Suchergebnisse

This book contains eleven chapters focusing on the soil biodiversity in one of the key biodiversity hotspots of the world, i.e., the Amazon and nearby regions of Brazil. It covers both the tropical savannah and the rain forests. Also addressed are the patterns of diversity and communities of various soil organisms (i.e., earthworms, termites, nematodes, termites, ants, microfungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen fixing bacteria). The work presented is based on the Brazilian component of the project 'Conservation and Sustainable Management of Belowground Biodiversity'. This book represents a major contribution to the literature and will interest those in biodiversity conservation, soil science and ecology.

Im Schuljahr 2017/18 wurden in Deutschland rund 317.000 Schülerinnen und Schüler in Förderschulen (Sonderschulen) unterrichtet. Die Förderschule stellt damit für rund 60% der Schülerschaft mit einem festgestellten sonderpädagogischen Förderbedarf den zu besuchenden Unterrichtsort dar. Trotz dieser hohen Zahlen an Förderschülern stehen die realen Organisationsbedingungen an den Förderschulen jedoch kaum im Blickfeld sonderpädagogischer Forschung. Inhalt dieser Arbeit ist es daher, differenziert nach sonderpädagogischen Förderschwerpunkten die Entwicklung des Förderschulwesens hinsichtlich seiner realen Organisationsbedingungen vor dem Hintergrund nationaler bildungspolitischer Empfehlungen aufzuarbeiten. Die Datengrundlage bilden hierzu auf der einen Seite Veröffentlichungen nationaler Akteure im Schulwesen wie insbesondere der KMK und des Sonderschulverbandes VDS (heute: Verband Sonderpädagogik e.V.) sowie auf der anderen Seite die amtlichen Daten der Schulstatistik des Bundes und der Länder sowie die KMK-Statistik zum Sonderschulwesen. Die bildungspolitischen Empfehlungen werden mit der realen Entwicklung in den einzelnen Förderschwerpunkten verglichen. Damit wird der sonderpädagogischen Forschung eine datenorientierte Untersuchung der Entwicklung des Förderschulwesens hinzugefügt, die ergänzt wird durch weitere Analysen wie den Anteil an Heimschulen oder die Bedeutung der Privatschulen. Abschließend werden Erweiterungen der statistischen Datenbasis erarbeitet, um die Organisationsbedingungen an Förderschulen konkreter abzubilden. Es wird darüber hinaus auch auf statistische Bedarfe zur zukünftigen Abbildung der inklusiven sonderpädagogischen Förderung verwiesen. (DIPF/Orig.) ; In the school year 2017/18, about 317,000 students with ascertained "special educational needs" have been taught in "special schools" (german: "Sonderschule" or "Förderschule") in Germany. These special schools are still the place of study for about 6 of 10 of all students with special educational needs. Despite these high numbers of students, the actual organizational conditions at the special schools are hardly in the focus of special pedagogical research. The content of this thesis, therefore, is to elaborate on the development of the special education system with regard to its real organizational conditions in the light of national educational policy recommendations (Western Germany). On the one hand the database consists of publications by national actors in the school system, in particular the KMK (Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder) and the special education association VDS (today's name: Verband Sonderpädagogik e.V.), and on the other hand it consists of the official school statistics data of the Federal Statistical Office and the statistical offices of the Länder as well as the statistics on special education of the KMK. The educational policy recommendations are being compared to the real development. This is done for each defined individual main area of support. Thus, special-purpose research is added to the existing pedagogic research. The research is supplemented by further analyses, such as the proportion of boarding schools or the importance of private schools. Finally, extensions to the statistical database will be developed in order to more specifically illustrate the learning conditions at special schools. Further, reference is also made to statistical needs for the future mapping of the inclusive special educational support. (DIPF/Orig.)

This document is the theoretical frame of reference for the literacy reports of 28 European countries produced in 2015 and 2016 by ELINET, the European Literacy Policy Network. ELINET – supported by the EU - had 78 partner organisations in 28 European countries. ELINET aims to improve literacy policies in its member countries in order to reduce the number of children, young people and adults with low literacy skills. One major tool to achieve this aim is to produce a set of reliable, up-to-date and comprehensive reports on the state of literacy in each participating European country and to provide guidance towards improving literacy policies in those countries. In order to obtain comparable descriptions a common theoretical framework was developed and – based on qualitative and quantitative data (PIRLS, PISA, PIACC) indicators were identified presented in this document. Chapter 2 outlines the prerequisites for positive literacy development of the four age groups: pre-primary children, primary-age children, adolescents, and adults. In chapters 3 to 5 the performance data and policy areas covered by the country reports are described according to the three key issues defined by the EU High Level Group of Experts on Literacy report: creating a literate environment, improving the quality of teaching, and increasing participation, inclusion and equity. (DIPF/Orig.) ; Dieses Dokument ist der theoretische Bezugsrahmen für 30 Länderberichte zu Lesekompetenz und Lesefördermaßnahmen, die 2015 und 2016 von ELINET, dem European Literacy Policy Network, erstellt wurden. ELINET, von der EU gefördert, hatte 78 Partnerorganisationen in 28 europäischen Ländern. Ziel von ELINET ist es, die Bedingungen zur Förderung von Schriftsprachkompetenz in den Mitgliedsländern zu verbessern, um die Zahl der Kinder, Jugendlichen und Erwachsenen mit geringen Lese- und Schreibkenntnissen zu verringern. Eines der Produkte des Netzwerks war die Erstellung zuverlässiger, aktueller und umfassender Berichte über den Stand der Lesekompetenz und Leseförderung in jedem teilnehmenden europäischen Land, mit Vorschlägen zur Verbesserung bildungspolitischer Maßnahmen. Um vergleichbare Länder-Beschreibungen zu erhalten, wurde ein gemeinsamer theoretischer Rahmen entwickelt und anhand qualitativer und quantitativer Daten (PIRLS, PISA, PIACC) Indikatoren ausgewählt, die in diesem Dokument vorgestellt wird. In Kapitel 2 werden die Voraussetzungen für eine positive Entwicklung der Lese- und Schreibfähigkeiten in den vier Altersgruppen - Kinder im Vorschulalter, Kinder im Grundschulalter, Jugendliche und Erwachsene - beschrieben. In den Kapiteln 3 bis 5 werden die Leistungsdaten und die in den Länderberichten enthaltenen Fördermaßnahmen anhand der drei Schlüsselthemen beschrieben, die im Bericht der EU High Level Group of Experts on Literacy definiert wurden: Schaffung eines schriftreichen Umgebung, Verbesserung der Qualität des Unterrichts sowie Förderung von Teilhabe, Inklusion und Chancengerechtigkeit.

