The effective altruism movement

Peter Singer, invited by the Grífols Foundation, has come to Barcelona to talk to us about the Effective Altruism Movement. A philosophy and social movement which applies evidence and reason to working out the most effective ways to improve the world. Not only helping, but helping others in the most effective way.

Henry Spira defines it best when he says: “I guess basically one wants to feel that one’s life has amounted to more than just consuming products and generating garbage. One likes to look back and think that one’s done the best one can to make this a better place for others. It’s not a sense of duty, but rather tis is what I want to do. I feel best when I am doing it well.

See also www.givinggladly.com and www.givingwhatwecan.com

My father was my hero and my role model

JavierCon estas palabras describía uno de los hijos de Javier a su padre hoy en su funeral. Un discurso sencillo, emotivo, cercano. Sorprendentemente maduro para un chaval de apenas 17 años. Sailesh, sin dejar ni un segundo la sonrisa que le caracteriza, ha narrado con una serenidad casi inexplicable el recuerdo imborrable que deja en él su padre.

Lo confuso y triste que se siente porque su padre no verá crecer a sus hijos, porque no verá cómo son capaces de alzar el vuelo del nido, y vivir una vida independiente. Sailesh nos ha hecho revivir a Javier con su pose, su voz profunda, sus palabras claras y directas. Cuando le he dicho lo mucho que se parece a su padre me ha dicho “es que yo siempre he querido parecerme a él, yo quiero ser como mi padre”.

Nos ha dejado uno de los primeros intérpretes que conocí cuando inicié mi andadura profesional. Una persona a la que jamás vi alterarse por nada y que destacaba por su sonrisa y afabilidad. El intérprete más polivalente, casi podríamos decir, a cualquier idioma, de cualquier idioma, nada le asustaba, parecía que hubiera vivido más vidas que todos nosotros juntos. Y sin embargo jamás le oí hacer alarde de nada. Y eso que, como ha explicado su hermana, su sed de aprender le llevó hasta las mismísimas Antípodas.

Me decía una intérprete, al despedirnos, que Javier vivió con una intensidad serena. Yo diría además que vivió con una serenidad intensa,  combinación a veces difícil de encontrar.

Descansa, Javier. Intentaré seguir todos y cada uno de tus consejos. Me uno al deseo de tu familia, que tengas un feliz último viaje. Vete tranquilo, Javier, tu labor de padre ya ha empezado a dar fruto.

El Meu Pare. Sailesh Guijarro 19 junio 2014

Ocean acidification and warming in the Mediterranean Sea

baixaThe sea is where all life on planet Earth began.

There was a time when the oceans were considered so vast and inexhaustible taht man would never be able to affect them.

But years of overfishing, pollution and hábitat destruction have forever changed that image.

And now, we are even altering the very chemistry of the sea…

150% increase in the acidification in our seas and oceans by the year 2100!

The European Mediterranean Sea Acidification in a changing climate (MedSeA) initiative is a project funded by the European Commission under Framework Program 7.  It involves 22 institutions (including 6 associated partners) from 12 countries.

MedSeA assesses uncertainties, risks and thresholds related to Mediterranean acidification at organismal, ecosystem and economical scales. It also emphasizes conveying the acquired scientific knowledge to a wider audience of reference users, while suggesting policy measures for adaptation and mitigation that will vary from one region to another.

The story of this “our sea”

patín de vela

When I was requested to inaugurate and close the 4th Congress on the Maritime History of the Mediterranean Network, I felt like one of the luckiest women on the planet. A congress in one of my favourite museums? The Maritime Museum of Barcelona? This museum housed, among other temporary exhibitions, one that was dedicated to the sailing Patin, with photographs that closely followed the history of the Catalan Patin from its origins till its most evolved form today. Characteristically, it has neither rudder nor board, those indispensable elements for sailing. Its features make it ideal for plying coastlines.

The congress looked at sailing from another point of view, that of the “big vessels”. We listened to Carlos Martínez Shaw, who with “A Complete History of the Sea and its Shores” delighted the audience in the opening speech with a review of this “Our Sea Mare Nostrum”, giving us the keys to understanding the growth of trade and navigation through time. Truly a pleasure.