“Felicidade sustentável”

Só teremos um modelo de desenvolvimento sustentável, se houver ampla reflexão sobre a felicidade e do que precisamos para sermos felizes. A maioria dos cientistas e dos indicadores nos mostra que o atual modelo de desenvolvimento está esgotando os recursos naturais, aquecendo o planeta, dizimando a biodiversidade, derrubando nossas florestas, transformando terras férteis em desertos, poluindo o ar e as águas, aumentando a desigualdade, incentivando o desemprego e os empregos precários, fomentando a competição e a violência, solapando a democracia e a confiança nas instituições e nos governos e piorando a qualidade de vida, no campo e nas cidades.

　

Foi vendida a ideia de que o caminho da felicidade passa pelo consumo, pela aquisição da roupa de grife, do carro do ano, do último modelo de celular ou do eletrodoméstico. É o consumo e o acúmulo de bens sem limites e nunca saciados que propulsionam esse modelo suicida de desenvolvimento.

　

A Rede Nossa São Paulo desenvolveu o Irbem (Indicadores de Referência de Bem-Estar nos Municípios) para avaliar a qualidade de vida nas cidades. Para montar os indicadores, perguntou aos habitantes quais seriam os itens importantes para sua qualidade de vida. A maioria respondeu que a felicidade é ter uma boa, carinhosa e fraterna convivência com a família, os amigos e a comunidade; uma relação amorosa saudável; equilíbrio entre trabalho e vida pessoal; acesso à educação e transporte público de qualidade; proximidade da natureza; frequentar cinema, espetáculos, teatros e museus; hospital e posto de saúde perto de casa; melhor convivência com animais; vida espiritual rica; prática de atividades físicas; ações comunitárias e a chance de viver numa sociedade solidária e segura.

 

 

　

É claro que condições materiais razoáveis de vida são importantes, e é fundamental que as políticas públicas objetivem proporcionar essa realidade para todos. Mas centrar a felicidade no consumo e no acúmulo de bens é insustentável. Ao olhar todos os apelos que hoje relacionam consumo à felicidade, é de se perguntar: como fizeram antigas gerações, antes de todas essas invenções, para serem felizes? Como fazem as pessoas sem carros ou sem últimos modelos para serem felizes? Por que muitas pessoas que têm todos esses bens são infelizes?

　

Em vez de promovermos investimentos e empregos em atividades artísticas, culturais e educacionais que favoreçam a saúde e o bem-estar; apoiem idosos, pessoas com deficiência, crianças e populações menos favorecidas; priorizem o transporte público de qualidade; preservem a natureza e apostem na pesquisa médica e no desenvolvimento de energias sustentáveis, concentramos nossos esforços em produzir bens de consumo que rapidamente tornamos obsoletos para podermos, enfim, consumir suas novas versões.

　

Só teremos um modelo de desenvolvimento sustentável que preserve o planeta, reduza a desigualdade e promova a paz, a solidariedade e a qualidade de vida das pessoas e das futuras gerações, se houver uma ampla reflexão pessoal e coletiva sobre a felicidade, sobre o que realmente precisamos para sermos felizes. E se essa reflexão pautar a vida das pessoas, empresas, instituições e governos.

 

　

　

Fonte: envolverde.com.br / Folha de S. Paulo / mercadoetico.com.br

 

 

 

 

 

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EL ELEGIDO: El Papa Francisco es la Persona del Año 2013 de TIME

Hubo una vez un niño tan dócil y modesto que le otorgaron una medalla por ser "El más humilde". Al día siguiente se la quitaron por haberla usado. Así termina la lección.

¿Cómo uno practica la humildad desde el trono más glorificado de la Tierra? Pocas veces un nuevo actor en el escenario mundial ha captado tanta atención tan rápido –de jóvenes y viejos, creyentes y cínicos– como lo ha hecho el Papa Francisco.

　

En sus nueve meses en el trono, Francisco se ha puesto en el centro mismo de las principales conversaciones de nuestra época: sobre riqueza y pobreza, imparcialidad y justicia, transparencia, modernidad, globalización, el rol de la mujer, la naturaleza del matrimonio, las tentaciones del poder.