Dieses Skalenhandbuch dient der Dokumentation der Fragebögen, welche im Rahmen der Hauptstudie von PISA 2009 (Programme for International Student Assessment) in Deutschland eingesetzt wurden. Die Darstellung umfasst die internationalen Fragebögen sowie die national ergänzten Fragen und Instrumente. In PISA 2009 wurden Schülerinnen und Schüler, Eltern der Schülerinnen und Schüler, Schulleiterinnen und Schulleiter sowie Lehrerinnen und Lehrer des Fachkollegiums Deutsch befragt. In dem vorliegenden Skalenhandbuch werden die Wortlaute und die statistischen Kennwerte für die international eingesetzten sowie für die national ergänzten Fragen berichtet. Um die schulischen Rahmenbedingungen und Lerngelegenheiten im Deutschunterricht spezifischer erfassen zu können, wurden zusätzlich zur Entwicklung ergänzender Fragebögen zwei Erweiterungen des Designs vorgenommen: (1) Die Stichprobe der Schülerinnen und Schüler wurde an den an PISA 2009 teilnehmenden Schulen auf zwei vollständige Klassen der 9. Jahrgangsstufe erweitert (nicht an beruflichen Schulen sowie an Sonder- und Förderschulen) und (2) es wurde ein Fragebogen für Lehrerinnen und Lehrer des Fachkollegiums Deutsch entwickelt und eingesetzt. Die berichteten Analysen beziehen sich auf die Stichproben von 9461 Schülerinnen und Schülern der 9. Jahrgangsstufe, 9461 Eltern der Schülerinnen und Schüler, 226 Schulleiterinnen und Schulleitern sowie 2201 Lehrerinnen und Lehrern aus den Fachkollegien für das Fach Deutsch (inklusive berufliche Schulen sowie Sonder- und Förderschulen). Die Skalenbildung erfolgte auf Grundlage der Klassischen Testtheorie (KTT). In den internationalen Abschnitten der Instrumente orientierte sich die Skalenbildung an den internationalen Vorgaben. (DIPF/Orig.)

Rezension von: Christiane Brokmann-Nooren / Iris Gereke / Hanna Kiper / Wilm Renneberg (Hrsg.): Bildung und Lernen der Drei- bis Achtjährigen. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt 2007 (400 S.; ISBN 978-3-7815-1533-8; 22,00 EUR).

Job creation and productivity growth are at the forefront of the global development agenda. The central challenge today for the government of Georgia is to find sources of long-term economic growth, particularly through private sector development. This study seeks to identify determinants of high-growth entrepreneurial activity. The stusy uses data from the new 2012 World Bank Entrepreneurship Survey conducted to gauge new firm growth in the formal sector in Georgia and data from World Bank Enterprise Surveys to analyze innovative activity in existing firms. It includes detailed case study ana

This new flagship report for the eTransform Africa Project, produced by the World Bank and the African Development Bank, with the support of the African Union, identifies best practice in the use of Information and communication technologies (ICTs) in key sectors of the African economy. Under the theme transformation-ready, the growing contribution of ICTs to agriculture, climate change adaptation, education, financial services, government services, and health is explored. In addition, the report highlights the role of ICTs in enhancing African regional trade and integration as well as the need to build a competitive ICT industry to boost innovation, job creation, and the export potential of African companies.

L'ermeneutica filosofica di Hans-Georg Gadamer – indubbiamente uno dei capisaldi del pensiero novecentesco – rappresenta una filosofia molto composita, sfaccettata e articolata, per così dire formata da una molteplicità di dimensioni diverse che si intrecciano l'una con l'altra. Ciò risulta evidente già da un semplice sguardo alla composizione interna della sua opera principale, Wahrheit und Methode (1960), nella quale si presenta una teoria del comprendere che prende in esame tre differenti dimensioni dell'esperienza umana – arte, storia e linguaggio – ovviamente concepite come fondamentalmente correlate tra loro. Ma questo quadro d'insieme si complica notevolmente non appena si prendano in esame perlomeno alcuni dei numerosi contributi che Gadamer ha scritto e pubblicato prima e dopo il suo opus magnum: contributi che testimoniano l'importante presenza nel suo pensiero di altre tematiche. Di tale complessità, però, non sempre gli interpreti di Gadamer hanno tenuto pienamente conto, visto che una gran parte dei contributi esegetici sul suo pensiero risultano essenzialmente incentrati sul capolavoro del 1960 (ed in particolare sui problemi della legittimazione delle Geisteswissenschaften), dedicando invece minore attenzione agli altri percorsi che egli ha seguito e, in particolare, alla dimensione propriamente etica e politica della sua filosofia ermeneutica. Inoltre, mi sembra che non sempre si sia prestata la giusta attenzione alla fondamentale unitarietà – da non confondere con una presunta "sistematicità", da Gadamer esplicitamente respinta – che a dispetto dell'indubbia molteplicità ed eterogeneità del pensiero gadameriano comunque vige al suo interno. La mia tesi, dunque, è che estetica e scienze umane, filosofia del linguaggio e filosofia morale, dialogo con i Greci e confronto critico col pensiero moderno, considerazioni su problematiche antropologiche e riflessioni sulla nostra attualità sociopolitica e tecnoscientifica, rappresentino le diverse dimensioni di un solo pensiero, le quali in qualche modo vengono a convergere verso un unico centro. Un centro "unificante" che, a mio avviso, va individuato in quello che potremmo chiamare il disagio della modernità. In altre parole, mi sembra cioè che tutta la riflessione filosofica di Gadamer, in fondo, scaturisca dalla presa d'atto di una situazione di crisi o disagio nella quale si troverebbero oggi il nostro mondo e la nostra civiltà. Una crisi che, data la sua profondità e complessità, si è per così dire "ramificata" in molteplici direzioni, andando ad investire svariati ambiti dell'esistenza umana. Ambiti che