Russian cities with the dirtiest air according to the Ministry of Nature September 21st, 2017
The Ministry of Natural Resources in the state report "On Environmental Protection" named the cities of Russia with the dirtiest air. The most dangerous cities for living were Krasnoyarsk, Magnitogorsk and Norilsk.
According to the report, about 16.4 million people in Russia breathe polluted air. The total volume of air emissions continues to grow: in 2016 it amounted to 31.6 million tons, 1.1% more than a year earlier. Most of the pollution from industrial facilities occurs in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the capital region is in the lead in terms of emissions from vehicles.
Among the most polluted cities were ...
Birobidzhan, Blagoveshchensk, Magnitogorsk, Norilsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, Krasnoyarsk. This list also includes the cities of Bratsk, Zima, Kyzyl, Minusinsk, Novokuznetsk, Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky, Selenginsk, Usolye-Sibirskoye, Chegdomyn, Cheremkhovo, Chernogorsk and Shelekhov.
According to the rating, in most cities of the Far Eastern, Siberian and Ural federal districts, the level of concentration of pollutants exceeds the maximum permissible. In the Siberian Federal District, the leaders in air pollution were the Krasnoyarsk and Altai Territories, the Kemerovo, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk Regions.
The ministry stressed that over the past three years in Russia, the situation with emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere has worsened. It is noted that in 2014-2016 in Russia, the incidence of asthma associated with air pollution increased: among children - by 1.7 times, and among adults - by 1.5 times. 15% of the urban population is affected by high and very high levels of pollution.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the situation with emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere has worsened in Russia over the past three years. In the country as a whole, in 2014-2016, the incidence of asthma associated with air pollution among children increased by 1.7 times, among adults - by one and a half times. 15% of the urban population is affected by high and very high levels of pollution. According to the state report of the department, the most unfavorable situation has developed in the regions of the Siberian Federal District - the Irkutsk, Kemerovo regions and the Altai Territory. There is also an increase in the incidence of asthma.
In Russia, in recent years, the total volume of emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere has been growing. So, in 2016, 31 617.1 thousand tons of harmful impurities got into the air (1.1% more than in the previous year). 55% of them - from enterprises (17,349.3 thousand tons), but the growth of their "contribution" in 2016 was relatively modest - 0.3%. On the other hand, road and rail transport dealt a greater blow to the environment than a year earlier - by 2.1 and 5.7%, respectively. In 2015, the total amount of air pollutant emissions also increased slightly (by 0.1%) compared to the previous year. Such data are given in the state report of the Ministry of Natural Resources "On the state and protection of the environment of the Russian Federation".
Birobidzhan, Amur Blagoveshchensk, Bratsk, Winter, Krasnoyarsk, Kyzyl, Lesosibirsk, Magnitogorsk, Minusinsk, Novokuznetsk, Norilsk, Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky, Selenginsk, Ulan-Ude, Usolye-Sibirskoye Cheremkhovo, Chernogorsk, Chita, Shelekhov.
In most cities of the Far Eastern, Siberian and Ural Federal Districts, the concentration of pollutants exceeds the maximum permissible level. In the Irkutsk region, for example, there are 14 such cities.
In the Siberian Federal District, the Krasnoyarsk and Altai Territories, Kemerovo, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk Regions turned out to be the leaders in air pollution. In the last four in 2016, the indicators increased compared to the previous one.
Thus, in the Altai Territory, the release of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere has increased. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the main sources of air pollution in the region are Biyskenergo, the Barnaul branch of Kuzbassenergo, Altaikoks and other enterprises. In the Irkutsk region, carbon monoxide emissions have increased. A significant amount of pollutants is accounted for by Irkutskenergo, RUSAL Bratsk Aluminum Plant and ANHK. Sulfur dioxide emissions have increased in the Kemerovo region. The Ministry of Natural Resources named the main air pollutants "EvrAZ United West Siberian Metallurgical Plant", OUK "Yuzhkuzbassugol", as well as the branch "Mine" Esaulskaya ".
The greatest harm to health is caused by dust, fluorine and its compounds, ammonia, toluene, formaldehyde, benzopyrene, carbon monoxide, chlorine and its compounds, heavy metals, xylene, benzene, aliphatic hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, hydroxybenzene, hydrogen sulfide and other compounds.
