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On Being a Possibilist

My husband is reading the book “Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think” by Hans Rosling. Rosling was a Swedish M.D. who spent years in Africa, turned to public health, and became a tireless educator, teaching the world about public health statistics. The basic premise of the book is that health, infant mortality, female education, and life expectancy have dramatically improved throughout the world. He shows how it no longer fits the facts to talk about a gap between the rich and the poor in the world -- most people are now in the middle. You can watch many of his TED Talks here. 

 

Rosling said that he was accused of being an optimist. He vehemently disagreed. Instead, he called himself a “possibilist.” In a world where there is much negative and triggering news, it can be hard to notice the bright side or to believe that we are making improvements and progress as a human race.  

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Seaspiracy

Have you had a chance to watch the new documentary on Netflix called Seaspiracy? It is an absolutely shocking look at what is happening to our fish populations and our oceans.

When I finished it, I felt truly gutted. Scientists are saying that by the year 2050 our oceans will have run out of fish. The biggest reason is that industrialized fishing is destroying our seas. 

We now have these giant, trawling fishing nets that not only capture the fish that people eat, they also capture tons and tons of bycatch. Bycatch are animals such as marine sea mammals, sea turtles, sea birds, dolphins, and sharks. These fish are usually thrown back into the sea dead or dying. According to some estimates, global bycatch may amount to 40 percent of the world's catch, totaling 63 billions pounds per year

Even tinned fish brands with "Dolphin Safe" labels are actually not safe or sustainable at all for dolphins, or other animals. It turns out there is no real way to stop the bycatch practice...

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