pertanto vengono analizzati e indagati da Gadamer con occhio critico, cercando di far emergere i principali nodi problematici e, alla luce di ciò, di avanzare proposte alternative, rimedi, "correttivi" e possibili soluzioni. A partire da una tale comprensione di fondo, la mia ricerca si articola allora in tre grandi sezioni dedicate rispettivamente alla pars destruens dell'ermeneutica gadameriana (prima e seconda sezione) ed alla sua pars costruens (terza sezione). Nella prima sezione – intitolata Una fenomenologia della modernità: i molteplici sintomi della crisi – dopo aver evidenziato come buona parte della filosofia del Novecento sia stata dominata dall'idea di una crisi in cui verserebbe attualmente la civiltà occidentale, e come anche l'ermeneutica di Gadamer possa essere fatta rientrare in questo discorso filosofico di fondo, cerco di illustrare uno per volta quelli che, agli occhi del filosofo di Verità e metodo, rappresentano i principali sintomi della crisi attuale. Tali sintomi includono: le patologie socioeconomiche del nostro mondo "amministrato" e burocratizzato; l'indiscriminata espansione planetaria dello stile di vita occidentale a danno di altre culture; la crisi dei valori e delle certezze, con la concomitante diffusione di relativismo, scetticismo e nichilismo; la crescente incapacità a relazionarsi in maniera adeguata e significativa all'arte, alla poesia e alla cultura, sempre più degradate a mero entertainment; infine, le problematiche legate alla diffusione di armi di distruzione di massa, alla concreta possibilità di una catastrofe ecologica ed alle inquietanti prospettive dischiuse da alcune recenti scoperte scientifiche (soprattutto nell'ambito della genetica). Una volta delineato il profilo generale che Gadamer fornisce della nostra epoca, nella seconda sezione – intitolata Una diagnosi del disagio della modernità: il dilagare della razionalità strumentale tecnico-scientifica – cerco di mostrare come alla base di tutti questi fenomeni egli scorga fondamentalmente un'unica radice, coincidente peraltro a suo giudizio con l'origine stessa della modernità. Ossia, la nascita della scienza moderna ed il suo intrinseco legame con la tecnica e con una specifica forma di razionalità che Gadamer – facendo evidentemente riferimento a categorie interpretative elaborate da Max Weber, Martin Heidegger e dalla Scuola di Francoforte – definisce anche «razionalità strumentale» o «pensiero calcolante». A partire da una tale visione di fondo, cerco quindi di fornire un'analisi della concezione gadameriana della tecnoscienza, evidenziando al contempo alcuni aspetti, e cioè: primo, come l'ermeneutica filosofica di Gadamer non vada interpretata come una filosofia unilateralmente antiscientifica, bensì piuttosto come una filosofia antiscientista (il che naturalmente è qualcosa di ben diverso); secondo, come la sua ricostruzione della crisi della modernità non sfoci mai in una critica "totalizzante" della ragione, né in una filosofia della storia pessimistico-negativa incentrata sull'idea di un corso ineluttabile degli eventi guidato da una razionalità "irrazionale" e contaminata dalla brama di potere e di dominio; terzo, infine, come la filosofia di Gadamer – a dispetto delle inveterate interpretazioni che sono solite scorgervi un pensiero tradizionalista, autoritario e radicalmente anti-illuminista – non intenda affatto respingere l'illuminismo scientifico moderno tout court, né rinnegarne le più importanti conquiste, ma più semplicemente "correggerne" alcune tendenze e recuperare una nozione più ampia e comprensiva di ragione, in grado di render conto anche di quegli aspetti dell'esperienza umana che, agli occhi di una razionalità "limitata" come quella scientista, non possono che apparire come meri residui di irrazionalità. Dopo aver così esaminato nelle prime due sezioni quella che possiamo definire la pars destruens della filosofia di Gadamer, nella terza ed ultima sezione – intitolata Una terapia per la crisi della modernità: la riscoperta dell'esperienza e del sapere pratico – passo quindi ad esaminare la sua pars costruens, consistente a mio giudizio in un recupero critico di quello che egli chiama «un altro tipo di sapere». Ossia, in un tentativo di riabilitazione di tutte quelle forme pre- ed extra-scientifiche di sapere e di esperienza che Gadamer considera costitutive della «dimensione ermeneutica» dell'esistenza umana. La mia analisi della concezione gadameriana del Verstehen e dell'Erfahrung – in quanto forme di un «sapere pratico (praktisches Wissen)» differente in linea di principio da quello teorico e tecnico – conduce quindi ad un'interpretazione complessiva dell'ermeneutica filosofica come vera e propria filosofia pratica. Cioè, come uno sforzo di chiarificazione filosofica di quel sapere prescientifico, intersoggettivo e "di senso comune" effettivamente vigente nella sfera della nostra Lebenswelt e della nostra esistenza pratica. Ciò, infine, conduce anche inevitabilmente ad un'accentuazione dei risvolti etico-politici dell'ermeneutica di Gadamer. In particolare, cerco di esaminare la concezione gadameriana dell'etica – tenendo conto dei suoi rapporti con le dottrine morali di Platone, Aristotele, Kant e Hegel – e di delineare alla fine un profilo della sua ermeneutica filosofica come filosofia del dialogo, della solidarietà e della libertà. ; The philosophical hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer – one of the cornerstones in the 20th century philosophy – certainly represents a compound, prismatic and articulated thought, i.e. a philosophy made up of several different dimensions entwined with each other. A simple look at Gadamer's major work Wahrheit und Methode (1960) can already clarify this point, since the book displays a theory of understanding which takes account of three different dimensions of human experience – art, history and language – obviously conceived as mutually