Category Archives: One World

Genetics, One World, Philosophy

Climate crisis and cognitive dissonance

There is an interesting twitter thread by @Psychologists4F about news concerning the climate crisis and how we respond to the cognitive dissonance – the mental discomfort or psychological stress experienced by a person who holds contradictory beliefs or values. There are at least four possibilities how to respond to it

  • Change the behavior (“reduce, refine, replace”)
  • Changing the conflicting situation by just ignoring it
  • Justify own behavior by pseudoexplanations, pointing to others
  • Deny information by devalueing the source

During the discussion the question was asked why the political right wing tends to ignore the dissonance. One commentator points towards a study in Current Biology that may have answer to that. Continue reading Climate crisis and cognitive dissonance →

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf 4.10.2019, access 18.10.2025
One World, Philosophy

Eine unwissenschaftliche Wissenschaftsgläubigkeit

Sascha Lobo hat ein gutes Beispiel heute gebracht

Eine der häufigsten Formen der Greta-Skepsis aber findet sich bei … Angela Merkel. Sie sprach auf der Uno-Klimakonferenz in New York ein leicht vergiftetes Lob aus, weil in Gretas Rede “aus meiner Sicht nicht ausreichend zum Ausdruck kam, in welcher Weise Technologie, Innovation gerade im Energiebereich, aber auch im Energieeinsparbereich uns Möglichkeiten eröffnet, die Ziele zu erreichen.” … Es ist die Hoffnung, dass eine Technologie der Zukunft die Probleme von heute auf beinahe magisch-mystische Weise lösen werde. Es grenzt an die “Dunkle Technikhörigkeit der Ahnungslosen”, nur dass hier die Akteure sogar Ahnung haben. … Damit steht sie für eine ganze Denkschule.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf 2.10.2019, access 18.10.2025
Genetics, One World

The biggest problem

The biggest (scientific) problem currently for survival on earth?

The are many more interactive maps at the United Nations website.  And there is a new document out

Ten Key Findings
Citation: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019: Ten Key Findings.

Nine countries will make up more than half the projected population growth between now and 2050: The largest increases in population between 2019 and 2050 will take place in: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt and the United States of America (in descending order of the expected increase).

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf 18.06.2019, access 18.10.2025
One World

Conference on Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Munich 2019

I have been attending the “Conference on Tropical Medicine and Global Health” here in Munich where I am was particular impressed by the policy talks in the plenary session.

17 Goals to Transform Our World

This includes the talk by Achim Hoerauf who talked about the UN declaration of sustainable goals but also the 5th progress report of the London Declaration about the neglected tropical diseases (that has not been signed by Germany for whatever reasons). The latter has some numbers to celebrate.

Human African trypanosomiasis
In 2016, only 2,184 cases of sleeping sickness were reported worldwide, down from 6,747 in 2011.
Trachoma
Five countries have been validated by WHO as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem: Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mexico (2017), Morocco (2016) and Oman (2012).
Lymphatic filariasis
In 2017, four countries – the Marshall Islands, Thailand, Togo and Tonga – eliminated LF as a public health problem, bringing the total to ten countries (with Cambodia, the Cook Islands, Maldives, Niue, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu).
Guinea worm disease
Guinea worm disease, which 30 years ago afflicted more than 3 million people in 20 countries, is on the brink of eradication, with just 26 cases in two countries.
Onchocerciasis
Onchocerciasis has been eliminated in nearly all of the Americas. Colombia (2013), Ecuador (2014), Guatemala (2016) and Mexico (2015) have been validated as ‘onchocerciasis-free’.

 

CC-BY-NC Science Surf 6.04.2019, access 18.10.2025