If, by Rudyard Iglesias

Some few years ago, during my university times, I discovered Rudyard Kipling's “If” poem engraved in the wall of a sports residence where a good friend of mine was staying. Ever since then, those powerful words and their vibrant tone have always inspired me to reach for my dreams with courage and principles.

Now, I want to share with you all my own version of “If”. Because ... what “if” this was my mission, what “if” we were the chosen ones to make this a better world, what …


 
 
If you can be humble in victory and gracious in defeat,
If you can talk with gods and walk with humans,
If you can work with adults and play with kids,
If you can hold for an hour and still enjoy every minute,
If you can see the big picture and yet understand the little details,
If you can be strong when in storm and soft when in love,
If you can dream your dreams your eyes wide open and pursue them your eyes wide closed,
If you can aim at the stars and still keep your feet on the ground,
If you can fight for what you believe until you cannot fight anymore, and then, keep on fighting,
If you can love no matter what and be loved in return,


Then, my friend, you will have understood the magic of this miracle we call Earth, and the uniqueness of this gift we call Life.


To be continued …
j.

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What remains … is you, all of you

An amazing year came to an end this last friday as the IMSD 2009-2010 master at EOI Business School in Madrid drew a closure. Being one the participants myself, I can only thank all my classmates for the fantastic experiences we've lived together. It's been such an honor to share a moment of my life with such extraordinary individuals. The light I've received from all of you guys has profoundly inspired the inner me, giving my spirit the final push it needed to reach for my dreams. No need to worry however my friends, this is no end whatsoever but just another step in the path of life: the beginning of a beautiful story together, a story … about love ;-)

For all of you, here go these last few words. For all you ... Javi, Laura, Maria I., Liz, Claudia, Patrick, Maria G., Helene, Heidi, Aicha, Irene, Ollie, Aurore, Jô, Fra, Erica, Ceci, Espe and Eva ... here goes my heart, all of it ;-) 

 

“Sisters and brothers,

It's been an amazing journey together. During the course of the past year, I've had the pleasure to experience some of the best moments of my life with you guys. We have overcome obstacles together. We have traveled to far away cities (like Barcelona) and slept in precarious conditions driven by our curiosity. We have shared our cultures and personal stories without expecting anything in return. We've learned from one another. We've cared for one another. We have seen the world in its current state and promised ourselves that things will be different, that we will be the seeds of change that our planet and our people need in us.

Now, time has come for us, to go out there and deliver what we've got inside of us, and show the world that through peace and love every dream can be fulfilled.

Now, time has come for us, to continue our paths in life. We may end up in distant countries, working in different fields. But we will always navigate together, under the same flag -humanity's-, pursuing the same mission -our kids-. Because there is only one planet as one life there is. Because it does not belong to us but to them (pointing at the little guy inside Maria). Cause this, this is our land. And this, this is our duty. To preserve this beauty for them to enjoy it.

But before parting ways, let me spare a moment with you guys, to thank you, from the bottom of my heart. To thank you, for the way you are. To thank you, for all the inspiration I have drawn from all of you, from all your personal stories. Stories of courage, effort and sacrifice for the sake of your dreams. And thanks God we have dreamers like you in this world. But above all, stories of human beings filled with love, lots of love. Now, and forever, you are part of me. Wherever I go, whatever I do, you will be with me, I'll be with you.

But let me take another moment, to apologize. To apologize to all of you who may have felt offended by my behavior, which has been, at times I must admit, not so correct. But don't get me wrong guys, please, please. The things that I say, the things that I do, I do them from the heart. From the potato. From this big potato right here that some times, sort of betrays me and makes me do some crazy stuff. Forgive me guys, forgive me for what I've done, forgive me for what I'm gonna do ... because this is me, this is how I am and this is how I have to be. I acknowledge my mistakes however (the ton of them I commit every single day) and you have my word, that I'm gonna work, as hard I can, to avoid them from happening again, and hopefully, improve myself and the world around me as a result. With the help of all of you guys. Because I need you. My life wouldn't make any sense without you.

To conclude ... No, I'll not say “yes we can”. I'll say YES WE ARE. Because we are the generation that WILL make this happen.

No, I'll not say goodbye, I'll say “les grands esprits se rencontrent” (Ollie, could you please translate?)

In life, you get to see everybody at least twice, and I've only seen you once, so stay alive, and I will find you.

In the meantime, every 1.2 seconds, when my heart beats, it will be ........ because of YOU.

Go, enjoy, give, live, LOVE.

And now, for those of you who might leave Spain soon, I'd like to offer you a souvenir from this beautiful country. This, is the best Spanish song ever. Every time I listen to it ... I feel alive.

Dedicated to ALL OF YOU:

Al Cantar (Platero y Tú)

Al cantar, me puedo olvidar
de todos los malos momentos,
convertir en virtud defectos.

Desterrar la vulgaridad
aunque solo sea un momento
y sentir que no estamos muertos.

No es placer, es necesidad
es viento, es lluvia, es fuego
derramar todos mis secretos.

Y busqué en el fondo del mar,
en las montañas y en el cielo
la manera de hacer realidad mis sueños.

Encontré en el corazón

el mapa de los sentimientos
ya lo ves, no estaba tan lejos.

No es placer, es necesidad
es viento, es lluvia, es fuego
derramar todos mis secretos.