related. But this picture gets a lot more complicated if one takes into consideration the many books and articles Gadamer wrote before and after his magnum opus which testify the presence of other interests and topics in his thought. Nevertheless the complexity of Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics has not always been recognized by his interpreters, who often concentrated only upon Wahrheit und Methode (in particular upon the problems of the Geisteswissenschaften) and gave no attention to other subjects (in particular the ethical and political dimension of his hermeneutical philosophy). Moreover it seems to me that many interpreters didn't pay enough attention to the fundamental unity – which of course doesn't mean "sistematicity" – that reigns in Gadamer's philosophy despite its pluralist and heterogeneous character. My point is that the many dimensions of Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics – aesthetics and human sciences, language philosophy and moral philosophy, dialogue with the Greeks and critical confrontation with modern thought, reflections upon anthropological problems and observations concerning our actual sociopolitical, scientific and technological condition – actually represent the different sides of one thought centered on what we could define the malaise of modernity. In other words, it seems to me that the whole of Gadamer's philosophy originates from the consciousness raising of the critical situation in which our world finds itself today: a deep crisis which, according to Gadamer, branches out into manifold directions and various dimensions of human life. My interpretation tries then to give an account of both the pars destruens and pars costruens of Gadamer's philosophy, namely of his attempt to investigate and take a hard look at this critical dimensions of human existence in order to let out the point at issue and propose remedies, alternatives and possible solutions. In the first section – entitled Phenomenology of modernity: the various symptoms of the crisis – I explain how a great part of the 20th century philosophy has been concerned with the idea and the feeling of a crisis of our culture and our civilization. In my view Gadamer's hermeneutics too takes part in this global philosophical discourse. I try then to show and illustrate the various symptoms of this crisis analyzed by Gadamer, such as: socioeconomic pathologies of our bureaucratic societies; world-wide growth of the Western way of life to the detriment of other cultures; crisis of our values and beliefs (and consequent spread of relativism, skepticism and nihilism); growing inability to have meaningful relations with art, poetry and culture; finally, problems concerning the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the risk of an ecological crisis, and the disturbing, unpredictable consequences of some recent scientific discoveries (above all in the field of genetics). Once outlined Gadamer's critical view of our age, in the second section – entitled Diagnosis of the malaise of modernity: the spread of instrumental and techno-scientific reason – I try to show how, according to Gadamer, a common root lies at the base of the many symptoms of the crisis, namely the birth of modern science and its close, intrinsic relationship with technique and with a specific form of rationality that Gadamer – with reference to the analysis developed by such thinkers as Max Weber, Martin Heidegger and the so-called Frankfurt School – calls «instrumental reason» or «calculating thinking». I try then to give an account of the gadamerian conception of techno-science, meanwhile highlighting some aspects: first, how Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics should not be interpreted as an antiscientific thought but rather as an antiscientistic thought (which of course is something quite different); second, how Gadamer's reconstruction of the malaise of modernity never ends up in a "totalizing" critique of reason, nor in some sort of negativistic and pessimistic philosophy of history centered on the idea of an inescapable course of the events guided by a polluted, "irrational" rationality; third, how Gadamer – despite all the inveterate interpretations that read his philosophy as a form of authoritarian, traditionalist and antienlightenment thought – never aimed to reject the modern scientific Enlightenment tout court but rather to "correct" some of its tendencies and so to regain a wider and more comprehensive concept of reason. After having analyzed in the first two sections the pars destruens of Gadamer's philosophy, in the third and last section of my work – entitled Therapy of the crisis of modernity: the rediscovery of experience and practical knowledge – I take into consideration the pars costruens of his thought, which according to my interpretation consists of a rediscovery of what he calls «a different kind of knowledge», i.e. of a rehabilitation of the all those forms of pre- and extra-scientific experience that constitute the «hermeneutical dimension» of human life. My analysis of Gadamer's conception of understanding and experience – seen as forms of «practical knowledge» different in principle from theoretical and technical knowledge – leads then to a global interpretation of philosophical hermeneutics as practical philosophy, i.e. as a philosophical elucidation of the prescientific, intersubjective and "of commonsense" reasoning which characterizes our «life-world» and our practical life. But obviously this analysis also implies a special consideration of the ethical and political implications of Gadamer's thought. In particular, I try to examine Gadamer's conception of ethics – taking account of his relation with Plato's, Aristotle's, Kant's and Hegel's moral theories – and finally I sketch an outline of his philosophical hermeneutics as a philosophy of freedom, dialogue and solidarity.