As Rospotrebnadzor explained to Izvestia, respiratory pathologies associated with air pollution were observed in 2016 in almost half of the country's regions. A particularly unfavorable situation has developed in the Irkutsk, Smolensk, Kaluga, Samara, Sverdlovsk regions, Udmurtia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. In 40 regions, the incidence rate of asthma and status asthma was higher than the national average in children under 14 years of age (144.0 cases per 100 thousand children). The largest numbers were noted in Novosibirsk (483 cases), Novgorod (377.5), Chelyabinsk (323.2) regions, St. Petersburg (289), as well as in the Kaliningrad region (283.2).
At the same time, the number of additional cases of the disease related to air quality also increased - 1.7 times compared to 2014. In this respect, the geography of asthma morbidity coincides with the data on the largest emissions into the atmosphere - the most disadvantaged regions were the Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Samara regions and the Altai Territory.
These four regions have also emerged as anti-leaders in new cases of asthma and status asthma in the adult population. In Russia as a whole, compared to 2014, the number of additional cases of asthma in adults increased by 1.5 times. Such data are given in the state reports of both Rospotrebnadzor and the Ministry of Natural Resources.
- Various substances cause the development of bronchial asthma and other diseases of the respiratory system. Therefore, their prevalence can differ significantly depending on the presence of certain chemical pollutants in the environment, - noted Igor Bobrovnitsky, head of the department of the Center for Strategic Planning and Management of Medical and Biological Health Risks of the Ministry of Health, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. - It should also be borne in mind that the overall incidence of bronchial asthma significantly depends not only on the content of chemical air pollutants, but also on a host of other causes: plant pollen, food allergens, household dust, insect (caused by insect bites) allergies.
Rospotrebnadzor explained that the reasons for the poor air quality are the lack of highly efficient gas cleaning equipment, the operation of outdated technologies at industrial enterprises, thermal power plants and household boilers. Errors in the planning and development of settlements are also reflected in the health of the population - often residential areas are located next to industrial facilities.
Sources:
Every year 6.5 million people die worldwide as a result of air pollution, from diseases ranging from heart disease, strokes to lung cancer. This is a very real health crisis. Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published on the causes of environmental pollution and how to deal with it.
This report presents a very impressive chart that shows which countries have the worst air pollution situation - it provides data on deaths per 100 thousand people. In drawing up the chart, experts took into account the number of deaths associated with exposure to sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and air pollution in residential premises resulting from the combustion of solid fuels. The experts did not take into account the impact of greenhouse gases and climate change.
Looking at this diagram, several conclusions can be drawn:
1) This is the mortality rate, not absolute numbers. Georgia and Bulgaria top the list, but countries such as China and India are killing more people as a result of air pollution, as the population is much higher.
© RIA Novosti
2) These aggregate rankings hide from us a lot of information about variations within countries. For example, in China, coal-fired air pollution north of the Huai River shortens life expectancy by about 5.5 years compared to the south, according to one study.
3) The United States is undoubtedly still far from perfect, but this country is one of the cleanest in terms of air pollution. One of the reasons the United States has a lower death rate from pollution than, say, France or Germany is because there are fewer diesel cars. Diesel engines are generally more fuel efficient than gasoline engines, but they emit more soot, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. Europe is currently striving to keep the number of such cars to a minimum, but rather mild testing procedures have led to the fact that many cars emit more harmful substances into the atmosphere than is required by law.
4) How did it happen that Georgia took first place in this list? The IEA does not provide a detailed explanation. Air quality expert Tim Kovach, who I was able to contact via Twitter, said that I should refer to the State of the Environment Report in Georgia for an explanation. Over the past ten years, this country has seen a sharp increase in the number of old diesel cars on the roads, and there is practically no monitoring of the level of environmental pollution:
“In Georgia, the public transport system is not well developed, and therefore a significant proportion of the population uses cars, which are the preferred mode of transport in the country. As a result, the number of passenger cars has skyrocketed over the past decade and has nearly doubled over the past five years.
The overwhelming majority of purchased cars are old cars imported from abroad, and the average age of passenger cars in Georgia is 10-15 years. Diesel vehicles are very popular.
Currently, there is no road test of vehicles in Georgia, therefore many vehicles on the roads of this country are in unsatisfactory technical condition. Periodic checks of the exhaust gases are also not carried out. Low-quality fuel, which is now abundant in the Georgian market, quickly damages catalytic converters of exhaust gases. As a rule, car owners remove damaged catalytic converters and do not replace them with new ones, which leads to an increase in the car's emissions. The organization of traffic in Georgian cities still leaves much to be desired, and traffic jams happen quite often there. All this leads to an increase in the volume of emissions of harmful gases into the atmosphere ”.