Esnifar los rayos del sol
y descongelar el cerebro
y sentir que no estamos muertos
y sentir que no estamos muertos
y sentir que no estamos muertos
y sentir que no estamos muertos
y sentir que no estamos muertos
aunque solo sea un momento
y sentir que no estamos muertos
reclamando todos mis secretos
y sentir que no estamos muertos.

Y sentir que no estamos muertos!!”

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Good governance: Freedom, Common Sense and ... Love

 

Corporate Governance is, to me, the art of running and managing an organization in a human and environmentally-friendly way while effectively pursuing a sole purpose: maximizing society's benefit. For that to happen, we have to understand organizations in the big picture, as a group of individuals gathering together to provide a good and necessary service to humanity and the world for that matter.

During the last century and a half or so, in the reign of our current (but soon-to-be-replaced) socio-economic model -the so-called capitalism-, a few privileged individuals have amassed fortunes and wasted mountains of resources via a simple but greedy mechanism: running corporations and businesses with one and only one goal in mind: their own, self-benefit (“selfish good-governance” we could call it) above anything else; completely forgetting about their fellows (without which they couldn't survive) and the finiteness and fragility of the world they happen to live in. As a result, the gap between the rich and the poor is today as large as it has ever been with 80 % of the world's resources lying in the hands of 20% of its people, among which I am to be found, to my own shame (although I've got big plans to change that). Moreover, this unfair system has led us to, on the one hand, increasing scarcity of non-renewable resources and, on the other, vasts amounts of inhabitable lands for our successors to inherit. This is reality. A reality that screams for change.

However, as somebody once said, it's too late to be a pessimist. It's time for change, big time. We've got to put people back at the center of our world. We've got to do things for and by the people. We've got to remember that companies, organizations, countries, governments and the likes are just virtual concepts in the minds of men, that the only thing that really exists and matters is human beings. All those other entities they can only be understood as what they actually are: a bunch of individuals joining forces for a common cause, a cause bigger than all of them and each one of them, a cause that sees everybody on the surface of this planet as equal and puts our own generation in the perspective of the future ones -our kids- to whom the world really belongs to. In this sense, those organizations have to be managed in a way that promotes and gives maximum priority to: freedom (of expression, of thought, etc.), equality, the treatment of people as people, respect for everybody and for future generations, etc.

In my own personal view, the concept of a company encompasses not only its social purpose (social business), but also the lack of imposed hierarchies strangling worker's freedoms, the lack of superiors and inferiors, the lack of bosses and secretaries, the lack of stringent schedules (I don't believe in staying eight or more hours straight in the office just because), etc. On the contrary, I do believe in natural leaders, teamwork, giving everybody a chance, leading from behind (stepping up when you feel like you've got something to say or do and stepping back when you don't and others claim their turn on stage) and by example (if you want others to do something, do it yourself in the first place as the only means to gain the legitimacy and credibility that characterizes real leaders, the inspirational ones). I do believe in the blurring of the frontier between personal and professional life, in the need to integrate both sides of the same coin and align our organization's values with our owns, cause how could it be otherwise? What are we here for if not for the others? Yes, I do believe in flexible schedules, in letting people organize themselves with their colleagues and collaborators. Yes, I do believe in fair salaries (both internally and regarding the outside world), determined through consensus and common sense, and subject to variability when needed. Because we cannot treat people as machines as we will be underestimating them, not giving them the required space to reach their full potential. Because the future lies in the minds and hearts of men (and especially women, the so-long forgotten actor of development) and not in the hands of machines.

It's too late to be a pessimist. It's too late to wait for the so-called leaders of our world to provide and impose solutions from the top down. It's time for people-born, bottom-up, grassroots movements to organize and gather our rainbow warriors together once again to heal our mother Earth and find peace and harmony among us and with her. Businesses are part of the equation, an integral one, no question about that. But the only thing that has and will ever change our world are individuals, one by one, all together, together as one. And in this, the largest revolution our species has ever witnessed, our individual, humble contributions are the only real tool in our hands. Cause there lie the principles of good governance: in our shared responsibility. Cause there lie our very own principles: in our common destiny, in our social nature. And it is just through the understanding and internalization of these concepts that the essence of humanity will prevail, that the flame of our hope will carry on. But hope there is, my friend, and hope there will be as long love fills our spirits ;-)

“The world is not what we see but what we imagine”

“Reality is not what it is but what we make of it”

j.

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Gather We Avatars

"The Sky People have sent us a message... that they can take whatever they want. That no one can stop them. Well, we will send them a message. You ride out as fast as the wind can carry you. You tell the other clans to come. Tell them Toruk Makto calls to them! You fly now, with me! My brothers! Sisters! And we will show the Sky People ... that they can not take whatever they want! And that this ... this is our land!" 

-From the movie Avatar

 

But don't you worry my friend,

cause here we are once again,

sons and daughters of Mother Earth,

joining forces for our common good.

Gather we Avatars,

gather we and fight,

gather we and fight for what is worth,

gather we and fight for our sons,

gather we and fight for our loves,

gather we … and LIVE

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Don't drill. For our children's sake, DO NOT DRILL!!

“Dear President Obama,

I am very disappointed in your recent announcement that will lift the ban on offshore drilling here. Offshore oil and gas drilling is bad for the climate, bad for our coastal areas, and will not solve our energy dependence.