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PLEASE REMEMBER That by sending your orders to us you help build up and devel-op one of the church institutions with pecuniary advantage to yourself. Address H. S. BONER, Supt. 1 The CClevQUpy. The Literary Journal of Gettysburg College. Vol. XIII. GETTYSBURG, PA., FEBRUARY, 1905. No. 8 CONTENTS 'WHERE PROVIDENCE PREVAILED," , . . 246 BY MISS HARRIET MCGILL, '06. THE NOVEL OF SENTIMENT,* 25.0 "IMBEM." THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE, . . . 259 BY H. F. SMITH, '07. RELIGION AND SOLITUDE, . 265 BY SAMUEL E. SMITH, '07. THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A MILLIONAIRE,*' . . 268 "NOMEN." EDITORIALS, . • . 274 EXCHANGES, ". .276 ♦Contributed for Pea and Sword Prijze Essay Conteat. LiUlMUflMfti i \| 246 THE MERCURY. WHERE PROVIDENCE PREVAILED. Bv Miss HARRIET MCGIU., '06. THE woman waited; as in the lulls of the moaning, De-cember night wind, she heard the sound of sleigh bells mingled with the laughter of happy lovers, who sped swiftly by, she smiled, then gave a little sob, and smiled straight away again. "For what," she said, " if the waiting is long, one has always the past as a companion." Yes, "as a companion" and as such, Time had been kind to the woman. True, he had streaked the black hair with grey, and hardened the strong large hands with marks of toiling, but these things mattered little, for had he not left the great dark eyes undimmed? Just as twenty years ago, when they had look-ed frankly up into the face of the man whom their mistress call-ed ''husband," and smiling through their tears, spoke more plain-ly than any language the great word "courage," even so had they looked ever since into the face of Old Father Time, and looking smiled; no wonder then that he could not dim them. And the man : he also was waiting; the woman waited in a room bare and cheerless, the room of a servant in a great city, that of the man was equally bare and cheerless, it was the pris-on cell of one whom the world called "criminal." Now comes the strange part of our prelude, in the fact that neither of these people knew, how that for which they waited would come to them. Those who had placed the man in his present position, knew well how to make arrangements, by which his wife should not be permitted to see him. He was "in for life," and it was granted, even by the faithful few who remained true to the conviction of his innocence, that his case was hopeless. Yet throughout the twenty years, firmly, as upon the day of their parting, had these two believed in the hope of deliverance, and trusted, as it is the lot of few to trust. The night wind also sighed and moaned around a rude log cabin, that lay a tiny speck upon the broad stretches of the great western prairie. Lonely, sequestered, isolated, truly might ^HHHH THE MERCURY. 247 * * this humble home have been called the " Lodge of some vast wilderness," so far was it removed from the haunts of men, so little did its inhabitants know about the lives of their fellows, in the great outside world. ■ Here, upon this winter night of which we W rite, the good wife of the house, a plain, simple, country woman, who had, up to this time, lived her even, uneventful life, in a spirit of honest contentment, lay down to rest, worn with the day's work. This woman knew nothing of our convict or his wife, the story of the crime whose tragic consequences had involved him in ruin, and blasted the life of the girl whose eyes said "courage," had never even reached these humble prairie dwellers, and when Marie Cor-douy closed her eyes that night, she expected nothing but the "sleep of the just," the usual reward of her hard labor. Instead —well let us hear the story of her dream; she says, "I was there, and yet not there; for somehow I know that the girl I saw was alone, after she bade her sister good-bye, saying that she would go through the wood to the farm of a neighbor who lived about two miles away. I can see her now as she walked along, she was a pretty girl, with hair like gold, and eyes like the "bluets,". which grew all around her in the forest, as she walked among them barefoot, her shoes in her hand, for she took them off to save them, when she came to the wood. So she walked on for sometime until she came to a large rock that stood out on the bank of a stream, and here she sat down to rest, for the day was warm, and she tired. Suddenly two men crept out from the trees behind the girl. One was tall with a scar 0.11 bis face, he seem-ed to be middle aged, the other was smaller, and from his looks could have been a son of the first. Just as she sat there, with-out any thought of harm, those men rushed on the girl, and throttled her, then they carried the poor tiling, into the bed of the stream, and foully murdered her there, while the water washed away the signs of their bloody work. When it was done, they went back to the rock and tried to move it. At last they got space enough to dig a kind of a grave underneath, where they buried the girl, her shoes beside her, and the knives with which ■^^■HnuAfl-fi 248 THE MERCURY. they had stabbed her. When I saw them sneak away, through the trees, the horror of the thing awakened me." So great was this horror, that Marie awoke her husband, and told him of the dream, but, saying that it was nothing, told her to try to sleep once more. Yet again came the dream, as viv-idly as before, and then again, three times, did she have it be-fore morning came to deliver her. Still John Cordouy said that it contained no portent, and advised her to forget it, this how-ever was easier said than done, and from that nig*ht Marie was a changed woman. The dream never seemed to leave her mind, its weight oppressed her, and finding no sympathy in John, she yet persisted in telling her gruesome tale, not only to him, but to any chance traveller whom she could persuade to listen.— Finally, for the world is a small place, after all, the news of the dream reached the ears of the woman who waited. Teresa Jardain, wife of the supposed murderer, whose life imprisonment instead of death because of inability to find the body of the girl, had been secured by the man who accused him ; a man high in power, a tall man, with a scar on his face. .This man's son had once loved the dark eyed beauty of Teresa, who had refused his offer of marriage, and had afterwards been spurned by the girl, whose strange disappearance had so affect-ed the life of the Jardains, the neighbors, to whose farm she was last seen starting out. Now into Teresa's life, since her brave fight against the world began, had entered much wisdom ; it was as the " wisdom of the serpent," and with it she determined to save her husband, and see his face once more. As has been said, there were some few friends remaining who believed him innocent; to these men Teresa went, with the strange story of the dream, implor-ing their aid. At last this plan was agreed upon. Two of these men, who were fortunately wealthy and influential, went secretly to the prairie home of Cordouy, disguised as travellers. As usual Marie, eager for listeners, related the story of her dream, she seemed to find relief in telling it as often as possible. They then took Cordouy into their confidence, and proposed to him a trip through the East to the place where the tragedy occurred. BBlnflftFi THE MERCURY. 