Why aren´t we doing anything?

Today we got a really big problem which ought to make the whole world anxious. What I talk about is our problem with the green house effect. Emissions happens so fast that neither human beings nor plants and animals have a chance to adjust to it. We are approximately letting out about 54 million ton carbon dioxide each year, which means about 6 ton per head. A great deal has already been made to prevent the problem to grow bigger than it already has, but why don´t people take the warning signals more serious than they do?

Economy is a determining factor that influences the issue about the green house effect. If people use the energy in a more effective way, it could have good effect on the increasing emissions. But people don´t change their oil boilers to district heating or heat pumps if they don´t have to. People change their heating systems if their oil boilers are broken or if they want a more economic way to heat up their houses.

Travelling is another huge climate crook. But both travelling and transportation are important in our ordinary life. If you live in a big city you can take the bus almost every were you want, but in small cities people often need their cars to manage to go to work and school. You can go together with someone or take the bus, but it takes longer time, so people often choose to take their own cars. We are living in a stressed out society today, and people are trying to do as much as possible in a short time. When it comes to transportation we can buy food from producers in our own town but they are usually more expensive, so most people choose to buy meat and vegetables transported from other countries.

People today are aware of these problems, but in some way it´s easy to shut one´s eyes and go on in the same way we always have done. We are all hit by the consumer mentality and buy a new TV, car, clothes, shoes, furniture and so on without reflecting on what we are doing to our climate. But after all we have started doing some things, like for instance sort our garbage, use low energy bulbs, Freon free refrigerators and freezers. Like we say in Sweden, “a little is better than nothing” but I hope people soon are going to wake up and take their responsibilities and starts taking better care of our earth than we are right now. It would be nice if our children, grand children and children after that could live and enjoy all beautiful life on earth.

Tv, good or bad?

All hours each day you can put on your TV and there is something to see if you want to. I don’t think there are many people who haven’t several TV channels to choose among today. The acts in the TV programs today are also speedier than for a couple of decades ago. If we talk about children program for instance, there are more action and violence in the stories nowadays, and what influences that have on the kids are hard to say. In these days we are used to get feed with new and quick impressions all the time, and get bored easily. We are therefore choosier nowadays about what we like to see.

I remember when I was little, and there were just two TV channels and almost no children program at all. Then the climax of the day was, when the five minutes Tom and Jerry animation began in the Swedish program, Lilla sportspegeln. Another big moment was on Christmas day, when we could see the Donald duck show. I think I nearly longed more to see Donald duck, then for Santa Claus to show up. Now it sounds like I grow up in the 1800 century but it isn’t that far ago.

Today when there are several programs to choose among, I don’t really have time to watch TV, because there are other things I prioritize more on my spare time. But if I watch TV I prefer to see romantic comedies, documentaries, and most of all police series like for instance the Swedish series, Beck and Wallander. The other day I was at the cinema and saw the movie, the girl with the dragon tattoo, by the author Stieg Larsson. It is the first part in an exciting trilogy about the journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. There are murders, excitements, love and hate, with other words the movie got it all! It was the best and most breathtaking movie I seen in years, so now I just long for the continuation that most likely is coming as TV series, and I’m going to see them all!

Although I don’t watch TV that much I think it’s god that we have a large selections of programs to choose among and I wouldn’t like to only have two channels again. As long as our kids don’t watch TV all day long, I don’t think we have to worry. I can also see among the younger that they still like to see one of the old nice movies like e.g. some of the Astrid Lindgren. It feels good that children choose to see some of the old movies to, and not only the new speedy ones. Of course many of the today movies are also good, but according to my opinion, the Astrid Lindgren movies are some of the best who have ever been made for children.

Childhood experience.

Nowadays it can´t be easy growing up. There are choices to make from you get up in the morning until you go to bed in th evening. It´s therefore important for youths to know what they want in life.

I think it was easier to grow up just for a couple of decades ago. There were not so many choices then, as it is today. Both in school and in ordinary life children have to be aware of what they want, because there are a lot to pick and choose among. I think all these choices can create uncertainty among the younger's.

There are also less nuclear families today so you cant´t even be sure of how many siblings you have from year to year. In a class I know, the children got an assignment to stand in different corner's of the room, depending on how many brothers or sisters they have. This exercise was unfortunately not so easy for some of the pupils. All of this have influence on the children and that's why it's so important for us as a teacher and adult to create a good and safety childhood for our youths.

Now I don't mean that everything was better before, but I still believe there were less choices in life. If that's good or bad need to be discussed but if we bring up our children to independent and strong persons, I even think it can be fun to have many different things to take a stand of.