Please ensure the safety of our coasts, protect our clean shores and enact a smart energy policy by reversing this decision and investing in clean energy and efficiency instead. We need to make sure that any climate bill before the Senate mandates at least 25% of our electricity come from renewable sources by 2025 and that we don't give free allowances to polluting industries like coal and oil -- promises you made during your presidential election campaign. 

 

Please take a stand for what is right for our future and right for the World.

Jesus”

Yes, that is right, Barack has made a big mistake, I must admit it. The decision of opening some areas along the US coastline to offshore oil and gas exploration ain't getting us nowhere. No question about it. However, it's very easy to sit down in front of one's computer or TV and criticize a man that has to face a world of problems every day, meet everybody's needs and reconcile opposing forces on every matter he deals with. However, despite this one being a very WRONG move, the fact is that there is still time to make his and his energy team (lead by renown physicist an Nobel-prize winner Steven Chu) change their minds on this one. The fact is that WE ARE the ones RESPONSIBLE for consuming all that much ENERGY, for emitting all that much CO2, and as long as we do not understand the link between using our cars every single day and the increasing oil demand and worsening climate change, then we will continue to deny our blindness and take the easy way out, that is pass our problems onto somebody else, namely a certain Barack Obama these days.

The one and only solution to these and all other global issues has to emerge from the bottom up, from the people that is. WE are the ones having to exert pressure on our leaders and tell them what we want this world to be fairer and cleaner. Because OURS and no others is the responsibility to leave behind a habitable planet. Barack is just a human being (a very good one indeed, but with his mistakes, just as everybody else), but we, we are 7 billion. Imagine the power of that figure if we all move in the same direction, forward that is. Together we must and we will go, fellow men and women of this miracle we call Earth. Let's keep it that that way for our children, because they deserve their time in paradise as much we did.

Barack Hussein Obama is made of no rock nor metal but flesh, bones and feelings, just like you and me. He has made a mistake, no doubt about it, but I make myself a thousand of them every single day, and I bet you too. The nice words of the campaign have turned hard, on occasion, when facing reality. A reality that is no other than 300M Americans using ever more energy. And here lies the whole challenge we : as long as we don't realize that we cannot keep up with our current consumption rates without disrupting our planet's balance (e.g. the climatic system), no politician will ever be able to do miracles and extract energy out of nothing.

But don't you worry, my dear friend, there is no reason to despair as the key for a sustainable future lies just in our hands and the solution well within reach. It suffices with changing our attitudes and behaviors in our every day lives and motivate a hundred others each to follow suit. And that is the task of no president but OURS, peoples of today with the ideas of tomorrow. Passion, motivation and a dose of guts and we will do what is needed to change this world of ours for the better, reminding our leaders of their duty along the way. Because yes, Barack may have momentarily forgotten about his mission, but that is when we come into play to remind him of it and put things back on track.

And guess what, I'm not the only one standing for our rights:

“I’m optimistic about change happening from the bottom up,” says Emily Rideout, one of the participants in Fossil Fools Day actions in Halifax, Canada.

“The [r]evolution won’t be televised.” -Gene from Greenpeace India
 

“The more Love we send to the Planet and Humanity (including the people who do more harm), the more changes we will see. To change the World you have to change your Heart.” -anonymous friend on Facebook.

“... Our message is not that we can solve global warming one nice project at a time--we can't. Instead, our message is: if we can get to work, so can our lawmakers. If we can climb up on the roof and install solar panels, the U.S. Senate can do what it's supposed to do, and the UN General Assembly, and everyone else who needs to actually get to work. That process begins in April in Bolivia [People's Summit on Climate Change and Mother Earth's Rights]. The world's leaders haven't led, so we're going to have to lead for them. It's going to be a fight, and it's on now.” -Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org.

Because there is only one direction, FORWARD. Because there is only one way, TOGETHER.

On we go, people!!

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Mandela, Invictus

 
The other day,
watching Mandela lead the boys,
tears indeed escaped my eyes,
tears of joys,
tears of peace.
And now that I know who I am,
and who with me in this battle is,
only one thing can shape my lips,
Life as it is,
Love as it lives.

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The Warrior’s Prayer

I am what I am.

In having faith in the beauty within me, I develop trust.

In softness I have strength.

In silence I walk with the gods.

In peace I understand myself and the world.

In conflict I walk away.

In detachment I am free.

In respecting all living things, I respect myself.

In dedication I honour the courage within me.

In eternity I have compassion for the nature of all things.

In love I unconditionally accept the evolution of others.

In freedom I have power.

In my individuality, I express the God-Force within me.

In service I give of what I have become.

I am what I am:

Eternal, immortal, universal, and infinite.

And so be it.

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The Day the World changed for good

Fellow Brothers and Sisters,

Fellow Peoples of this miracle we call Earth,

Time has come to say goodbye,

goodbye to this old world of ours of greed and selfishness.

Time has come for a new beginning,

a new planet full of green and filled with people that love each another.

July 1^st 2010 is the day. The day the world will stand still and wait...

and wait and wait until our so-called leaders listen to us and reach an international, legally binding, ambitious and FAIR agreement to effectively fight one of the most threatening, common menaces of our times: Climate Change.