249 Marie would of course accompany them, and should she recog-nize the surroundings, identify the men, and find the body of the girl, the murderers might be forced into a revelation of the truth. In the meantime the story was to be kept secret so that they might be taken off their guard. Their plans were strangely successful, when Marie, in the course of their journey, reached the neighborhood where the murder took place, she seemed to grow more and more excited, at last she could stand it no longer, and told the others that this was the place of her dreams. Eagerly leading them into the wood, (a. strange place remember, where she had never been before,) she hurried on until she reached the rock by the streamlet, and began in her haste to dig away the earth beneath it, with her own hands. She was however persuaded to give place to work-men, who arrived with suitable tools, and soon dug from their resting place of twenty years or more, the skeleton of the girl, the knives and even the remainder of the shoes, which lay by themselves, near her head, showing that she had worn them. The story now spread far and wide, and the real murderers, fail-ing in an attempt to flee the country, confessed their guilt, and met the punishment which had been for so long a time delayed. The night winds no longer moaned around the prairie cabin, with a story of duty left undone, its sound bears rather comfort to the woman within, her mission is fulfilled, Marie Cordouy is satisfied. No longer does a captive, Paul Jardain, stretch im-ploring hands, behind his prison bars and implore it to bear the message of his innocence to the world. The weary watch of Teresa, the woman who waited, is over, for Providence worked a miracle with the passing of the night wind. [D1^B^HHHHHEthere are many novel readers who might express the bitterness -of their experience in the lines of Thompson— " Ah from real happiness we stray, By vice bewildered, vice which always leads However fair at first to wilds woe." Every man has a model for his life, an ideal, and how much -does a man's welfare depend on the ideal which is enshrined in ihis heart of hearts ! Any force which has the power of chang-ing ideals should be (both) helped and hindered in its opera-tion, aided that it may effect the greatest good and hindered Jest it accomplish the most of evil. Fiction has shaped ideals and it is moulding ideals today and in many cases this is being ■done with great injury to humanity. Too many of our novelists picture woman as an angel or a fiend. At one time they por-tray woman, as the flatterer, the seducer, the destroyer, and as-sociate her with such deadening villianies that she appears as .a veritable Medusa petrifying all that is noble in the nature of man; while at another time, under the spell of their pens she ■■■■■■■^■■■■H ■: , ' '\U- U --- v - -^ 256 THE MERCURY. stands forth as semi-divine a creature too wondrous for daily contact with the world. From a social standpoint, it is truly alarming to observe the opinions which are held by thousands-of the male sex concerning women, and not a few of these de-praved ideas can be traced to the popular novel. While wo-man can fall lower and can also attain greater heights than* man, yet the vast majority of women occupy a middle plane where virtue is a companion and the ordinary duties of life keep the angelic qualities in the background. It can safely be said that the average work of fiction is too radical in depicting the characters of women. Somewhat allied to the above topic is the illusive idea so-prominent in current fiction that it is an absolute fault to be commonplace. All real life is commonplace. It is a round of duty and service and only once in a great length of time does a man spring forth who rises above his fellows. Anything that derides the homely toil of the private citizen or makes men* dissatisfied with their station in life by infatuating them with visions of power selfishly attained, must be characterized as-pernicious, because it places false ideals before the eyes of men. There is also an influence at work today of the same nature,, that makes the securing of wealth the one thing for which men should strive, and many novels of the twentieth century are strongly imbued with this spirit. After an examination of many popular books, it is found in numerous instances that wealth is regarded as the greatest thing in the world. This is-not done in a direct way, but is brought by a hint here and a* suggestion there, benumbing reason and calling into action all that is sordid in the soul of man. Thus there are novels which speak of millions with an air of studied carelessness, while others recount the struggles of a hero who begins life as a poor boy and finally becomes the possessor of hundreds of thousands and even millions. Such ideas held out before the young peo-ple of today are most harmful. While wealth is- desirable, it is of secondary importance. It does not bring character nor happiness to its possessor, and is often a hindrance to noble endeavor. How refreshing it is when some novelist deigns to> m WIUHMWJIlllWi THE MERCURY. 257 give to the public a story of the poor, of people in ordinary-circumstances, showing to mankind that riches are not the passport to happiness. Let our writers take Thackeray for their pattern. That the ideals in our current literature may be truer and nobler, let our talented authors acknowledge Dickens their patron saint and tell to humanity the strange story of the toil-ing world. When the character of the novel of sentiment has been re-viewed, the mind naturally becomes alert to observe the effects of reading popular fiction. The results are only obvious when, after the reading of books, an investigation is made among one's friends, and every man looks into his own soul, with a view of discerning their exact measure ot influence. Many surprises await one making such an investigation, but probably the most astonishing is the fact that the opinion of many people can be known if one is familiar with the last book which they have read. In other words, too many men and women accept the statements of books without applying the test of common sense and reason. Thus, through the frailty of humanity, the novel of sentiment is efficacious for much of good and evil. The greatest fault, perhaps, of the twentieth century novel is the depraved condition of the mind which it produces. By its stimulating power the novel gives an unnatural tone to the mind and brings it into such a condition that there can be no true appreciation for the more noble works of literature. The public libraries and the ones in many colleges testify to the pre-vailing order of affairs, since it is stated on good authority that nine-tenths of all the books which are taken from their shelves are fiction. A doctor of divinity of the Presbyterian Church confessed not long ago, that while he was visiting a neighbor-ing minister and helping to conduct evangelistic services, he found a set of historical novels in the library of his friend, and having become interested, he did not rest until he had read the entire series. " During that week," he said, " I read three of those novels and I had such a feverish interest in them that I purchased the entire set as soon as I returned home." In- 258 THE MERCURY. stances of such fascination are numerous among all classes, and they are destructive to true mental development. Again, the novel of sentiment, within whose pages vice and unnatural affections are so vividly portrayed, debases ten while it is helpful to one. By many it is argued that the immoral book is the most severely moral because it shows to the reader the blackness of evil. This is a fallacy which has always been urged concerning sin; it is the siren voice of the tempter. Such arguments have destroyed the virtues of a multitude. How shall their falsity be shown ? The philosophy of the poet in the lines so frequently quoted reveals the truth— " Vice is a monster of such frightful mien, As to be hated, needs but to be seen ; But seen too oft—familiar grows her face, We first endure; then pity ; then embrace." Throughout the body of this essay a spirit of criticism has been manifested toward the novel of of the last twenty years. In view of the facts such criticism is needed. But praise should be given to authors like Ralph Connor, who has written books with a definite purpose. However, it is very difficult to select really good novels from the great mass of fiction. An inquiry, with the purpose of obtaining a basis for the discrimination be-tween the good and bad in fiction, makes a most fitting con-clusion to our observations on this subject. Under what cir-cumstances is the novel of sentiment a safe agent ? Only when some noble purpose fires the writer; only when the author has some real message for humanity in his book. Sentiment con-nected with the fickle things of life becomes a demoralizing power. The average novel is dangerous from its lack of prin-ciple and purpose. Thus it must be said that this lack of prin-ciple in most of our sentimental novels characterizes them as unfit for a place in our libraries. THE MERCURY. 