　

En un tiempo en que los límites del liderazgo son puestos a prueba en tantos lugares, llega un hombre –sin ejército ni armas, sin un reino más allá de un pequeño pedazo de tierra en el centro de Roma, pero con el enorme respaldo de la riqueza y el peso de la historia– para plantear un desafío. El mundo se está haciendo más pequeño; las voces individuales se escuchan cada vez más fuertes; la tecnología hace que la virtud se vuelva viral, por lo que el púlpito de Francisco es visible hasta el confín de la Tierra. Cuando besa la cara de un hombre desfigurado o lava los pies de una mujer musulmana, la imagen resuena mucho más allá de los límites de la Iglesia Católica.

　

Los escépticos apuntarán a los obstáculos que enfrenta Francisco para lograr algo concreto, más allá de hacer que los creyentes menos fervientes se sientan mejor acerca del tono más moderado de Roma y libres a la vez de ignorar las cuestiones más sustanciales. La Iglesia Católica es una de las instituciones más antiguas, grandes y ricas del mundo, con 1.200 millones de fieles, y el cambio no es algo natural en ella. En su mejor versión, la Iglesia inspira e instruye, ayuda y sana, y llama a los fieles a escuchar a sus ángeles más benévolos. Pero se ha visto debilitada a nivel mundial por escándalos, corrupción, la escasez de sacerdotes y la competencia, especialmente en los fértiles campos misionarios del hemisferio sur, de rivales evangélicos y pentecostales. En algunos lugares, la enseñanza de doctrinas centrales sobre el divorcio y los anticonceptivos es ampliamente ignorada y la ortodoxia es ridiculizada por obsoleta. Los burócratas y el clero del Vaticano son acusados de disputas internas, corrupción, chantaje y una obsesión con "reglas mezquinas", como sostiene Francisco, en lugar de las enormes posibilidades de gracia. No sólo prediquen, escuchen, dice. No reprendan, sanen.

　

Y sin embargo, en menos de un año, ha hecho algo notable: no cambió las palabras, pero cambió la música. El tono y temperamento pesan en una iglesia construida sobre la sustancia de los símbolos —pan y vino, cuerpo y sangre—, y por lo tanto es un error desestimar las elecciones simbólicas de cualquier Papa como gestos que carecen de la fuerza de la ley. Publicó su primera exhortación apostólica, un ataque a "la idolatría del dinero", justo cuando los estadounidenses celebraban el Día de Acción de Gracias y evaluaban si pasar este feriado, establecido para la gratitud, en los centros comerciales. Este es un hombre que maneja muy bien los tiempos. Que no vive en el palacio papal rodeado de cortesanos sino que en una austera residencia con peregrinos. Reza todo el tiempo, incluso cuando espera a que lo atienda el dentista. Sacó de circulación el Mercedes papal y lo reemplazó por un Ford Focus con algunos rasguños. No usa zapatos rojos ni sotanas lujosas, lleva en el cuello una cruz de hierro en lugar de una de oro. Cuando rechaza la pompa y los privilegios, revela por primera vez las finanzas del Vaticano, reprende a un arzobispo alemán por derrochador, llama por teléfono a desconocidos en apuros, y ofrece bautizar al bebé de una mujer divorciada cuyo amante casado quería que abortara, está haciendo más que convertirse en un ejemplo de compasión y transparencia. Está aceptando la complejidad y admitiendo el riesgo de que una iglesia obsesionada con sus propios derechos y su virtud puede provocar más heridas de las que sana. Cuando se le pregunta por qué no parece interesado en librar una guerra cultural, hace referencia al campo de batalla. La Iglesia es un hospital de campaña, dice. Nuestro primer deber es asistir a los heridos. Uno no le pregunta a un hombre que está sangrando cuál es su nivel de colesterol.

　

Este foco en la compasión, junto a un aura general de alegría no siempre asociada a los príncipes de la Iglesia, ha hecho de Francisco una especie de estrella de rock. Más de 3 millones de personas llegaron a la playa de Copacabana en Río de Janeiro el pasado julio para verlo, las multitudes en la Plaza de San Pedro están eufóricas y los souvenir se venden en números récord. Francesco es el nombre masculino más popular entre los bebés en Italia. Las iglesias reportan un "efecto Francisco" de católicos no practicantes que han regresado a misa y han vuelto a confesarse, aunque las anécdotas no son sustituto para la evidencia y los sondeos entre católicos estadounidenses muestran hasta ahora pocos cambios en la práctica. Pero la fascinación con Francisco, incluso más allá del círculo católico, le brinda una oportunidad que nunca tuvo su antecesor, Benedicto XVI: magnificar el mensaje de la Iglesia y su poder para hacer el bien.