On July 1^st 2010 we will gather together and march because we do care.

Because the future of our kids is not negotiable, we will march.

Because love will prevail, we will march.

And justice will be made.

For all and forever.

Jesus

(If u want to know more, I'll send u an invitation to this event via facebook)

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A butterfly named Leda

May the dices have brought me here,
may the heavens have led you here.
Had we all needed guidance,
come has our guide.
Had we all looked for light,
come has our sun.
Thank you, our butterfly.
Thank you, Leda. 

 

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The Bad, The Good and The Hope

A week ago, while doing the traditional sunday-afternoon newspaper reading, I came across an article that, somehow, gave meaning to all the pieces I have been gathering for a while now. It was called “Eloge de la métamorphose” by Edgar Morin, a prestigious french philosopher. In it, Mr. Morin sees the world's current state through a different lens. He recalls how the dominant movements throughout history have always had their roots on minorities. Christianity, back in the times of the all-mighty Roman Empire, started up as a forbidden practice among slaves. Liberalism was an abstract idea in the minds of a few philosophers back when the “armadas” ruled our world.

Today, the next chapter of our story is being forged near you. It is still a whisper in the tongue of a few: clean energy, fair trade, social wealth, sustainable development … I am sure you have heard, even if by accident, about some of those. Yes, the ferraries, the skyscrapers, the multi-million dollar companies, they are still on the front covers; but, let me tell you something, their times are over. Something currently in the making is about to replace everything that you have ever known.

The mirage-like city of Dubai represents the pinnacle of the socio-economic western-based model that has prevailed in our world for more than a century now: capitalism or the art of eating up our planet and separating its peoples ever faster. “Dubai, nothing is further from nature than Dubai. But still, nothing depends on nature more than Dubai” -extract from “Home”, a beautiful documentary from Yann Arthus-Bertrand depicting our home planet, its menaces and hopes. Dubai needs loads of drinking water where there is only desert, Dubai drinks oil by the tons while the sun's power bathing its lands is forgotten.

But don't you worry son, I have seen good people, hordes of them, dedicating their lives to the betterment of your future. I have seen people building airports on top of a green island -Kansai-, blending it wonderfully with its natural environment, caring about their workers, about our soils and airs, about our rights and futures. I have seen good and now I have hope. Hope that you will inherit a breathable atmosphere and a green mantle to play with your schoolmates.

Remember the Columbuses, the Galileos, the Mandelas, The Mother Teresas, the Obamas … they all started from scratch and, armed with courage and determination, went on to change our world forever. Our time is now. It is my generation's responsibility to fight for your generation's future. And believe me, son, we are going to do this. We are going to learn from the mistakes of our past -the Dubais- and build on to your future -the Kansais-. Don't you worry son, cause here we are, the Warriors of the Rainbow.

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Act Now - Change the Future (Greenpeace International)

Barack Obama, President of the United States

Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission

And every other Head of State of the so-called developed nations,

Dear Sirs,

We expected the climate summit in Copenhagen to agree a fair, ambitious and legally binding treaty to protect the climate.

You know the science is clear – to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, global average temperatures must peak well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and return far below 1.5°C thereafter. This requires cutting emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 80 percent by 2050.

This is needed to ensure the survival of the world’s most vulnerable nations and ecosystems and, ultimately, all humanity.

Although you and other political leaders collectively failed to get the agreement needed, the fight to save the climate is not over.

The decision to move the legal agreement to 2010 provides a last chance for you to demonstrate leadership. In order to secure agreement you, as Head of State must remain engaged until the treaty is in effect.

We expected leadership from you. We still expect you to deliver. The coming months offer the last chance for you to show us that leadership. Failure is not an option. You cannot change the science; you can change the politics. If the politics don't change, we have to change the politicians.

Industrialized countries bear an historic responsibility, have the greatest capacity to take action and have the highest per capita emissions. As a leader of an industrialized country, your responsibility is to commit to deep emissions cuts.

At Copenhagen, the so-called 'Accord' was presented as a ‘take it or leave it’ deal that was rightly rejected by many countries and not even formally adopted by the Conference of the Parties (COP).  The 'deal' is in fact a major concession to climate polluting industries. It will propel the world towards a 4°C temperature rise, with all the devastating climate impacts that this entails.  A legally binding agreement is needed to avert climate catastrophe - and this is what we need you to deliver in 2010.

You must: take a lead; commit to emissions cuts of 40% by 2020; commit to provide funding to help developing countries onto a clean energy pathway, protect tropical forests and adapt to climate change impacts that are now unavoidable. And this must be enshrined in a legally binding treaty.

These are the first essential steps to getting the deal the world needs.
The world is watching. I can assure you that we will not stop until the necessary action is taken. 

Please, ACT NOW - CHANGE THE FUTURE


Sincerely,

Jesus Iglesias Saugar

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Katie, this is one is for you and all my Webber friends

A few weeks ago, a big friend of mine brought me back some memories from the good old times. It was Katie, my favorite Brit girl as I used to call her. Katie, a fantastic person (and better football player ;) I was lucky enough to share some time with a few years ago at a business school -Webber International University- somewhere in central Florida.

