Rejoice

Congratulations are in order. I just read this week that all our improvements in adding nutrients to foods has paid off. For the first time in the world there are more overweight people than underweight people. As incomes rise people can eat more. Another factor is the fact that we have worked out how to add steroids in beef to make them meatier hence lowering the world price ($ per kilo of beef), giving more people access to beef. At the same time we have not pushed vegetables and fruits into the diets.

When did there become more overweight people in the world. For me I felt it happened a little over 8 years ago. I never knew that I was keeping pace with the rest of the world and we all became overweight on the same day. I feel though I am not to blame. My brain is good at telling me that I am hungry and not so good at telling me when I am full.

So now I know I am fat and there is no point to fight it. Just accept it. It is apparent that most other Australians have. When one of my co workers saw that Australians are overweight workaholics she laughed out loud and said I only have met one Australian and that would be the description I would give anyone about Australians. Well, I must admit at the moment I am very busy, so it was a fair representation. Satisfied and unstressed is how I would put it. So if you are feeling stressed I want you think about this poor little doggy, Australia’s most stressed resident.

What's new

Well Tet (Lunar new year) is fast approaching and today I finished teaching which allows me greater time to undertake my research project here. I feel fired up about undertaking this project and have been enthusiastically collecting plenty of reading material (and including some in my classes) and have noticed that climate change is all the rage at the moment.

Well I have come across a few things of late, UN panel on climate change have acknowledged that there is a 90% chance that it is due to human interference. OK, great! So the governments of the world rush into action Australia is mucking around with the idea of emissions trading while according to the economist magazine there is a push in the US to cap emissions.

In my readings however I have come across a model of sustainable development that suggest because of the stocks of existing gases will continue to heat the world even if the emissions stop today. So I guess we should all get used to living how they do in Jakarta lately. Let's hope that things improve for them rapidly.

Well if that doesn't take your fancy maybe this house will make you feel more comfortable.

Probably tough after a serious bout of drinking, though. Well I am not a greeny and going to say that we should cut all greenhouse gas emissions. I just don't want to spend my retirement like the North Poles' most famous resident below.