Kovacs of Soviet Industry: Old manganese mines, for example, still emit huge amounts of harmful substances into the atmosphere.
5) It is impossible to avoid air pollution! Over time, as countries get richer, they start investing more money in cleaning technologies that improve air quality - something that China is actively pursuing today. A fairly large section of the IEA report is devoted to describing measures and programs that will reduce the total number of deaths from air pollution by 3.3 million people by 2040.
These measures include installing emission controls on cars and power plants in developing countries, and providing people with access to clean fuels for cooking and heating (a major source of indoor air pollution).
Why is it so difficult to prevent indoor air pollution?
I have previously written about the problem of indoor air pollution, which causes about half of the deaths associated with environmental pollution every year. The problem is that 2.7 billion people, mostly rural poor, still burn wood, dung and other solid fuels to light and heat their homes and cook food. Particulate contamination from kerosene lamps and wood stoves is deadly.
To prevent indoor air pollution and thus save 3.5 million lives each year, people need to have access to cleaner stoves and fuels. This includes stoves with a more advanced ventilation system. Or stoves that use liquefied petroleum gas, which, when burned, gives less harmful substances than wood. Or you can connect your houses to electrical networks.
What obstacles prevent you from doing this? The IEA report details some of these. Currently, burning wood or coal in traditional stoves is much cheaper for people than alternative heating methods, despite the extremely high level of harmful emissions. Consider, for example, data on fuel consumption in India.
A traditional wood stove costs an Indian family less than 5% of their monthly income. A "better cooker" with ventilation is cleaner, but costs 15% of a family's monthly income. An even cleaner stove that uses LPG will cost 40% of a family's income. And electric stoves are even more expensive.
Context
Ukraine: battles threaten the environment
The Washington Post 03.06.2016Defense or ecology - which is more important?
Sveriges Radio 08.06.2015Eco-fasting saves not only the soul, but also the nature
Yle 03.04.2015The Indian government has already launched a subsidy program for the purchase and maintenance of cleaner stoves, but this is not always enough, according to the IEA report. “Suppliers of slabs using LPG often face difficulties in developing markets in areas with low population densities and poor road infrastructure,” the report says. "Until the infrastructure is in place to ensure uninterrupted supply, consumers will avoid switching to new types of stoves."
Moreover, many people simply do not know about the dangers of burning wood or manure indoors, so they do not want to switch to more advanced types of stoves, even if they have such an opportunity. The report says: "This is why campaigns to promote better cookers tend to include an important educational component, educating people about not only the correct use of the improved cookers, but also their impact on health."
It is also worth considering a number of factors that have a positive effect on the environment. In 2013, Sunil Nautiyal wrote an amazing article for the Journal of Mountain Science on how the switch from wood-burning stoves to LPG stoves has reduced deforestation rates in parts of India.
The IEA estimates that providing universal access to cleaner stoves could cost the world $ 55 billion by 2040. That's a paltry amount compared to the $ 1.1 trillion it would take to provide access to electricity for the 1.2 billion people who currently don't have it. And cleaner cookers will save 3.5 million lives each year. We have to move in both directions, of course, but tackling indoor air pollution could bring us significant dividends.
InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign mass media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial board.