While routing through her Webber stuff looking for some documents for an interview, she just happened to come across an old piece of paper. An old piece of history she immediately sent to me on an inspiring, “just-made-my-day” facebook message. It was a little “poem” I dedicated to her back then. It seems I even signed it four times, maybe because my pen wasn't working that day or just out of pure overexcitement.

I wrote it for a “Humanities Survey” class, with the legendary Miss Mark, as part of a group representation of a Dead Poets Society's gathering. We put on some candles, turned off the classroom lights and “sucked the marrow out of life” for a while with our emotion-full readings.

This is one is for you, Katie. This one is for all of you: Yuiti, Emerson, Radovan, Magnus, Hernan, Nacho, Leigh, Chori, Kike, Christophe, Oyvind, Chino, Pete ... and all the great people that made the best year of my life possible. This is my little thank you to all of you guys. Will never forget those times. Will never forget you.

“Love?
Overused word, overwhelming feeling.
It's human, it's real.
It's all around, it's in the end.
It's inhuman, it's unreal.

Want to know?
Sorry then,
cannot describe, cannot tell.
Go out there, find out.
Love, and let be loved.”

Lovely yours,

jesus

PS: As they say, “You get to see everybody at least twice in your life.” I only saw you once …

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Hey there ET! This is Jesus from the Blue Planet...

If you had to sum up Life on Earth in 160 characters, what would you say? If you had to express your own life in 160 characters, what would you say? If you had 160 characters to communicate with somebody from another planet, what would you say? If you had 160 characters to tell ET about what you have lived, what you have felt, what you have dreamed, what you have loved ... what would YOU say?

Wait not more, you can now do just so. That is the original initiative -Hello From Earth- put in place by the Australian science magazine, Cosmos, within the framework of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. It is also sponsored by NASA, the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.

"Hello From Earth" aims at sending a friendly, "earthy" signal to the only known-to-date habitable alien planet: Gliese 581d. This interplanetary message will be beamed to Gliese 581d from NASA's Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla (Australia) on Friday 28 August 2009. It will be composed of some few hundreds 160-characters text messages (just like an SMS) coming from just about any person in the world that wants to participate. If you are keen to do so and send a little "hello world" greeting to our most likely ET-type neighbor, you can still do so until Monday 24^th (hurry up dude!). Just pay a visit to the program official website, log in on the "register" section and … come up with your own, once-in-a-lifetime idea!!

Artist impression of Gliese 581d. Source: European Southern Observatory

Gliese 581d constitutes the first discovered (April 2007) exoplanet -an alien planet outside our Solar System-, that lies in the habitable zone: the so-called area around a planet's star where the temperature is "warm" enough to allow for the existence of liquid water (a key element for life as we know it) on its surface. As a matter of fact, our ET candidate orbits its parent star (Gliese) in about 66 Earth days. Add that up to Gliese 581d being a "rocky planet" -with a solid core the likes of Earth's in terms of composition- and you will get the possibility of oceans and continents. Waters and lands for life to emerge. There is a little particularity regarding Gliese 581 d though: it's about 8 times the size of Earth! For that reason, it receives the charismatic label of "Super Earth". Some astronomers even suggest, a bit jokingly though, that our intelligent counterparts over there, if they exist, may be up to 8 times bigger than us!! No chance for Earth on a "universal" basketball game ;-(

Habitable zone. Source: ESO/Franck Selsis, University of Bordeaux

Let's now respond to those little dilemmas that are surely "hunting" some of you: when is this "message" going to reach its destination? Are we going to get a reply? And if so, will I still be here by then? Let's play the numbers then. Gliese 581d finds itself some 20.3 light-years (194 trillion km) away from us, in the Libra constellation if you want to have a look. That implies that, as our electromagnetic signal (similar to what cell carrier's antennas transmit when you send a regular SMS) travels at the speed of light (yeaahhh) it will take 20.3 years for our bunch of binary-coded text messages to reach Gliese 581 d. Now, let's just suppose there is an intelligent (as "smart" as us at least), technology-capable civilization there. Give them a time period of, say, a year to decipher our message: extract the actual information from the "galactic" noise, figure out the codification, the English language, etc. Then, tally up the return-trip and you get a tentative total of about … 41-42 years to get a response! Yeah, my dear fellow, a few of us may still be here by that time. What a pleasure it would be...can you imagine!!

Ok, ok, things are getting a little sci-fi here, aren't they? Well, in fact, no. The likelihood of extraterrestrial intelligence existing is not at all negligible in a universe as immense as ours. As a proof to that, Dr. Frank Drake figured out the odds of ET (in our Milky Way) in the sixties. He did so in writing the beautiful equation that bears his name: the Drake Equation. Such count, though trivial at first glance, set the path for an intelligent search of intelligent life through the vastness and darkness of Space.

More around the same lines, despite the apparent craziness of the idea, this is not going to be the first time humanity attempts to communicate with its counterparts out there, much less listen to them. In the early 1970s, the Pioneers probes 10 and 11 (unmanned spacecraft) carried small metal plaques identifying their time and place of origin (Earth) as well as their creators (see the famous design of a male and female bodies in the image below) for the benefit of any other spacefarer that might find them in the distant future. Later on that decade, NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 went a step further in the spirit of the Voyagers, bearing a more ambitious message: a gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images portraying the diversity of life on Earth. For the record, the Voyagers are still going on in their exploratory trip, having already surpassed the bounders of the Solar System, they now found themselves in the interstellar medium. Definitely a super accomplishment for humanity! Other enterprises followed suit, like last year's NASA broadcast (from Madrid's, 64-meter, Deep Space Network antenna) of the Beatle's song "Across the Unvierse" to Polaris, the North Star; or Bob Marley's reggae rhythms being sent spaceward by Cosmic Call -a private venture- a few years ago. As you can witness, my dear alien-seeker, we are eager to communicate, we have stuff to say.

