market. While the rest of the population who rules remains in poverty. This are false democracies.

Curious also check that these countries emerging from conflicts invariably arise Americans as saviors. Americans have always liked to be seen as the saviors, as those who restore peace and democracy. Pure deception, often to America demanded in return favors.

The false democracies are mere window-dressing when they are controlled in a controlled in a manipulative way by external forces.
Democracy is not just electing a politician or a party.
Democracy is building schools providing education for all. Houses for all.

Humanitarian aid is delivered is not democracy.
Democracy is when there is equal rights for all citizens.
Democracy is independence for all.
The U.S.A. has always liked to help these countries create a kind of dependency.
The U.S.A. never teach those countries set up food and organize themselves, rather they prefer to create anarchy in order to become perpetually dependent on foreign aid.
To teach someone how to fish is more profitable instead of giving a fish.

The "Solar Impulse" Airplane

2010-01-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

This is an authentic revolution. A airplane that can move only with solar energy. The weight is similar to a car, made with lightweight materials like composites.
Its long, slender wings are lined with solar panels providing photovoltaic power necessary for flight. Only moderate speeds are allowed.

The energie is stored in batteries. There will be a real flight in 2011. Of course, this is the beginning. But the idea of producing zero emissions is already a good reason to have a cleaner planet.

Visit the website

Why certain dinosaurs survived ?

2009-09-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

There are several theories but they all are common to one thing. A number of factors provoked alterations in the climate and in the nature.
But even today there are still no certainties.
Several theories that can explain it:

1 - one big meteorite collided with the planet earth that was able to provoke an immense cloud of dust. With no light from the sun the plants died and so animals.
This is the most common explanation and one that can determine why climate changed so radically.

2 - plate tectonic movements generated earthquakes, tsunamis and accelerated the activity of volcanoes during a long period. This also provokes clouds of smoke, toxic gas and formation of new territories and alteration of the nature.

3 - one of biblical inspiration tells of floods during a long period. They changed the nature scenery and the level of the oceans. It is credible that this it could have happened because alterations on the nature influence directly the climate.

4 - the theory of milankovitch wich explains that the axle of rotation of the planet earth suffers light diversions from 4000 to 4000 years, sufficient to provoke alterations in the climate due to the alteration of the angle of solar incidence and wich coincides to the periods of cooling or heating in the planet.

5 - the last factor that influenced the survival of some sorts of animals was ... luck. With the new scenery the animals have to choose new territories where foods were abounding. Some of them had been enclosed in a sterile and others have luck because they found good places.

All the alterations produced in the nature put on trial the capacity of adaptation of all animals. But why some species survived and others not? Those who had the capacity of dislocation for beyond the terrestrial mode managed to exceed this big obstacle, the others disappeared. Both the turtles and the crocodiles (with prehistoric origin) are animals well adapted to the land and water. And this was a trick for the survival of those species. Many animals were enclosed in islands and new territories, without any food and any capacity to move in the water or on air to found new territories with food. The crocodiles managed to adapt well to the new scenery, they developed a tail and a hybrid system of breathing. Also some insects and birds managed to survive because they can move on the air.

So those animals who had the capability to adapt to new situations managed to survive.
Some animals still today cover large distances like their ancestral predecessors from the times in which these alterations took place in planet earth like a memory that is in their genes and raisin from generation to generation.

The climatic alterations are originated by several natural factors and are succeeded in regular cycles by thousands of years. That proves the theory of Milankovitch cycles and it not seems to me that the alarmism on the " global warming" or in the "climatic changes" with human origin could be rational. It is completely ridiculous to affirm that CO2 is a public enemy or a toxic gas.

Sustainability and self-sufficiency

2009-02-07T10:50:00.001-08:00

The dependence on oil one day will finish, sooner or later. The cars could be fed by electric shipments. What one hears in the news is a big mistake. They speak about CO2 reductions but most important it is the autonomy. The biggest gas greenhouse effect is the water vapor and not the CO2. The CO2 is not a toxic gas. These are great mistakes.

Most important it is to guarantee clean and gratuitous energies. To diminish the importations of energies and to reduce expenses. Look what hapened to Iceland, they have big expenses that led to bankrupt.

Solar energie is free for all people, clean, no polution. No need of gas oil. Imagine that you left your car outside charging free in the sun. That could be possible. It is expensive but when it come popular the price will go down.