259 THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. BY. H. F. SMITH, '07. ■** their greatness to the long struggle between France and England," says Thiers in his History of the Consulate and Empire, in speaking of the sale of Louisiana by Bonaparte to the United States. This statement contains two views in them-selves somewhat debatable: First, Whether the United States is indebted for its birth to France. Some think in all proba-bility we would have gained our independence without the aid of France. This could be so and yet the indebtedness not be lessened, for France did help us by the revival of spirits and by material means in the battle of Yorktown. Second, that we are indebted for our greatness to the long struggle between France and England, and not so much to ourselves, we shall en-deavor to establish. In so doing let us look at matters from the French side instead of the American side, and it is proper to do this, since it came to us through French statesmanship with little agency of our own. ' Except the Floridas, the thirteen original colonies with their western claims extended to the Mississippi. Colonization was for France a question of life or death. The French were es-pecially active in this line. As colonizers they far exceeded the English in brilliancy. They were more energetic, persis-tent and courageous; but when an eminent Frenchman had achieved anything great, he was so v?in or ambitious as to wish no other Frenchman to share his glory and would even in some cases war against a rival; furthermore he was not sus-tained by the home government. But the primary cause of lack of results was internal dissention, a constant warring among themselves. Had the energy which they directed toward one another been applied to the obstacles to be overcome, " they would have been consumed as a pathway through the Alps was eaten by the vinegar of Hannibal." The noble Champlain, the indefatigable La Salle, Cartier, Jberville, and Bienville, all figured in the establishment of set- 26o THE MERCURY. tlements in Louisiana. Men were kidnapped and sent over by the thousands. Women became so scarce that cargoes of marriageable girls, filles a la cassette, so-called from the little trunks in which each prospective bride carried the trosseau pro-vided for her by the government, were sent over and on arrival at the levee, were speedily and happily mated. But in a series of wars culminating in the defeat of Montcalm by Pitt and Wolfe combined, all of what were before known as the Colonies Western Claims, were lost and France had only New Orleans and the unexplored area west of the Mississippi. On account of these misfortunes France thought it best to-give up her scheme of colonization and develop home interests. So, desiring an ally in her weakness, she secretly ceded Louis-iana to Spain. This treaty was long kept secret and was much lamented. When the news was broken to the Creoles, the con-sternation was similar to that of the Acadians when they were entrapped. This stripping of France of her American posses-sions created a craving for revenge which was fully satisfied when she helped to tear the thirteen colonies from England, The Louisiana subjects remained true to the French in their hearts, although Spain ruled them generously. Napoleon now became almost absolute ruler with the title of First Consul. He had marvelous schemes of colonization and immediately set about to regain Louisiana. Godoy, who was the power behind the throne in Spain, fearing a probable attack by England, negotiated a treaty very advantageous to us, satis-factorily establishing boundaries, and the " right of deposit " at New Orleans. But when Spain became hopelessly dependent on France, Godoy resigned in despair. A treaty was then negotiated with Berthier, Bonaparte's agent, by which France was to have Louisiana and also the two Floridas while Spain was to have a kingdom of at least one million subjects taken from the French conquests in the northern half of Italy, over which was to be set the Duke of Parma, husband of the infanta, the daughter of Carlos IV. This treaty was negotiated Oct. I, 1800, and was considered by Mr. Adams the source of our title to Louisiana. The king of Spain did ■■nCMBlnMIMrlBwHtHMHMMIIl THE MERCURY. 26 r not as yet sign the treaty. All subsequent treaties were but modifications of this. After some time Napoleon sent his brother Lucien to Madrid to finish the treaty, but he did not succeed in obtaining the king's signature because Godoy who was recalled to power suc-ceeded in bribing him and thus baffling Napoleon. France then prepared to take Louisiana by force and would probably have succeeded if the San Domingo Revolution had not occur-red and blocked all the schemes. But on Oct. 15, 1802, Na-poleon through his agent secured the king's signature but only under most exacting conditions. The United States now comes upon the scene. A new Presi-dent, Jefferson, sat in the presidential chair. " Peace is our passion," was one of his favorite sayings. When it became known that France was dealing secretly with Spain for the retrocession of Louisiana, the West and South, who hated the Spaniards, became wild lest the French getting New Orleans would close the lower Mississippi to commerce and thus ruin them. Accordingly a new minister,' Robert R. Livingston, was sent by us in August, 1801. He was set against the supercilious, deceitful, and arch dissimulator, Talleyrand, who denied every-thing, with some truth, for as yet the king of Spain had not given his signature. But we received definite information from our minister in England. Jefferson thought that trouble was imminent. In 1802 Morales, the civil officer of New Orleans, abrogated the right of deposit, closing absolutely the Mississippi to the United States. This right had been enjoyed since the treaty of 1795. By that treaty it was to last for three years; but at the end of that time, the right was suffered to continue. Now that the right was taken away, the alarm in the West made war seem inevitable. But matters were somewhat calmed by the Spanish minister at Washington and the Governor of Louisiana disclaiming the action of Morales. Jefferson now hit upon a scheme to allay the turbulent ill-humor of the settlers; but in this plan he 262 THE MERCURY. builded far wiser than he knew. He sent a special envoyv James Monroe, to buy outright New Orleans and Florida, with #2,000,000 in hand. The French envoy at this point used his influence to get Napoleon to do away with the interdict of Morales. Monroe had definite instructions : I. He was to purchase, if possible, New Orleans and the Floridas, and he might expend up to #10,000,000 rather than lose the chance. 