Pioneer's message to the stars. Source: Hello From Earth.

But what about the listening part? Remember the movie "Contact"? With Holy Hunt sitting on those huge antennas, desperately trying to unmask "artificial patterns" from the background noise of the Universe? Well, let me tell you something: this isn't just happening in the movies. Not only we have had some of our humongous, dish-like "ears" permanently tuned in on the "out there" for a while now (since the 80s); but, as our astronomical knowledge furthers, we are starting to point in the right directions. Current NASA's Kepler mission and CNES's (French Space Agency) COROT mission, both looking for Earth-like exoplanets, represent two good examples of mankind's strong efforts to narrow down the entire sky to some countable amount of stars likely to harbor habitable planets. The infinite haystack of heaven is in fact getting smaller, and so our holy needle in it will soon become a lot more "findable". And guess what, a few of us are still going to keep throwing those 5-cents coins at the "Fontanta di Trevi" in Rome, Italy, in exchange of an "space wish". Someday, it will pay off and, till that day comes around, I am just gonna continue believing…in magic ;-)

NASA's Deep Space Network antennas. Source: JPL/DSN NASA

Speaking of life in the Universe, a crucial proof to the Panspermia theory (the seeds of life on Earth having come from other celestial bodies the likes of comets and asteroids) has just been encountered last week. One of the science teams from NASA's Stardust mission found some glycine among the returned samples from the comet Wild 2. Glycine -the simplest amino acid used to make proteins- constitutes a major building block of life as we know it (organic based). So yeah, the ingredients for life are floating out there in space. It's all juts matter of probability.

Probability, you know, like the driving topic of the fascinating Chaos Theory, better know perhaps as the Butterfly Effect. Probability, like the almost zero (0.0000000...something) likelihood of me writing this article and you reading it. So, how come, you are surely wondering. Plain answer, my friend. Because the universe Universe is simply huge!! Certainly, the path that led to you and I being here right now is unique but, have a farmland large enough (say, infinite) and your one-of-a-kind vegetable will grow in pairs. The probability of life in the Universe or, in other words, the mission of the SETI Institute: to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.

In brief, from our end of the story, we are proactively bringing what it is needed to the table: being both eager to understand the information, in all its forms, coming down from the Universe, and broadcast our own. Hence, if a bunch of "evolved monkeys" are capable, I don't see why another planet like ours, or 8 times bigger for that matter, cannot be doing the exact same thing? They may have their own SETI at Gliese 581d, or even a more advanced one, who knows. Possibilities are endless. Nobody expresses it better though than Mr. Wilson da Silva, the Cosmos magazine editor: "We don't know if there's life on Gliese 581d and we don't even know if there's a technical civilization capable of detecting our signal. But we do know that it might have the conditions for life. And as soon as the conditions for life existed on Earth, life emerged." And as for the disturbing dilemmas in our minds, Jacqui Hayes -assistant editor for Cosmos- has the right remedy: "And the question is...will we get a reply? No one knows...but why don't we send a message and find out?"

Here I leave you with the good stuff. Messages from our own selves. From people like you and me that just want to know, that just want to find some company in the infiniteness of Space and maybe, who knows, share a ride together. After all, isn't it what life is all about? Drops of life and love enclosed in 160 characters...

"2 3 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 29 31 37 41 43 47 53 59 61 67 71 73 79 83 89 97 101" -Sam
from Adelaide, Australia.

"Chocolate cake: 175g margarine 175g sugar 3 eggs 150g flour 50g cocoa 1tsp baking powder 1tsp vanilla extract Oven: 180C, bake 50 minutes Enjoy!" -Michael Baek from Ishoj, Denmark

"Care to enlighten us about the beginning of the universe? We've narrowed it down to the Big Bang or God." -Swirlz from Sydney, Australia

"hi i am ELias. i am 14 and i comme in peace. i am an earth child and i wanna learn so much about the life on you planet. bye and greathings from the earth." -Elias from Mortsel, Belgium

"Kick it to me! Kick it to me!" -Peter from Sydney, Australia

"Love!Love!Love!" -Marija from Skopje, Macedonia.

"Hey there! This is Jesus from the Blue Planet. In the name of my species -Mankind-, I send you some of our best stuff: Hope and Love. Come, we'll have fun ;-)" -Jesus from Aranda de Duero, Spain.

(You may find more of those beauties in here)

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Sustain-ability ... the Spanish Way

Last July, the "Fundación Universidad Rey Juan Carlos" (URJC) held a one-week summer course at Aranjuez (a middle-sized city about an hour-drive south of Madrid). It was not, however, what you would expect from a session of this nature (summer in Spain!!), say, a half-filled classed of not-so-motivated students just hoping to get some credit hours for mere attendance. Much on the contrary, this time was indeed very different: not only the classroom was packed but, most participants, lectures as well as students ranging from a diverse pool of backgrounds and ages, contributed to a very dynamic and constructive debate. The cause? Pretty simple in fact, a very appealing and up-to-date topic: "The Energy Challenge of Climate Change: Technologies for a Sustainable Energy".