　

La buena acogida de la prensa laica lo vuelve sospechoso entre los tradicionalistas, quienes temen que compra popularidad pagando el precio de una fe diluida. Ha usado hábilmente la fascinación de los medios para llamar la atención sobre muchos temas, desde sus plegarias por la paz en Siria hasta su punzante ataque a la economía del goteo, lo que inspiró a Jesse Jackson a compararlo con Martin Luther King y a Rush Limbaugh a preguntar si es marxista. Cuando uno es una celebridad en los medios, cada palabra pronunciada es analizada minuciosamente, como lo es lo que se elige no decir. ¿Por qué no se ha referido con más detalle sobre el escándalo de los abusos sexuales cometidos por sacerdotes?, preguntan los partidarios de las víctimas. (Este mes, estableció una comisión para abordar el abuso de niños por parte de sacerdotes). ¿Por qué no habla más de la santidad de la vida?, preguntan los tradicionalistas, quienes observan que en su exhortación el aborto sólo fue mencionado una vez, mientras que la misericordia apareció en 32 oportunidades. Francisco ratifica las enseñanzas tradicionales sobre la sexualidad y a la vez advierte que distraen a la Iglesia. Ataca a los sacerdotes que se niegan a bautizar a los niños de madres solteras por practicar un "riguroso e hipócrita neo-clericalismo". Declara que Dios "nos ha redimido a todos… no sólo a los católicos. A todos, también a los ateos". Posa con activistas medioambientales mostrando una camiseta que condena el fracking, y llama a los políticos y líderes empresariales a ser "protectores de la creación".

　

Nada de esto vuelve liberal a Francisco, quien también afirma que un cuerpo de sacerdotes exclusivamente masculino no está en discusión, como tampoco el aborto, ni la definición del matrimonio. Pero su enfoque en los pobres –y el hecho de que el 0,1% de las personas más ricas del mundo controla el 81% de la riqueza– irrita a los que defienden el capitalismo como el programa antipobreza más exitoso de la historia. Se podría argumentar que es Teddy Roosevelt protegiendo al capitalismo de sus propios excesos, o simplemente dice lo que sus antecesores han dicho: que Jesús nos llama a preocuparnos por los que menos tienen —aunque lo dice de un modo que hace que la gente lo escuche de manera diferente—. Y eso puede ser especialmente importante cuando lo dice el primer Papa del Nuevo Mundo. Hace un siglo, la mayoría de los católicos vivía en Europa; hoy menos de un cuarto reside allí, y cómo sea escuchado en los países donde ser gay es un crimen y las mujeres en puestos de liderazgo una herejía podría tener el poder de transformar culturas en las que el catolicismo es una fuerza en alza y potencialmente liberadora.

　

Por estos días es estimulante escuchar a un líder decir cualquier cosa que moleste a alguien. Hoy, liberales y conservadores enfrentan por igual una elección cuando escuchan a una nueva voz de la conciencia: qué es más importante, ¿que este líder carismático dice cosas que ellos creen que es necesario decir o que también dice otras que preferirían no escuchar?

　

El corazón es un músculo fuerte y Francisco propone un riguroso régimen de ejercicio. En un período muy breve, una audiencia amplia, global y ecuménica ha mostrado ansias de seguirlo. Por haber trasladado el pontificado del palacio a las calles, comprometer a la mayor religión del mundo a enfrentar sus necesidades más profundas y equilibrar el juicio con la misericordia, el Papa Francisco es la Persona del Año 2013 de TIME.

Fonte: time.com

 

 

 

 

 

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Garrafas PET são usadas para fabricar remédios contra fungos

Uma parceria entre o Instituto de Bioengenharia e Nanotecnologia de Singapura e um grupo de pesquisadores da IBM resultou num novo método que transforma as garrafas PET recicladas num eficiente remédio contra os fungos. Batizadas de "polímeros ninja", as estruturas são extraídas diretamente dos resíduos e conseguem eliminar em quase 100% determinados fungos responsáveis por algumas infecções.

Utilizando as nanofibras de PET nos laboratórios, os cientistas conseguiram eliminar 99,9% das colônias dos fungos Candida Albicans, causadores da candidíase, uma das infecções sanguíneas mais comuns nos humanos. Depois da utilização, os "polímeros ninja" se desfazem naturalmente – além de serem biodegradáveis, também não carregam toxinas.