Electric energie could be produced by water barrages or nuclear power. It is on your home, not free but more cheap than gas oil. Besides electric cars are more simple to mantain than combustion cars. They produce no noise.

There are other natural sources of energie like the wind, the sea. The future of the countries it depends on the reduction of the imports of energies from external countries.

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake

2008-12-28T16:06:00.000-08:00

The earthquake that happened in 1 November 1755 in Lisbon was more than a natural disaster. In that time the Holy Inquisition had a strong position in the portuguese society. In that time science was not so clear as nowadays. Knowledge was reserved to the church and most of the people were illiterate.

First it cames the earthquake, then it comes fire and finally big waves (tsunami) caused a devastated destruction.

The natural phenomenon was the end of the vision of natural catastrophes as a punishment of god. The theological interpretation ended because the illuminism science started in France with Voltaire, tried to explain people the cause of the natural things. At that time the prime minister Marquês de Pombal it congregated efforts to create a newspaper where he explain people why the earthquake happened. So information was an important weapon to fight illiteracy. And then the reconstruction of the city started. It is interesting to verify that almost all churchs burned in the fire (a punishment to the Inquisition?) and the houses of prostitution still intact. It is also interesting the date because 1 November is a religious day (All Saints' Day). So all people had lit candles in its houses to celebrate the day. And what a coincidence? When the earthquake come all people was in the churchs whyle there houses started to burn with the fire of the candles when earthquake shaked the ground. Even today it exists some old houses of stone that had survived to the earthquake by miracle near Belém.

Nowadays we all know why earthquakes happen. But in that time the event was so coincident that people were attemped to think that it was a god punishment. Religion (irrationality) and Science (rationality) allways tried to fight for its positions. Many scientists and phylosophers had problems during their lives because of religious fanatism.

I advise you read the book of Susan Neiman: "Evil in Modern Thought".

See Lisbon in 3D before the 1755 earthquake: link.

Mobile phones

2008-12-25T16:00:00.002-08:00

Mobile phones are everywhere. In the office, at home, in the street, in the coffe, in the bus, in the cinema.
Are they becoming a new dependence of the society?
Sometimes noise polution is the worst thing when you want to work in a open space office. When i am at a cofee and rings the cell and why do i have to hear the conversation of strange people who talk loud?
Mobile phones are originating new alienation people. It can cause dependence, psychic perturbation. And the distraction? Have you ever work with people who are allways looking at the cell phone?
Have you ever go on a business meeting with other people and sudenly the cell phone it interrupts an important discussion? That is awful...
And people who get depressed if they don't receive a call or a sms per day?
And the other think that it isn't proved: can cell phone originate cancer?
In some cinemas or theatres you can't originate sounds with cell phone.
It is very funny cause when you look at commercial movies about cell phones what you see? Young people, pretty and allways happy with a big smile. Like the old commercial movies about tobacco, sexy woman and sexy man. The trick is the same, to introduce images in the subconsciousness.
As i allways imagine new technologies doesn't meen happiness.

Bank crisis

2008-12-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

When i see news in tv or radio about financial crisis i allways remind the Grameen Bank's (GB) success. The Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus was the founder of this microcredit institution. But why the entire world banks seem to have little or big problems whyle GB moves with stability? I think one reason is that when they provide a small loan, that money will go to buy a cow or chicken somewhere. The money intends to be spend in something with concrete value.
The financial system economy sometimes don't talk about real economy. When you hear on a hedge fund that collapses, but what fund? Based on stock market? Sometimes you realize that the bank investors sell fantasies. Things that are not real. That is a reason why too many banks have problems. The products they have are based on capitalization of stock market. But if it goes down how can they solve the problem?

The great depression originated in the United States in 1930 was due to a stock market crash (Wall Street Crash) on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. It take effects in every economy's country. But those who where too dependent on external exchanges suffer worst situations. The deflation it affects everything.
Too many reach people who have invested in stock market loosed everything.

Getting a loan to buy a car, a house it was very simple and everyone do that, but banks are getting affraid.

So once again GB offers money for real primary needed things and they are completely out of that game of stock market. When you invest on stock market it is a risk that you take by your own, but banks should stay out of that risk when the money of people is most important. We leave in a society of growing fast. You see moovie stars or people from sports who get reach very fast.

The banks should have ethics principles. The social inaqualities, social injustice originates this situation. One reach man exists because there are many others very poor. The system is based on those financial logic and wage inaqualities and the society tends to favor some entities and forget those who need more.