Introduction 2 1 Basic functions and structural mechanisms of society as a social system 4 2 Structural elements of society 7 3 Subsystems of society responsible for performing basic functions 8 4 Cultural system and public consciousness 12 5 Modern society according to Pasons theory 14 Conclusion 17
Introduction
We will begin our understanding of the global world by considering the question of how modern human society works. After all, each of us lives in a certain society, is a citizen of a certain state, part of a certain people. This means that a certain number of people, united by a common origin, common territory and common power, always form a kind of unity, which is called "society." How does the joint life of people work? What are the conditions under which this life will be reproduced? Who and what should be done in society? The theory of society should provide answers to these and other questions. But such a unified scientific theory still does not exist. The fact is that in social science, in contrast to natural science, the object of study is not nature, but a person endowed with consciousness, his activities and social connections. In addition, in social science it is extremely difficult to apply the rigorous research methods used in natural science and based on mathematics. And if in the natural sciences there is usually a certain number of theories explaining an object, and their reliability is available for objective, scientific verification, then in social science the situation is noticeably different. There are a lot of theories explaining society here, and there are practically no ways to test their truth. The question of the place of man in the world was inevitably associated with attempts to identify or establish the laws by which human society is structured and developed. In European Antiquity, Plato and Aristotle, in the Far Eastern culture of Confucius, in modern times N. Machiavelli, T. Hobbes and J. Locke, philosophers of Germany and France, thinkers of the Enlightenment J.-J. Rousseau, D. Diderot, Voltaire, at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. I. Kant and G. Hegel, later K. Marx and F. Engels, O. Comte and G. Spencer, the great Russian philosophers and sociologists V. Soloviev, I. Ilyin, P. Sorokin, S. Frank tried to build their theories of society ... In modern times, theories of society appeared, largely based on new knowledge about the world and people and became the property of all mankind. In them, attempts are made to identify the laws of the development of society, the features of its structures, their dependence on each other. Among those who developed these theories, we can include E. Durkheim and M. Weber, A. Schutz and N. Luhmann, M. McLuhan and F. Lyotard, E. Giddens and J. Habermas, Z. Baumann and P. Bourdieu. In this case, to get an idea of society, we will use the research of the American sociologist Talcott Parsons (see. his work: "On the structure of social action", "On social systems"). In the 60s and 70s. last century, he developed a theory that considers society as one of the types of "social system", which, in turn, acts as one of the forms of "action system". If the object of study is understood as a system, this means that all its constituent parts (any objects of nature, society, thinking) are considered in interrelation. The way of interconnection or the order of organizing the interaction of all parts of the system is denoted by the concept of structure. Devices that ensure the constancy of the way of interconnection, or carriers of order, can be called structural elements. | Each object acts in coordination with the others, and they all produce | | a certain result that allows the system to survive and develop. Anything | | action of the system is always the satisfaction of one of its most important | | needs. Satisfaction of needs allows the system to maintain | | and reproduce itself in a relatively unchanged form - save | | "Equilibrium state". All the varied needs can be summarized | | to the main - basic. System activities to meet a certain | | basic needs is denoted by the concept of function. | | | | | | 1 The main functions and structural mechanisms of society as a social system | | | | The theory of society as a "social system", developed by Parsons, received | | name of the structural and functional theory. She is the most | | universal and least ideologized, and therefore the most scientific. | | Its role in the development of modern social knowledge can be likened to the role | | mechanical physics I. Newton, which became the basis of scientific | | worldview of modern times and made possible the technological revolution. | | | | Of course, the structural and functional theory of society is criticized | | and clarifications. But its potential is undeniable. She offers simple | | and visual explanations of why any society is arranged this way, and not | | otherwise. Finally, it is in Parsons' theory that one can find the answer to the question of what | | fundamental difference between societies that are called "modern" from those | | | which preceded them and therefore are called "traditional". |
Conclusion
We - people - live in constant communication with our own kind. This is called the scientific term - society. The entire history of mankind is the emergence, development and destruction of societies of all kinds. However, in all societies one can find permanent properties and characteristics, without which no unification of people is possible. The description of these properties and features makes it possible to build a theory of society as such. The most scientific and least ideologized is the theory of society as a system. It was developed by the outstanding American sociologist of the 20th century. Talcott Parsons. To understand any human society, he believed, it is necessary to highlight its structure - that which allows society to preserve its appearance and determine the main functions, that is, those types of activities without which society cannot reproduce itself. Parsons' theory is called structural-functional theory. The function of adaptation is provided in society by the subsystem of the economy, the function of goal-setting is the subsystem of politics, the function of coordination is the subsystem of law, the function of integration is the subsystem of socialization. People have a consciousness that allows us to know and appreciate the world. Cognition and assessment are the essence of culture as a system, which acts as a controlling level in relation to society as a social system. At this level, social consciousness is created in various forms. All societies can be divided into two main classes - traditional and modern. Globalization is a product of the activities of modern societies. Thus, it becomes possible to view society as a substantively autonomous reality, not reducible to the sum of its constituent individuals. Translating this philosophical statement into the language of sociology, we have the right to classify society as a special class of real social groups. From the above, it becomes clear that real social groups are based on the systemic interaction of their constituent entities. Such interaction creates special integral realities of joint activities that go beyond the framework of individual human actions and affect their content, largely determining it. This is how real groups are structured, in which individual actions of people are woven into a system of organized interaction, and each individual has a place and his own role (his status and his function) in collective activity. The presence of such collective activity, guided by supra-individual interests, goals, values, norms and institutions, is the main and decisive sign of a real social group, different from the sum of its constituent individuals. From the point of view of Vedic theory, all humanity, despite external differences, strives for the same goals. We want to live forever, have perfect knowledge and be perfectly happy. If you study the history of human society, you can see that the activities of all states were aimed precisely at these goals. But, unfortunately, now we do not have a single example where it would be possible to show the possibility of people achieving these goals. You can pay attention to modern Western society from the point of view of material perfection, but at the same time, spiritual degradation is obvious. Many people lose the meaning of life and become a burden to their environment. There is no doubt that the Western concept of the development of the world does not lead to the achievement of a harmonious coexistence of material and spiritual well-being. Are there any other models for the development of society? Yes. Studying the Vedic scriptures, which are more than 5,000 years old, we can find descriptions of the most ancient Aryan culture, in which human society achieved unity with nature and God, which has no analogues in modern history. This culture was built on four foundations or paths of development of society: dharma, artha, kama, moksha.