De acordo com a INFO, com a expectativa do sucesso no tratamento da doença, os pesquisadores também esperam utilizar as nanofibras para a fabricação de cremes dentais, desodorantes e outros produtos de higiene pessoal, eliminando as suspeitas de contaminação pelos fungos de maneira eficiente e sustentável.

Depois da coleta das garrafas PET usadas, os cientistas as levaram aos laboratórios, processando os resíduos para obter os agentes de desinfecção. Invisíveis a olho nu, as nanofibras retiradas dos polímeros atuam cumprindo uma função semelhante à do velcro, que se afixa às membranas das células por meio da energia eletrostática, retirando os invasores.

A pesquisa surgiu não apenas com o intuito de reciclar mais garrafas PET, mas, principalmente, com o objetivo de desenvolver novas maneiras de combater as infecções resistentes aos medicamentos tradicionais. Assim, enquanto os polímeros se afixam nas membranas das células para destruir os fungos, as substâncias dos remédios convencionais encontram dificuldades até mesmo para se aproximar dos invasores.

　

　

Fonte: info.abril.com.br / ciclovivo

 

 

 

 

 

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Remarks by President Obama at Memorial Service for Former South African President Nelson Mandela

First National Bank Stadium
Johannesburg, South Africa

1:31 P.M. SAST

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. To Graça Machel and the Mandela family; to President Zuma and members of the government; to heads of states and government, past and present; distinguished guests -- it is a singular honor to be with you today, to celebrate a life like no other. To the people of South Africa -- (applause) -- people of every race and walk of life -- the world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us. His struggle was your struggle. His triumph was your triumph. Your dignity and your hope found expression in his life. And your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy.

It is hard to eulogize any man -- to capture in words not just the facts and the dates that make a life, but the essential truth of a person -- their private joys and sorrows; the quiet moments and unique qualities that illuminate someone’s soul. How much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.

Born during World War I, far from the corridors of power, a boy raised herding cattle and tutored by the elders of his Thembu tribe, Madiba would emerge as the last great liberator of the 20th century. Like Gandhi, he would lead a resistance movement -- a movement that at its start had little prospect for success. Like Dr. King, he would give potent voice to the claims of the oppressed and the moral necessity of racial justice. He would endure a brutal imprisonment that began in the time of Kennedy and Khrushchev, and reached the final days of the Cold War. Emerging from prison, without the force of arms, he would -- like Abraham Lincoln -- hold his country together when it threatened to break apart. And like America’s Founding Fathers, he would erect a constitutional order to preserve freedom for future generations -- a commitment to democracy and rule of law ratified not only by his election, but by his willingness to step down from power after only one term.

Given the sweep of his life, the scope of his accomplishments, the adoration that he so rightly earned, it’s tempting I think to remember Nelson Mandela as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affairs of lesser men. But Madiba himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. (Applause.) Instead, Madiba insisted on sharing with us his doubts and his fears; his miscalculations along with his victories. "I am not a saint," he said, "unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying."

It was precisely because he could admit to imperfection -- because he could be so full of good humor, even mischief, despite the heavy burdens he carried -- that we loved him so. He was not a bust made of marble; he was a man of flesh and blood -- a son and a husband, a father and a friend. And that’s why we learned so much from him, and that’s why we can learn from him still. For nothing he achieved was inevitable. In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness, and persistence and faith. He tells us what is possible not just in the pages of history books, but in our own lives as well.

Mandela showed us the power of action; of taking risks on behalf of our ideals. Perhaps Madiba was right that he inherited, "a proud rebelliousness, a stubborn sense of fairness" from his father. And we know he shared with millions of black and colored South Africans the anger born of, "a thousand slights, a thousand indignities, a thousand unremembered moments…a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people," he said.

But like other early giants of the ANC -- the Sisulus and Tambos -- Madiba disciplined his anger and channeled his desire to fight into organization, and platforms, and strategies for action, so men and women could stand up for their God-given dignity. Moreover, he accepted the consequences of his actions, knowing that standing up to powerful interests and injustice carries a price. "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I’ve cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and [with] equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." (Applause.)

Mandela taught us the power of action, but he also taught us the power of ideas; the importance of reason and arguments; the need to study not only those who you agree with, but also those who you don’t agree with. He understood that ideas cannot be contained by prison walls, or extinguished by a sniper’s bullet. He turned his trial into an indictment of apartheid because of his eloquence and his passion, but also because of his training as an advocate. He used decades in prison to sharpen his arguments, but also to spread his thirst for knowledge to others in the movement. And he learned the language and the customs of his oppressor so that one day he might better convey to them how their own freedom depend upon his. (Applause.)

