My Life on this planet.

We all know climate is changing (although many don't want to acknowledge) and thus recently there was a discussion on the Flemish radio (as in other media) about the environmental cost of tourism. Indeed, planes burn fuel and thus pollute (quite heavily). Still, I think tourism should continue as it brings people together and provides jobs while I think it is less polluting than other industries when correctly used. Low flying plane above Windsor Palace, UK That doesn't mean flying shouldn't be done differently. Short distances can be done by train or bus  that are less polluting while long distances can be made by plane . Indeed, planes (similarly as buses and trains) transport many people at ones and thus may be less polluting per persona than we assume (unless it is a private plane that only transports a few people). This is on condition that airlines stop flying short-distances as start and finish are always the most polluting moments while the in-between are...

It seems something frightening is going on in the USA and elsewhere (if I am allowed to be sarcastic): people start having solar panels, and even some members of the Tea Party are going to use them with the argument it is against centralised policies. Indeed, I also argue in favour of this much better system but of course other parts of the extreme right are against this because it will remove profits from energy companies and thus from the bosses and shareholders. But this is because many of those people are past retirement age and simply can't understand that one can also make profits with renewable energy while it protects the environment and others, including themselves and their family if they don't mind others. Fig. 1 : Windmills (shown) and solar panels, an almost never-ending story of the use of natural resources. I like them. I don't understand why those large energy companies didn't invest more in research into affordable renewable energy so they wou...

The comedian John Cleese criticised social media during the promotion of a new film , I think for some good reasons while he also admitted he used them too as they have many positive advantages. I use social media to stay in contact with family and friends close by home and worldwide and I would not want to miss it anymore, even when I only use these media scarcely. That is one of the main advantages of social media: you can connect very easily with people you want to follow or publish short messages very quickly so friends and family stay informed about you. However, indeed there are excesses whereby some people misuse these media, e.g. bullying and/or spreading rumours about other people, sometimes even driving people towards committing suicide. These excesses can and should be stopped. Some people say that is not possible because there are no specific laws with regard to social media and more in general the internet. However, although I am not a lawyer, I think the exist...

First, the future of meat - Congratulations scientists Two days ago, the first lab-grown meat (beef)burger was eaten. Congratulations Dr Mark Post. Indeed, it may one day be a great help for people who want to reduce the suffering of animals but find it nearly impossible to eat a meal without meat. And although at this moment animals are still needed to get muscle stem cells before we can grow them to large numbers as indeed muscle stem cells have a limited lifetime and thus need replacement after a few months (although the animal doesn't need to be killed because a biopsy is sufficient to get the muscle cells while much less cows are needed to have a very large number of burgers) while blood of unborn cows (FCS = Foetal Calf Serum or FBS = Foetal Bovine Serum with some other factors) is needed to grow them, I am convinced that in future we will find ways of growing the stem cells indefinitely and thus without having to hurt an animal to get the muscle stem...

Terrible what was going on in Egypt. The army ousted the elected President Morsi after a period of heavy protests by people who were against his regime and as a result many people supporting the President were angry their vote is wasted and thus after his removal from power, they protested on the streets against the change that was celebrated (although not by everyone) by those who were in favour he had to leave. Then the army demanded the end of the protests so they would be able to restore order and after opponents didn't stop demonstrating, the army started shooting at demonstrators who were demanding the re-installment of the President, killing many supporters  of the President while the others celebrated the army. Then the new government restored the much hated secret police units (and although restoration of order is important as the absence of order under President Morsi was one of the reasons people protested against him, it is also true tha...

After a cold spring with strong cold winds, we have now in Belgium and other parts of Europe a very hot and dry summer. On Friday, 26/07/2013 we had a record day for this year in Belgium with temperatures above 35°C and a very hot wind. It was fun being at work where there is air-conditioning (although further aiding climate change). At the end of the day, very heavy thunders and lightning were predicted. But it was a beautiful evening (although in the afternoon it seemed as if the weather was changing but the clouds disappeared again) while they came the day after although with not that much rain. Also today was quite a warm day and thunderstorms are predicted but although there were some clouds in the late afternoon, they again disappeared and at this moment there is quite some (cooler) wind but I can still see the stars, thus open air. Dry lightning can cause fires when it touches the ground. Therefore, is it possible that when it is too hot, possible rain evaporates even befo...