Science and pseudoscience

2008-12-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

Richard Feinman was a great scientist.
He made use of simple geometry theory's to explain the planets orbits.

What matters to science is not to get a consense. The big issue is to achieve the truth. Only the truth matters and consenses are big enemy of science.

"All truth passes through three stages: first, it is ridiculed; second, it is violently opposed; and third, it is accepted as self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

The failure of Democracy

2008-12-25T15:56:00.000-08:00

"To be governed means to be observed, inspected, watched, directed, legislated, regulated, surrounded, admonished, controlled, evaluated, censured, commanded." Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, founder of the anarchism (1809-1865)
"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried." Winston Churchill (1874-1965).

The theory of giving to people the right to choose their own government is an illusion. You look at all politicians candidates and may say "i don't want any of them". But by the rules theres allways one that will win it. The probability of all people don't vote in any of the candidates is 0,00001%. So this system is a little stupid and dangerous because it have produced Hitler by political propaganda. In nowadays i wonder why german people believe in a monster like that?
People realise that politicians can't solve their problems and their vote it doesn't seem to be important. Politicians only seem to care about people in the moment of campaign. They promise everything but latter they can't do anything.

The most important way to have success in democracy is to have money for political campaign. So if you don't have money it is an unequal fight. It is a matter of power.
Usually people who stands in front of big politicians groups don't have own merit. That is why corruption, embezzlement, favouritism, self-service, abuse of power, and all governmental crimes are allways on the mind of people over politicians. In affrican countries is more evident the corruption.

Long time ago the son of the king was a legitime candidate to govern a kingdom. And nowadays? A son of an old president is a legitime candidate to win a future election? We should walk througth meritocracy. Only those, with merit and proved work should be a deserved candidate to govern their countrie. Our lifes shouldn't be through away in a lottery system.

Have you ever wonder why people vote in some politician candidates? Maybe is because of the face? Maybe is because the way that he or she talks. It is like when whe chose our partner, at the first moment we like this or that characteristic but later we discover that it is a little more complicated. Democracy shouldn't be a matter of face or speach.

Alarmism on global warming

2008-12-25T15:55:00.000-08:00

The earth is burning or is it Al Gore's propaganda? What should matter to science is the thruth and not a global consense. What IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) produced where all theories that are not clearly proved. In science you must prove a theory.

The theory that CO2 produced by human is the big responsabile of global warming is wrong. Most of people don't know what is CO2? It appears when you breathe. Is important for plants. According to this theory you should stop breathing so you can stop CO2.
Why when the mass media talks about CO2 it appears a big chimney with gray or black smoke? That isn't CO2. The CO2 have no color and it isn't poison.

After all, this is a big propaganda of alarmism to put fear in all people. Have you ever wonder that long time ago earth was so cold that it was difficult to live in it? The earth with more warm is a bad thing? I don't think so. In fact earth isn't getting more hot. This remind me the circus quacks and the inquisition in the middle age. Like long time ago, when knowledge where reserved to church and most of the people don't know what was science, when they say to you that the sun turns over the earth, now they are telling you that CO2 is dangerous. What a silly idea.

If the earth is getting more warm certainly is because of the Sun. Science is ignorant about the source of the heat — the Sun. Solar spots (solar cycles), or the change of the angle on the axis of the earth that produces climate changes. If you search carefully the desert of the Saara was green. Because of the change on that angle the sun focus more perpendicularly over that area. So it get more heat. And that's all. The theory of global warming with human cause is egocentric.
The climate changes have allways existed. Earth is not a static being.

The human being is the unic animal that can think that natural storms are produced by god to punish him. All these pseudo-theories are propaganda and demagogy. The main goal of the global consense of IPCC is to legislate new taxes and to prevent poor countries to develope cause with this new taxes, energie gets more expensive.

Don't you think little hypocrit watching Al Gore moving in a V8 motor vehicle to a public conference? Is he a scientist?

If you have any doubts on this theory i advise you to read the book of Marlo Lewis, Jr "Al Gore's Science Fiction - A Skeptic's Guide to An Inconvenient Truth". And also "Global Warming in a Climate of Ignorance", or visit this site "Official pseudoscience".

From Utopia to Reality

2008-12-19T04:26:00.000-08:00

Some of the things and technologies you use today might be the most natural objects. But they where utopic ideas and most of all never thought it could be built.
So utopic is very relative concept.