Mandela demonstrated that action and ideas are not enough. No matter how right, they must be chiseled into law and institutions. He was practical, testing his beliefs against the hard surface of circumstance and history. On core principles he was unyielding, which is why he could rebuff offers of unconditional release, reminding the Apartheid regime that "prisoners cannot enter into contracts."

But as he showed in painstaking negotiations to transfer power and draft new laws, he was not afraid to compromise for the sake of a larger goal. And because he was not only a leader of a movement but a skillful politician, the Constitution that emerged was worthy of this multiracial democracy, true to his vision of laws that protect minority as well as majority rights, and the precious freedoms of every South African.

And finally, Mandela understood the ties that bind the human spirit. There is a word in South Africa -- Ubuntu -- (applause) -- a word that captures Mandela’s greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that are invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.

We can never know how much of this sense was innate in him, or how much was shaped in a dark and solitary cell. But we remember the gestures, large and small -- introducing his jailers as honored guests at his inauguration; taking a pitch in a Springbok uniform; turning his family’s heartbreak into a call to confront HIV/AIDS -- that revealed the depth of his empathy and his understanding. He not only embodied Ubuntu, he taught millions to find that truth within themselves.

It took a man like Madiba to free not just the prisoner, but the jailer as well -- (applause) -- to show that you must trust others so that they may trust you; to teach that reconciliation is not a matter of ignoring a cruel past, but a means of confronting it with inclusion and generosity and truth. He changed laws, but he also changed hearts.

For the people of South Africa, for those he inspired around the globe, Madiba’s passing is rightly a time of mourning, and a time to celebrate a heroic life. But I believe it should also prompt in each of us a time for self-reflection. With honesty, regardless of our station or our circumstance, we must ask: How well have I applied his lessons in my own life? It’s a question I ask myself, as a man and as a President.

We know that, like South Africa, the United States had to overcome centuries of racial subjugation. As was true here, it took sacrifice -- the sacrifice of countless people, known and unknown, to see the dawn of a new day. Michelle and I are beneficiaries of that struggle. (Applause.) But in America, and in South Africa, and in countries all around the globe, we cannot allow our progress to cloud the fact that our work is not yet done.

The struggles that follow the victory of formal equality or universal franchise may not be as filled with drama and moral clarity as those that came before, but they are no less important. For around the world today, we still see children suffering from hunger and disease. We still see run-down schools. We still see young people without prospects for the future. Around the world today, men and women are still imprisoned for their political beliefs, and are still persecuted for what they look like, and how they worship, and who they love. That is happening today. (Applause.)

And so we, too, must act on behalf of justice. We, too, must act on behalf of peace. There are too many people who happily embrace Madiba’s legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality. There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people. (Applause.) And there are too many of us on the sidelines, comfortable in complacency or cynicism when our voices must be heard.

The questions we face today -- how to promote equality and justice; how to uphold freedom and human rights; how to end conflict and sectarian war -- these things do not have easy answers. But there were no easy answers in front of that child born in World War I. Nelson Mandela reminds us that it always seems impossible until it is done. South Africa shows that is true. South Africa shows we can change, that we can choose a world defined not by our differences, but by our common hopes. We can choose a world defined not by conflict, but by peace and justice and opportunity.

We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. But let me say to the young people of Africa and the young people around the world -- you, too, can make his life’s work your own. Over 30 years ago, while still a student, I learned of Nelson Mandela and the struggles taking place in this beautiful land, and it stirred something in me. It woke me up to my responsibilities to others and to myself, and it set me on an improbable journey that finds me here today. And while I will always fall short of Madiba’s example, he makes me want to be a better man. (Applause.) He speaks to what’s best inside us.

After this great liberator is laid to rest, and when we have returned to our cities and villages and rejoined our daily routines, let us search for his strength. Let us search for his largeness of spirit somewhere inside of ourselves. And when the night grows dark, when injustice weighs heavy on our hearts, when our best-laid plans seem beyond our reach, let us think of Madiba and the words that brought him comfort within the four walls of his cell: "It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."

What a magnificent soul it was. We will miss him deeply. May God bless the memory of Nelson Mandela. May God bless the people of South Africa. (Applause.)

END
1:50 P.M. SAST

 

 

Fonte: whitehouse.gov

 

 

 

 

 

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