The degradation of the environment, the Climate Change menace, the complex energy equation, the implications on society and its peoples...We live in a globalized world for the good and for the bad. Nonetheless, there is reason for hope, big time. As mentioned, one could sense in this debate at URJC an atmosphere of interest and motivation. A big majority of participants were first-years college students who, despite some understandable fears towards public attention (which "old wolfs" like myself don't have anymore ;-), showed deep concerns upon these threats as well as encouraging willingness to take a leading part in the fight against them. Yeah, my friend, people, specially youngsters (whom the future belongs to), do care about global issues. I don't know whether or not we are going to meet these challenges, so as to paraphrase Barack on his inaugural speech, but, one thing is certain, the need for change is in the minds of today's generations.

Over the course of the 5-days, a broad variety of subjects were covered: starting up from (day 1) a general introduction on the challenges posed by sustainability and the expectations over energy technologies; followed by (day 2) a briefing on the future of fossil-based solutions, with CCS (Carbon Capture and Sequestration) playing a big part; (day 3) an introduction to hydrogen (plus hydrogen batteries and electric vehicles) as a key energy vector for the future together with other more conventional renewable energies (day 4); and concluding (day 5) by the point of view of the administration on green technologies and sustainability.

Many different perspectives were presented: technological, scientific, social, from the government, NGOs (Greenpeace, WWF, ...), the UN, etc. In this regard, we had speakers coming from universities (URJC, Helsinki University of Technology), private companies (Repsol, Iberdrola-Renovables, Elcogas), research centers (CSIC, CIEMAT, CNH, CIUDEN, INCAR), state-run agencies and ministries (EREC -European Renewable Energy Council-; IMDEA-ENERGIA; IDEA -Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, etc.), producers associations (APPA), etc. Besides, some of the current as well as future approaches to the possible solutions were equally treated.

But, on top of it all, the way the course was conducted represented a truly novelty, in my opinion, as it shed light on two fundamental aspects:

• First, the regular citizen's view: what we can do as individuals, communities, associations, etc.

• Second, society's perception of all these matters. Concretely speaking, how people's formed ideas can lead to the rise or falling of some solutions over others. The "people's factor" should thereby not be underestimated as, many times, can outweigh other more "scientific" reasons. This consequently highlights the role of the media, of journalists as "mediators" between reality and the perception the general public gets of it.

Let's then move onto summarizing some of the general conclusions of this successful summer course:

...

Current energy models:

• The current energy consumption rate is not sustainable, particularly in developed countries such as Spain. Thereby, a new energy model is required, one where fossil fuels will diminish their relevance as primary sources or energy.

• Oil and other fossil sources should not be used as fuels, but rather as raw materials for the chemistry industry. As things are today, to continue to burn the remaining oil reserves is nothing but "burning our own home furniture". Whenever the oil world production reaches a maximum -Peak Oil-, cheap oil will be finished forever.

Source: wikipedia

• Cleaner fuels are much much needed. Among those, hydrogen and clean electric energy, coming form renewable sources, are some of the best candidates at present time. In view of supporting a massive, industrial-scale development of these technologies, active policies must open the way urgently.

• All primary sources of energy are necessary, including nuclear. They do not compete against each other, in fact, they are complementary. Countries with a strong dependence on foreign energy resources, Spain being the case, cannot allow themselves the luxury of excluding any primary source, not even nuclear as long as power-plants are within their projected lifetimes.

Energy efficiency and savings:

• Without a doubt, the easiest and cheapest way to cut down energy consumption is to make a more efficient use of every form of energy, avoiding squanderings and improving energy performances along the way.

• Energy consumption rates must be reduced in a great amount in the countries with the largest CO2 emissions per capita, i.e., western countries. On the other hand, developing countries do not fall into this category just yet, as they still have the right to progress just as their rich counterparts did. Nonetheless, this "development" should be performed in the most sustainable manner with quantitative aid and technology transfer from the "other" side of the world.

The 2025-2030 scenario on energy technology alternatives:

• As a temporary solution (short term), natural gas can be a decent alternative for electricity production as long as it is combined with CCS techniques.

• Biofuels and hybrid vehicles (electricity+fuel) seem to be adequate, less CO2-emitting alternatives in the transition towards a "fully clean" transportation sector. As a matter of fact, second-generation biofuels (biomass from agriculture, forestry and farming wastes) constitute a pending revolution with possible strong implications on this area.

• CO2-free carbon, accompanied by CCS techniques, represents another necessary mid-term solution which utilizes the existing, non-renewable raw sources in a "clean" manner for electricity and hydrogen production.

• CCS (Carbon Capture and Sequestration) techniques are a must in the transition from polluting, non-renewable energy models towards clean, wholly renewable-based ones. In that transient phase, CCS will allow for a CO2-free exploitation of fossil fuels (still needed), unless until their alternatives reach maturity.

• Hydrogen represents a good and viable solution for the future (mostly mid to long term) as a clean fuel for transportation. However, being an energy vector, it would only be as "clean" and "green" as the primary energy source where it comes from. In this sense, clean, renewable energies are logically given preference.

