The Monday Mix (06/09/2021)
Hi friends,
It was only yesterday I realised I hadn’t sent out my reading list for August. I’ll get that sent over on Wednesday. I’m in Spain for a week starting in Sunday, but I still aim to send a few pieces out and this newsletter too.
It will be interesting to travel after so long and get o experience somewhere other than England!
Here’s what I want to share with you this week
Airline Emissions
As I’m getting on a plane for the first time in two years next week, I thought it would be timely and interesting to share this piece on airline emissions.
If we’re to make a dent in our emissions, we’re going to have to tackle the aviation industry. But it’s a tricky one to decarbonise for a myriad of reasons.
This article presents six problems the industry must solve if it’s to decarbonise.
Have You Ever Tried To Sell a Diamond?
An old, but fantastic article on the diamond industry. I don’t know much about the industry, but I’ve been aware for a while it’s an almost artificial market.
This article helped shine a light on some of the murkier aspects of the trade. Even though it was written in the 80s, I doubt much has changed since then.
Which says a lot about our and societies priorities.
Social Media Is A Scam
I might have shared this article before, but I read it again recently and have to send it out once more. The article is by Adam Curtis, my favourite documentary maker and his premise is hard to argue with.
Except for a few pockets of Twitter and the ability to connect and stay in touch with friends on Facebook, social media is effectively one big outrage generating machine.
The whole edifice is held together by the collective otrage we all feel as we scroll through the apps. The likes and retweets fuel this and it all keeps moving in a perpetual cycle.
Will we be rid of social media one day? Unlikely, but it’s hard to argue we wouldn’t be better off without it.
Book I’m reading - Rollercoaster Europe 1950-2017
Man, this book is big! I’m nearly done with it, but it’s taken me much longer to read than I thought. Still, it’s a fantastic book and a great guide to postwar Europe.
Quote I’m pondering: “The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free.” - Baruch Spinoza
That’s all for this week.
Until next time,
Tom