ethical Travel: unsolvable paradoxes

 

 As a professor of religion, psychology and culture, I study experiences that lie at the intersection of all three. And in my research on travel, I’m struck by its unsolvable paradoxes: Many of us 

- seek to get away, in order to be present; 

- we speed to destinations, in order to slow down; 

- we may care about the environment, but still leave carbon footprints. 

 

Ultimately, many people hope to return transformed. Travel is often viewed as what anthropologists call a “rite of passage”: structured rituals in which individuals separate themselves from their familiar surroundings, undergo change and return rejuvenated or “reborn.”

meaningful travel is best understood not as a three-stage rite but as a six-phase practice, based on core human experiences. These phases can repeat and overlap within the same journey, just as adventures twist and turn.

 

antecipating

leaving

surrendering

meeting (cultural humility)

caring (solidarity)

returning (disorienting experience)

I believe that reflecting on these six phases can invite the kind of mindfulness needed for transformative, ethical travel. And amid a pandemic, the need for thoughtful travel that prioritizes host communities’ well-being is clear.

 

highest impact in reducing food waste,

Our research identified the three top behaviors with the highest impact in reducing food waste, which are also relatively easy to implement:

• Prepare a weekly meal at home that combines food needing to be used up
• Designate a shelf in the fridge or pantry for foods that need to be used up
• Before cooking a meal, check who in the household will be eating, to ensure the right amount is cooked.

Despite these actions being relatively easy, we found few Australian consumers had a "use it up" shelf in the fridge or pantry, or checked how many household members will be eating before cooking a meal. 

Experts considered a weekly "use-it-up" meal to be the most effective behavior in reducing food waste. Many consumers reported they already did this at home, but there is plenty of opportunity for others to adopt it.

Some consumers are more advanced players who have already included the above behaviors in their usual routines at home. So for those people, our research identified a further three behaviors requiring slightly more effort:

• Conduct an audit of weekly food waste and set reduction goals
• Make a shopping list and stick to it when shopping
• Make a meal plan for the next three to four days.

Our research showed a number of actions which, while worthwhile for many reasons, experts considered less effective at reducing food waste. They were also less likely to be adopted by consumers. The actions included:

• Preserving perishable foods by pickling, saucing or stewing for later use
• Making a stock of any food remains (bones and peels) and freeze for future use
• Buying food from local specialty stores (such as greengrocers and butchers) rather than large supermarkets.

Doing our bit

 

 airborne virus transmission

"properly fitting masks, 

moving our interactions outdoors, 

and improving our indoor air through ventilation upgrades (including easy solutions like 

opening windows and doors) and 

air filtration."

“Canada’s culture of silence on airborne virus transmission leaves many confused on how to best avoid infection” [Toronto Star]. “[M]any of our infectious disease and public health specialists — including our chief medical officers of health — seem to be unable to say the word ‘airborne’ or ‘aerosol’ out loud, and instead continue to emphasize measures such as deep cleaning and plexiglass panels…. Canada’s top public health organization, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), has produced strong, unbiased summaries of the evidence for airborne transmission…. But these summaries are very hard to find. They are not posted publicly, and PHAC has specifically requested that the reviews not be shared. In order to receive a copy, you first have to discover its existence, find the title and email PHAC for a copy. Evidently, our public health leaders have also not seen these documents, as they consistently dismiss the evidence. As such, Canadians remain confused as to the best methods of avoiding transmission. The focus is still on the neverending cleaning of surfaces and putting up splash guards (which are ineffective against airborne particles), instead of using properly fitting masks, moving our interactions outdoors, and improving our indoor air through ventilation upgrades (including easy solutions like opening windows and doors) and air filtration."

crise energética e racionamento

 
Existem duas causas até agora que são as mais prováveis. Uma é a mudança no regime hídrico, particularmente na região do centro-oeste e sudeste com a mudança do clima global. Os modelos de cenários climáticos globais rodados pelo mundo, em centros de pesquisas, indicam que o modelo de chuvas, uma parte no Brasil, vai diminuir com o aumento da temperatura global média. 

E tem um outro fator, desta vez local, que é o desmatamento. Na medida em que aumenta o desmatamento na Amazônia e particularmente no Cerrado há a redução de água chegando nesses reservatórios. No caso da Amazônia os rios voadores.

O que deveria ter sido feito... A única maneira de atuar de forma mais consequente é trabalhar tanto no lado da oferta quanto no lado da demanda. Já deveria ter um programa que incrementasse bastante o aumento de eficiência energética para as pessoas poderem produzir as mesmas coisas com menos energia. E, no caso mais extremo, tem que racionar a energia. 

Por exemplo, o principal consumidor em residências é o ar condicionado, que é extremamente ineficiente no Brasil se comparado com o que tem disponível no mercado e em outros países. Então poderia ter um programa grande para eliminar o ar condicionado ineficiente e forçar a colocação de equipamentos mais eficientes. 

O consumo residencial é importante, porque consome 31% de toda a eletricidade. Depois vem a indústria que hoje gira em torno de 28%. E dentro de indústrias, principalmente nas médias e pequenas indústrias, também podem ter um aumento grande de eficiência.

política de preço do petróleo

"“Muitos especialistas dizem que não é possível calcular o valor do combustível a partir apenas do custo de produção da Petrobras, independentemente do preço internacional, porque a empresa importa barris do Brent e exporta o petróleo retirado do pré-sal, que seria de qualidade inferior”, explica o professor."

 https://www.otempo.com.br/economia/petrobras-poderia-ter-outra-politica-de-precos-especialista-explica-1.2548330#:~:text=%E2%80%9CMuitos%20especialistas%20dizem%20que%20n%C3%A3o%20%C3%A9%20poss%C3%ADvel%20calcular%20o%20valor%20do%20combust%C3%ADvel%20a%20partir%20apenas%20do%20custo%20de%20produ%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20da%20Petrobras%2C%20independentemente%20do%20pre%C3%A7o%20internacional