• The true future regarding energy relies of course on renewable primary sources such as solar, eolian, geothermal, tidal, etc. Nevertheless, as we are going to see, the goal "100% renewables" is not going to be within reach soon and thus, in the mean time, all other primary sources are going to be needed so as to meet the growing world demand. The idea here is to make the transition as smooth as possible, rendering those non-renewable sources less and less polluting (CO2 emissions, etc.) with time.

• Nuclear fission stands as a mature, safe, CO2-free and predictable power-generating technology. Advanced nuclear reactors, 3^rd and 4^th generation, will be significantly more efficient and, most importantly, safer, further lessening the high-activity wastes problem. Consequently, they should equally play a part on the energy mix of the coming decades.

• Unluckily, nuclear fusion is not going to be available commercially within this time span.

Future energy models and renewable energies:

• From the "20-20-20" (20% less CO2 emissions, 20% renewables and 20% gain in energy efficiency) objective set by the EU for 2020, we must move onto a more ambitious but still feasible "80-60-35" for 2050.

• The 50% reduction of CO2 emissions objective for 2050 can be met if some substantial measures are put in place in order to foster rapid advancements in the following areas:

  • energy efficiency on the utilization of fossil fuels and electricity

  • processes for electric energy production

• No policy on renewable energies can be effective unless intrinsically associated with policies on energy performances and savings.

• The main obstacles standing on the way of renewable energies are, as of today, their high costs and their intermittent nature:

  • As of the latter, their intrinsic random character, would be figured out the moment we get a hold of the energy storage issue derived from it.

  • Concerning the costs, it actually represents the most limiting factor on a short term basis. As time goes by, market forces, propelled by suitable subsidies and subventions, will eventually wear it down.

• Eolian energy (or wind power) is by far the most developed of the pack. Proof of that are its low production costs, close to those of conventional energy sources, which have opened the way for a brand new market.

• Solar energy, thermoelectric and photovoltaic, is expanding quickly although it should follow on the footsteps of wind power so as to develop its respective markets, still pretty incipient.

• To put it in few words, for renewable technologies to play a far more significant role in the future, they need to develop themselves till the point of reaching 100 or even 200 times their current quota on the energy mix.

• In the transportation sector several alternatives will compete with the electric car:

  • vehicles based on advanced, high-performance, low weight and long duration electrical batteries.

  • vehicles based on fuel cells of high reliability and reduced costs.

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Techniques:

• The CO2 storage mechanisms considered to be the most adequate are those based on geological accumulation such as:

  • oil and natural gas reservoirs on the verge of exhaustion or in the final production stages

  • non-exploitable carbon layers in mines

  • deep salt-water aquifers

• The "bottom of oceans" solution, on the contrary, is not to be considered due to its scientific unknowns at present day as well as its social rejection.

• CCS technology has not been implemented as of yet on any thermal power plant in the world.

• Per contra, CCS still finds some uncertainties in the following areas:

  • Legislation: neither international regulations nor granting-permission procedures have yet been clearly established.

  • Economy: the costs implied by this technology are still pretty elevated and so its future viability will very much rely on some favorable legislation.

  • Social aspects, a major issue here, are treated in the next category.

Social perception of technology and science:

• In general, lack of clear and transparent information predisposes society to perceive certain technologies in a biased manner. This way, some risk factors can be exaggerated in the eyes of the public and thus lead to chain reactions of social rejection; eventually, turning down the development of that particular technology.

• A good example of that are CCS methods where the path towards a full social acceptance is still a long and bumpy one and should not be underestimated by any means if these technologies are to make its way into the market.

• Relative to nuclear energy, there tends to be a big public buzz regarding the risks associated to nuclear power plants and their wastes. A big outreach effort is required in this sense so as to spread awareness among the mass population not only about how minimal those risks really are, but also on its advantages compared to other energy technologies (small CO2 emissions, etc.)

The Spanish case:

• Concerning eolian energy, Spain is a top leading country on this technology together with Germany and the USA. Concretely speaking, it represents a share of 10% (huge!) in the electric energy production.

• As for solar energy, Spain has a relevant international position, specially on thermoelectric technology, a pretty suitable method given Spain's irradiation conditions (it only processes direct solar radiation).

• All in all, Spain sustains a reference status in the realm of renewable energies although there is still plenty of room for improvement, particularly regarding energy performance technologies and regulations

  • Efforts in this areas should be prioritize towards the following three major sectors: city planning, construction and transportation.

• Speaking about CCS, in Europe these technologies are on the legislative process at current times. National parliaments' approval will follow.

• The administration has the responsibility of fostering and guiding the development of a national energy plan, which must take into account all the above mentioned aspects, through the deployment of periodically revised programs, regulations and public aids.

• The region of Madrid, one of the most densely populated in Spain, is a goof example of a heavy dependence on external energy sources, with a ratio of about 95% of the total consumed energy coming from outside its borders. Coherently, efficient policies on energy savings and performances need to be applied at every level with each "player" taking an active role.

Yeah, my dear friend, as you may have noticed the way to go is still a long one in the Country of the Sun, but we are putting brains and hearts into matters now and things are shaping up nicely for this new energetically and environmentally sustainable society that we all desire. And let me tell you something, History knows well what happens when the Spaniards bring the "Armada" to the table...

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