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Money
18-12-2011
What I just don't get is that so many people miss out on causality. What is actually wrong with the financial sector? Why is it so unsustainable? Lies the problem in the fact that it's unsustainable in itself? Because it's a root cause for unsustainability as a whole? Is the problem money creation? Interest? Fractional banking ? Or is it lack of diversity, a low Tier 1 or that liabilities and equities don't have the same fiscal treatment? I will give you my view: The financial sector is, as every sector and almost every company, unsustainable in itself. Around 2 billion people...
Read moreSustainable top 100
08-11-2011
Each year a newspaper in the Netherlands creates a sustainable top 100 list which sums up the 100 most influential Dutch people in the area of sustainability. This is based on 6 criteria: 'broad vision', 'intelligence', 'charisma', 'networking', 'drive/spirit' and 'innovativeness '. My first reaction to this is why a top 100 is even necessary. Why create this hierarchy? What is the added value? Why always this strong urge of competition? To me, this is exactly what goes against sustainability. But than again, if I read that they regard sustainability according to the 3 p's, which in my opinion is a...
Read moreSustainable Finance Lab – Financial pro…
10-10-2011
This evening I visited a gathering of the Sustainable Finance Lab. The subject of this specific gathering was as explained in the title. I was amazed about what was being presented by the people holding the introductory talks. All of whom are supposed to be professors at different Dutch universities. The most sensible thing I heard was at the beginning saying that most consumers behave on bounded rationality. From thereon my belief in our educational system which wasn't already very high plunged a little further. One of the professors gave the audience four theses to which they replied whether they agreed...
Read moreLanguage
20-09-2011
I am more and more amazed about how important, meaningless and confusing language is. The importance lies in the fact that it is probably one of our most important ways of communication. I don't want to be derogatory on other types of communications. On the contrary, but language, and to be sure, by language I mean the concept of letters, numbers and/or punctuation marks that can be produced by writing and speaking, plays a predominant role in our society both in rational communication like science throughout having esthetics in its own. The contradiction with language however is that it also makes communication...
Read moreSustainability congress
09-09-2011
I was shocked the other day when I received an invitation for the Dutch sustainability congress 2011. I was shocked because of several reasons: First of all I saw that the entry price is €345 which seems to me an awfull high amount to listen to a few people, have some lunch and a few drinks. Secondly because I saw that one of the sponsors is Shell. I think people in e.g. the Niger delta would be laughing there ass off if they heard that Shell is sponsoring and participating in a sustainable event. Shell for christ sake. The company that invented...
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