Tag: bbc

Could right now be the most influential time ever?

Could right now be the most influential time ever? Richard Fisher looks at the case for and against – and why it matters.

What is the best word to describe our present moment? You might be tempted to reach for “unprecedented”, or perhaps “extraordinary”.

But here’s another adjective for our times that you may not have heard before: “hingey”.

It may not be a particularly elegant term, but it describes a potentially profound idea: that we may be living through the most influential period of time ever. And it’s about far more than the Covid-19 pandemic and politics of 2020. Leading philosophers and researchers are debating whether the events that occur in our century could shape the fate of our species over the next thousands if not millions of years. The “hinge of history” hypothesis proposes that we are, right now, at a turning point.

Is this really plausible?

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200923-the-hinge-of-history-long-termism-and-existential-risk

Presented by Romano Pisciotti

Pope Francis has been photographed in the Vatican holding a sign calling for Argentine-UK talks about the Falkland Islands, called Malvinas in Argentina.

The pontiff is from Argentina. He received the sign from Gustavo Hoyo, leader of a campaign for dialogue on the islands, during a papal audience.

Pope with the message
Pope with the message

 

A senior Vatican official told the BBC that Pope Francis “did not know and did not realise what was written on it”.
In 1982 UK forces defeated Argentine troops, who had invaded the Falklands.
The war left Argentina and the UK still disputing the islands’ sovereignty – but a UN resolution has called for dialogue to reach a settlement.
The sign held by the Pope on Wednesday said: “It’s time for dialogue between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands.” *

*(Malvinas)

 

Romano Pisciotti, surfing web

 

L’allarme della BBC: “Così il cambiamento climatico sta estinguendo le piante di caffè”

Il caffè potrebbe finire. A rivelarlo è uno studio scientifico, riportato dalla BBC, che prova a fare una proiezione su quante piantagioni di caffè resteranno al mondo entro metà secolo.

Secondo gli esperti, a causa del riscaldamento globale, entro il 2050 saranno dimezzati i terreni dedicati alla coltura del caffé di qualità Arabica che rappresenta il 70% del caffé prodotto nel mondo.

Oggi vengono bevute 2 miliardi di tazzine di caffé al giorno, un ritmo che presto diventerà insostenibile per la scarsità di chicchi. La testata britannica cita i dati provenienti dalle colture dell’America Centrale, dove nel 2013 un’epidemia di parassiti ha fatto calare il raccolto del 20%. Un altro dato preoccupante arriva dalla Tanzania, invece, negli ultimi 50 anni ogni ettaro ha prodotto sempre meno caffé: dai 500 chili ai 300, e questo per il riscaldamento globale.

Romano Pisciotti surfing web