#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #TexasWeather #Earth #Warming
Who would have thought that South Texas, and other parts of the Deep South, would see devastating snow and bitter cold.
But it did this past week. Experts say a polar vortex over the Arctic was hit by a wave, and landed over the southern U.S.
And, these areas don’t have the equipment to deal with snow and cold. Mostly, it’s just wait for the melt and hope it comes soon.
Climate change has been called global warming, because Earth has been steadily warming for many years.
But that does not mean that every place is getting “warmer.”
It means that weather patterns are changing, with storms and other devastating atmospheric incidents becoming more frequent and more severe.
Consider it as changing a chemical mixture over time in the atmosphere, and making it more volatile.
Yes, the earth is warming, but it’s causing all kinds of problems – not necessarily universally higher temperatures.
Many have called global warming a hoax. But if you live in a place that has gotten snowy, frigid weather when it NEVER sees that kind of weather, you may want to rethink that position.
Perhaps these areas will not rush out to buy snow management equipment, but they should consider mitigating all eventualities. It had happened before, though not often. Don’t bet that such weather won’t happen again.
Interestingly, we are tackling the problem, perhaps without even knowing it.
As we discussed last week, cleaner forms of energy are competing well in the marketplace with fossil –fueled energy. A global pandemic prompted many people not to travel much, cleaning up the air a bit. We may not be able to completely stop Earth from warming, but we can slow it down.
All these events will hit home eventually to a lot of folks – not just the folks who live where snow and cold unexpectedly hit. Other meteorological phenomenon will strike other places, whether predictably or unexpectedly.
This will make many of us rethink how we live – and/or how we make a living. Most employment situations, given the climate or the pandemic, will change at some time. It’s up to each of us to be ready for change when it comes.
Fortunately, there are many programs out there that allow a person who is willing to look at something different to potentially change his or her financial situation for the better, regardless of what he or she is doing now, and regardless of how the climate or global health changes.
To check out one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, pray that those affected by the recent, unexpected weather recover nicely. Also, let’s hope we can get as many people vaccinated against the coronavirus as possible – and quickly.
Some little things we all can do can mitigate these global changes. Wear a mask. Wash hands frequently. Avoid large crowds until the majority of people are vaccinated. Conserve energy, and look at cleaner ways to heat one’s home, drive a car etc.
The world is changing. It will change whether everyone is on board with it or not. We can’t necessarily solve every problem, but we can do our part to minimize many problems.
Do your part. Try to help others who need you. At the same time, prepare for the future, whether you know what’s coming or not.
Peter
Monthly Archives: February 2021
IS THE END NEAR FOR OIL AND GAS AS FUEL?
#oil #gas #gasoline #coal #fuel
Denmark is phasing out oil and gas extraction from the North Sea by 2050.
The Czech Republic, meanwhile, plans to phase out the use of coal by 2038.
The Associated Press reported these forecasts in two separate articles. They were published Dec. 5, 2020, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Just a few decades ago, these commodities, in some cases, were scarce and expensive.
But over those decades, cleaner, more renewable forms of energy evolved in terms of pricing. In other words, when these clean energy forms were introduced, they were too expensive to compete with fossil fuels, even though fossil fuels are among the worst pollutants in an industrialized world.
Now, the progress with clean and renewable energy has brought the prices to a more competitive level. That has resulted in less use of fossil fuels and more use of clean energy over time.
That has caused the fossil fuel market to price itself downward, perhaps permanently.
When you pile a pandemic on top of that, you have a near collapse of the fossil fuel market.
During the pandemic, businesses were closed or limited, people didn’t drive or travel as much, and that brought a natural decline in fossil fuel use.
Where will this all lead? If you work in the fossil fuel industry, which decades ago paid very well and promised a prosperous future, you need to be concerned.
In fact, ANY legacy industry workers need to be concerned. Almost daily, technological advances punch holes in what many thought were forever businesses.
These changes in energy, and other industries, will produce different kinds of jobs. Are you ready for that, if you work in a legacy industry?
If you haven’t thought much about what your next life will bring, know that there are many programs out there that can produce a potentially lucrative income for anyone, regardless of education, experience or background. The main requirements are that you are coachable and are willing to open your mind to check out something you may have never thought you would do.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, we all need to keep watch on our own jobs, industries and businesses. We have to continue to ask ourselves: will there be a need for this in five years? What other thing could come along, or be invented, to do what we do? Is my company looking to downsize, or otherwise reorganize, to prepare for these changes?
Remember, if you can see trends and changes from where you sit, it won’t be long before your bosses will see them. And, they won’t hesitate to act on them.
The world of employment is changing, not just in the energy sector. Workers cannot expect that someone, or something, will bail them out if they are suddenly put on the street. To complicate matters, you are unlikely to know when you will be put on the street, until you are.
Therefore, it’s best to plan ahead. Have a Plan B in place, ready to go when that day comes, or before. You may smile as you get tossed out of your job, if you plan ahead.
Life as we know it changes by the day. Perhaps we all need to change with it.
Peter
BACK TO THE OFFICE, OR NOT?
#coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #BackToWork
Some may see Jay Foreman as a contrarian.
Foreman, chief executive of the toymaker Basic Fun in Boca Raton, Fla., is telling his workers to come back to the office.
“We have to get over our fears,” Foreman is quoted as saying in a Nov. 16, 2020, article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After all, according to the article, Foreman is paying a lot of money for his space, and making toys is a collaborative endeavor.
Meanwhile, a June survey by accounting and consulting firm PwC found that 72 percent of workers would like to work from home at least two days a week. And, a majority expected to bew able to work from home one day a week, even after the pandemic, the article says.
The pandemic has caused a lot of folks to work from home. Some like it. Others, who have to help educate kids AND work from home, find it quite stressful.
Still others have no ability to work from home. They MUST go to their workplaces to work, period.
If you had the option or ability to work from home, even after it’s deemed safe to return to your workplace, would you want to?
Would you, say, go to the workplace sometimes, and work from home other times?
There are advantages and disadvantages to either choice. First, daily commuting in some places is a real stress inducer. Not only is it frustrating to get stuck in traffic, taking way more time than it should to get to your destination, it wastes a lot of your time – time that could be used for, say, work.
Think also of the money you will ultimately save by not driving to work every day.
Certainly, there is value in interacting with coworkers at the workplace. Workplaces tend to bond people, and valuable friendships are created at work – or after work.
Also, when all children can go back to school safely, some of the stress of working from home will be removed.
In a perfect world, workers would have options. The world isn’t perfect. Some options are not there for everyone.
That begs a question: how can YOU create more options for yourself? What if, regardless of your experience, education or background, you could create more income options for yourself? What if those options can be utilized from home, or out in the world?
There are many programs available to create options for anyone willing to check them out. You just need an open mind, the ability to be coached and a willingness, perhaps, to try something you never thought you would do.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
You probably have pandemic fatigue, and even going back to work sounds like a great idea. Still, until the majority of people are vaccinated, we still have to be careful and wear masks, avoid crowds when able, wash hands frequently and keep one’s distance from others not in your household. That means, perhaps, having fewer people for holiday celebrations.
Also, you can help shorten the pandemic by getting a vaccine when it’s your turn.
You might try using this, more or less, down time to re-evaluate what options you might have. If they are few, look for more. There are many people willing to show them to you.
Or, you can stay stuck in a situation that’s neither healthy nor prosperous. It’s your option.
Peter
THE CLIMB, THE MOUNTAIN, THE GOAL
#TheClimb #goals #mountains #PersonalGrowth
In Miley Cyrus’ song, “The Climb,” she sings that it’s not about how long it takes, or what’s on the other side, it’s about the journey – The Climb.
It’s also been said that a person will get to the top of the mountain, or be dead on the side. But he or she will not go back to the bottom.
It’s also been said that reaching your goal is great, but the journey to get there is what makes it worthwhile.
All these phrases are about growing as a person. If you grow as a person, your dreams and goals will be more easily attained. If you don’t grow as a person, those dreams and goals will be more difficult.
For example, take big lottery winners. If they don’t grow as people, now that they’ve been blessed with good fortune, they’ll eventually be broke again.
Why? They will continue to be themselves, with a lot of extra cash. Think of the 18-year-old left alone with a big inheritance. Would you want your 18-year-old to manage his own money?
Would he or she have the wisdom to make sure that money lasted for his or her life?
Good fortune does not necessarily bring with it personal growth. That has to be honed by the person through learning, good counsel and wisdom. It doesn’t come naturally, in most cases.
Personal growth may require a person to change the people with whom he or she hangs with. Another adage: If you can’t change the people around you, change the people around you. That isn’t to say one abandons his old friends for new ones. But it says that one may not necessarily heed the advice of his or her older friends when it comes to behavior, or the future.
Your old friends may criticize you because you insist on growing as a person. But as one grows, he or she learns to discern good advice, take it and tune out the bad advice.
Your old friends may make you feel bad when you make good choices. Their intention may be to bring you “back to earth,” from whence you came. They not only refuse to choose wisely with you, they tell you why YOU should not choose wisely.
As you grow as a person, you learn that you cannot go back to the bottom of the mountain, where you started.
If you are contemplating a journey to a better place, and are looking for a vehicle to take you, there are a number of programs that will allow you to spend a few, part-time hours a week working on attaining your goals – to help you climb as you continue the life you are living.
To learn about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Meanwhile, even if you are living a content, yet unfulfilling life, you can grow as a person. Learn about things you may have never thought to learn about. Go to things you may have never thought to go to.
“The Climb” says it may not matter what’s on the other side. Avid mountain climbers climb mountains because they are there.
Perhaps it’s more motivating to have something on the other side that you want. Sometimes one has to create a goal to climb for. Others may have something to climb for that they have been told cannot be attained.
No matter your situation, get motivated. That may entail looking at things you may have never thought to look at. The climb is all you. No one will carry you to the top. And, yes, when you get there, you’ll look back on the journey with fondness, and be happy you found what you’ve found along the way.
Peter