Bibliography
1. Kuznetsov V.G., Kuznetsova I.D., Mironov V.V., Momdzhyan K.Kh. Philosophy: Textbook. - M .: INFRA-M, 2004 .-- 519 p. 2. Polyakov LV Social Science. A book for a teacher http://www.prosv.ru/umk/obshestvoznanie/index.html 3.http: //www.i-u.ru/
The history of everything in the world, the subtleties of evolution and the complexity of self-determination
To bookmarks
The Mindvalley Authors blog team has published a list of seven books that, according to the authors, help to better understand the structure of the world and reevaluate your views.
1. "A Brief History of Almost Everything" by Bill Bryson
“Remember your boring school books? Most likely no. This book will change the way you look at science, ”writes the author of the material. In A Brief History of Almost Everything, Bryson, who is famous for his travel notes, describes scientific facts and inventions in simple terms, weaving them with stories of pioneers in various fields. "You will finally be able to understand complex scientific terms and theories - from gravitational constants to how the mass of the Earth is calculated."
The author also draws attention to the stories described in the book about how inventors came up with new ideas. He believes that the main message of the work is that a person can achieve a lot - especially when he is trying to solve the insoluble.
Excerpt from the book:
Some scientists now believe that up to 200 trillion tons of bacteria can live under our feet, forming the so-called subsurface lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystems, or SLiME for short. Thomas Gold of Cornell University calculated that if you get all the bacteria from deep inside the Earth and dump them on the surface, they will cover the planet with a layer 1.5 meters thick. If his calculations are correct, then there may be much more life under the Earth than on the surface.
2. "Why Do Beautiful People Have More Daughters" by Satoshi Kanazawa and Alan Miller
The book contains ideas about the nature of human evolution. In particular, the authors propose a theory that beautiful parents are more likely to have daughters than sons - thus nature ensures the continuation of the human race. According to the authors, the main advantage of girls over rivals in the struggle for a young man is precisely beauty, but for young men this is not so important - and evolution provides them with such an advantage.
“Many of the assumptions in the book are controversial, but it will help you understand why in some situations you did this and not otherwise,” writes the team at Mindvalley Authors.
3. "Sapiens", Yuval Noah Harari
“This book opened my eyes. And this is the best work that I have read - and in any area, ”- writes the author of the note. The book describes the history of mankind. Harari writes that in the past there were at least six subspecies of people on Earth, but all, except for Homo Sapiens, eventually became extinct. He reveals the reasons why Homo Sapiens were able to dominate the planet and how humans evolved.
“Regardless of skin color, ethnicity and history, we have more in common than different. But unfortunately, we remain predictable primates, ”sums up the author.
Excerpt from the book:
Capitalist and consumer ethics are two sides of the same coin, two commandments complementing each other. The rich man's first commandment is "Invest." The first commandment for everyone else: "Buy!"
Most of the old ethical systems presented people with difficult choices. A person could count on eternal bliss, but for this he needed tolerance and compassion, he had to free himself from greed and anger, renounce selfish interests. For most, this was an overwhelming task. The history of ethics is a sad tale of wonderful ideals that no one can reach. Most Christians do not imitate Christ, most Buddhists do not find the strength to follow Buddha, seeing the majority of Confucians, Confucius would have had a blow.
Most people today are happily following the capitalist consumerist ideal. The new ethic promises heaven on condition that the rich remain greedy and try to make more money, and the masses give free rein to their desires and will buy and buy without measure. The first religion in history whose followers do exactly what they are encouraged to do. But how do we know that we will be rewarded by receiving paradise? Oh yeah, we were told on TV.
