Weekly Round up: Of conspiracy theories,pollution and luxury cars

In a busy week of amazing stories flitting across our screen, we’ve found it incredibly hard to cut them down to something manageable for you. So we’ve gone with our ancient principle: these are not the ones you could do with reading, there the one’s you shouldn’t do without.

Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? It’s probably the overarching problem of our times. Our indefatigable correspondednt Mr Peter Seymour of Hertfordshire wants you to look at the following piece by Will Bedingfield in Wired. It’s about Adam Curtis (yes-he of Hypernormalisation fame). Curtis has always been a polymath of eclectic proportions, and we’ll leave you to judge for yourselves. But get this killer quote as a taster:

While researching the film, Curtis interviewed conspiracy theorists in Birmingham, people who believed in “one of the great dream worlds of our time,” the idea that the CIA, Walt Disney and the Illuminati brainwash and control all the major stars. He soon learned that, when pressed, these people didn’t really believe the story. They just loved its epic magical dimensions – an alternative to this “dull, desiccated, grim, utilitarian world.”

Adam Curtis knows why we all keep falling for conspiracy theories | WIRED UK

Fossil Fuels aren’t just killing the planet, they’re killing us– We’ve published one or two pieces already about how fossil fuel pollution may already be affecting our health. So it’s nice to be vindicated by much bigger hitters, in this case Nature and the Guardian. Fossil Fuels are killing 8.7 million yearly. We checked out the hyperlink-it works.

Pollution from burning fossil fuels is responsible for an estimated 8.7 million premature deaths annually — around one in 5 of all deaths worldwide. A fresh analysis, based on data representative of conditions in 2018, looked at dangerous airborne particles produced by fossil fuels — especially coal, petrol and diesel. The findings double previous estimates of deaths from fine-particle pollution, despite fine-tuning the estimate to exclude dust and wildfire smoke. “We were initially very hesitant when we obtained the results because they are astounding,” says geographer Eloise Marais. “Some governments have carbon-neutral goals but maybe we need to move them forward given the huge damage to public health. We need much more urgency.”The Guardian | 5 min read
Reference: Environmental Research paper

Credit: many years ago, a wise man called Mr John Read of Berkshire pointed out that whatever its climatic effects . “CO₂ was still pollution”. A lesson we have never forgotten

Workaholics-the road to perdition No one can fault the work ethic-but surely you’ve come across a workaholic at some time? You know-they put in 18 hour days six or seven days a week, Their talk, their presence, their life is work, work, work. Managers often look favourably on this type, so they tend to drag down everyone else with them. However, it’s not all beer and skittles, even for the most manic of them, as this article in the Conversation by Professor Teena J Clouston shows.

Work addiction can be harmful to mental health (theconversation.com)

And Finally-Our weekly round up for those who haven’t quite got everything yet

How would you like a car that is, in the words of Autocar “unsurpassed mechanical refinement and rolling comfort…..superb drivability.” Well a Rolls Royce Phantom can be yours for £360 000. We link their review below. Warning; we once spoke with a man who owned one, who opined “wherever youn decide to drive it, you must budget for at least one fuel stop to fill it up.” And more often than not, he only went as far as the village shop!

Rolls-Royce Phantom Review (2021) | Autocar

#conspiracytheories #technocrats #pollution #carbondioxide #globalwarming #rollsroyce #workaholic #obsession