4. “The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements,” Eric Hoffer
"To understand why Americans voted for Trump, it is worth reading two historians: Plato and Eric Hoffer." The book The True Believer was published in the 1950s. Hoffer, according to the author of the compilation, became a legend in his field and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom - one of the two highest awards in the United States, which is personally awarded by the President of the country.
Excerpt from the book:
There is such a tendency: to judge a race, a people or a certain group of people by their unworthy members. While this is clearly unfair, there is some truth in this, for, indeed, the character and fate of a group is often determined by its worst elements.
The average people of a nation, for example, constitute its inert mass. The life of the decent average people, who do the main work in the cities and villages of the country, is subject to the constant influence of a minority on two sides - a minority of the best and a minority of the worst.
Outstanding personalities - whether in politics, literature, science, finance and trade or industry - play a significant role in shaping the entire nation, as well as personalities of the other extreme - losers who have not found a place in life, pariahs, criminals and all, who lost their position in society or never had it. The game of history is usually played by the best and the worst, and the game is played over the heads of the majority sitting in the middle.
The lower elements of the people can have a noticeable influence on the course of events because they absolutely do not value the present. They consider their own lives and everything present to be irreparably spoiled, and therefore they are ready to squander and destroy to the ground: hence their recklessness and desire for chaos and anarchy. They still passionately strive to dissolve their distorted and meaningless "I" in some kind of soul-saving social performance - hence their inclination towards united actions. That is why they find themselves among the first conscripts of revolution, mass relocations, religious, racial or chauvinist movements: they leave their stamp on these upheavals and movements that create the character and history of the nation.
5. "Abundance" by Steven Kotler and Peter Diamandis
“Stop watching depressing news headlines and focus on positive trends. It will remind you of human potential and that we are all moving forward. The media focuses on negative news, because our brain reacts more sharply to danger than to positive events, ”writes the author of the material.
If all you do is read the newspapers, you are most likely afraid of many things, and often make choices based on fear. In fact, the world is getting better and safer every day. Teach yourself and your children not to give up and not worry about our future.
6. "The Book of the Taboo on Knowing Who You Are" by Alan Watts
In the book, Alan Watts, in an easy and sometimes humorous form, explains why a person needs to realize himself and why it can be difficult for him to find his destiny. “We need a new experience, not a new religion,” says the author.
Excerpt from the book:
Unconditional adherence to any religion is not just an intellectual suicide, it is a positive manifestation of unbelief, because the mind of a fanatic is completely closed to new possibilities of seeing the world, while true faith primarily implies trust, openness to the unknown.
A zealous follower of Jehovah's Witnesses once tried to convince me that if God really loved mankind, He would definitely give him a book that could become a reliable and unshakable guide for him. I answered him that no sane God would have dealt such a crushing blow to the human mind. Indeed, in this case, a person's life would become monotonous - he would not need to think about anything, it would be enough just to look into one book, the Bible, which provides answers to all questions. Meanwhile, the use of words, and therefore books, suggests that they indicate something different from themselves - the world of life experience, which includes not only words or ideas. Books are not real life in the same way that money is not real, consumable wealth. Blind adoration of the scriptures is like eating paper money.
Therefore, I want the book that sneakily slips from my hands into the hands of my children to be slippery itself. Reading it, they should slip and get into a new dimension - the realm of feelings and sensations, and not just ideas. It should become a temporary drug, not a permanent diet; the starting point from which the journey begins, and not an absolute authority at all times. They will read it, and that will be enough, because if it is written well and clearly, they will not need to come back to it again and again in search of hidden meaning and to clarify vague ideas.
We don't need a new religion or a new Bible. We need a new experience - a new awareness of what it means to be yourself.
7. "Death in a Black Hole and Other Cosmic Difficulties" by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
According to the team at Mindvalley Authors, the book answers many questions about space, and shows why people are so sensitive about "the smallest speck in the sky."
Excerpt from the book:
Please note that where you gain in the width of the range, you lose in accuracy - we perceive the intensity of the signals from the surrounding world on a logarithmic, not a linear scale. For example, if you increase the intensity of the sound by a factor of 10, this change will seem insignificant to the ears. Double the intensity and you won't notice the difference at all.
The same is true for the ability to capture light. If you happen to observe a total solar eclipse, then you probably noticed that the disk of the sun must be at least 90% obscured by the moon, and only then will someone say that the sky seems to have darkened. The brightness scale of stars, the well-known acoustic decibel scale and the seismic scale of earthquake strength are built on a logarithmic basis largely because this is how we naturally hear, see and feel the world around us.
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