2. Should France refuse to sell even the site for a town, the old right of deposit as granted in 1795 was to be tried for. Should that fail, further instructions were to be awaited. Jefferson was de-termined to have peace, and showed great moral courage and strength of character in maintaining so steadfastly, in that war-like age, his noble attitude. But if Napoleon would not have wanted to sell Louisiana, no statesmanship or money on our part could have bought it. After they had first sold it to Spain, there was nothing but re-gret, which was not satisfied until negotiations for its retroces-sion were begun. We have seen with what zeal these were pushed. Now that it was in his grasp again could anything tear it from him ? We have said that Napoleon had marvellous schemes of col-onization. The building of a New France in Louisiana was one of them. But his plans were doomed to failure. His own campaign in Egypt and the project for the great invasion of India by Massena had first come to naught; now his schemes in the Occident were meeting with disaster. In San Domingo,, general and army had perished under the weapons of the blacks and the stroke of pestilence. The gloom of a mighty European struggle was ominously looming up on the national horizon. At this time occurred the incident in the drawing room of Josephine, when Napoleon, without any ceremony,, went up to the British ambassador and after an insulting con-versation said that he would have Malta or war. Joseph, Napoleon's other brother, first became apprised of Napoleon's intentions and then informed Lucien. Their cha-grin and astonishment were unequaled. Napoleon had deter- ' Pe.2±fj:#uvaiatf#IHwlBIMR^KHAB[lafl THE MERCURY. 263 mined to get funds to carry on his war with England, to dis-pose of the whole of Louisiana, quite independently of any de-sires or wishes on our part. We see now, as we said in the beginning, our acquisition of Louisiana, and hence our great-ness, depends on the- long struggle between England and France. Napoleon had determined to do this without in the least consulting the Chambers or people of France. In so doing he was risking exile or even his life. His brothers, therefore, were greatly concerned and determined to prevent him from doing this. They formed a plan by which Lucien was to see Napoleon first, and if possible break the ice or lead the conver-sation to Louisiana, and then Joseph was to appear; in this way Napoleon would not suspect their collusion. Lucien found Napoleon in his perfumed bath. He tried to broach the Loui-siana topic, but Napoleon always talked about something else. Finally it was time for Napoleon to leave his bath and they had not reached the Louisiana subject. At this point Joseph knocked for admittance. Napoleon said he would stay in his bath a quarter of an hour longer and had him admitted. Lu-cien whispered to him that he had not yet broached the sub-ject. A stormy interview followed, only Napoleon's shaggy locks and gleaming eyes were above water. Their tones reached a very excited pitch and Joseph rushed at Napoleon. And here occurred the wonderful bath-room incident. Napoleon was so angered that he raised himself from the water and then suddenly fell back, giving Joseph a good ducking. Lucien then followed with a quotation from the Aeneid, which drew the electricity from the cloud and discharged it harmlessly. Then when Joseph had withdrawn, followed an almost equally stormy interview with Lucien. But this only hastened the matter, Na-poleon being anxious to commence his war with England. Words cannot describe the labor and extent oi the work which Livingston accomplished. He won the admiration and respect of Napoleon and Talleyrand. One of his duties was to obtain payment of the spoiliation claims. He wrote a series of papers elaborately setting forth the expediency for France to 264 THE MERCURY. dispose of New Orleans and the Floridas to us. These, per-haps, won him the respect of Napoleon. Far in advance of other statesmen he even showed that it would be best for France to sell us that part of Louisiana north of the Arkansas River, which turned out to be the best part of the bargain, in order to separate Canada or the British'from her province. Then, too, he had to deal with Napoleon, who would accept no counsel, and the wily Talleyrand. Furthermore, he did not have very definite instructions. But, as said in the beginning, we would never have gotten Louisiana by any efforts of Livingston or anybody else, had not Napoleon desired to dispose of it. Now when Livingston had all but accomplished his task, Napoleon offered the whole of Louisiana, and Monroe came in over Livingston. Napoleon had another object in selling Louisiana. If he should retain it, England might, through her all-powerful navy, wrest it from him ; while .in selling it to America, he would make a power which one day would humble England. Marbois, the French agent, and Livingston and Monroe were on very friendly terms, which greatly facilitated matters. Of course our commissioners never dreamed of the whole of Lou-isiana, but Livingston agreed to take it, and three treaties were made: 1. As to the cession; 2. As to the price, and 3. As to the spoiliation claims. It cost us #1 5,000,000, minus the spoli-ation claims. As Jefferson was a strict constructionist, he really overstepped his power in his own opinion. A storm of opposition arose which was gradually overcome. We have not time to discuss this opposition or the results, but will merely state a few of the results: (l) it secured to us the port of New Orleans, the entire control of the Mississippi, and it doubled the area of the United States ; (2) it strengthened the bond of Union in the Southwest; (3) it gave new force to arguments for internal improvements; (4) finally, it weakened strict con-struction and encouraged the interpretation of the Constitution according to the spirit and not the letter. - THE MERCURV. 265 RELIGION AND SOLITUDE. SAMUBI. E. SMITH, '07. WHEN these terms are considered in the sense in which they are ordinarily used, there seems to be a certain impropriety in using them together. The average man thinks of religion as something tangible. Not infrequently is the re-mark made concerning someone that he has very little religion; •which statement would point to the fact that religion is often considered as a kind of veneer, which can be placed over the lives of men for the instruction and helping of those about them. How then can solitude, which implies a separation from men have any relation to religion ? The preceding idea of religion is a very superficial one, although it is widely accepted. Religion has a deeper significance ; it is as its root meaning implies "a thinking again;" it is potential rather than kinetic •energy; it is z;«planted and never /m«jplanted into an indi-vidual. Such is the quality that is to be considered in connec-tion with solitude. All religions have had their origin in solitude. Ab'ram was sent by God into the eastern wilderness ; Moses was alone with Jehovah on Sinai; David had much time for reflection while tending his flock; the prophets were children of the desert; John Baptist was a son of the wilderness; and the Saviour of the world had his forty days, and very often during his active ministry he felt the loneliness of the midnight hour. Thus, in •solitude, there sprang forth from the souls of these men the principles which are the foundation stones of Christianity. Mohammedanism had its beginning in a cave a few miles from Mecca. Mohammed left the busy city and retired to that lonely spot for days at a time. He said that it was there the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him of heavenly things which he should make known to his fellow-men. The new faith spread over many a mile of sea and land until it reached the rock of Gibraltar, and the Moslem hordes were dreaded in the great cities of Europe. Such was the power of the religion which was conceived of in the lonely cave near Mecca. As 266 THE MERCURY. the beginnings of great religions are studied it is found that all burst forth in solitude. Solitude has been the conserving force of every religion. The lonely vigil, the contemplations on divine things, has done more than the preacher and sword in keeping alive the great religions of the world. The monk in his gloomy cell, who-spent almost countless hours in meditation and fervent devotion,, gave the impetus which made the Roman Church the mighty agent which it has been. Even the savage races of mankinJ can be called upon to furnish examples. Without a doubt the crude religion of the American Indian was kept up by the in-fluence of solitude. In his solitary journey through the forest he saw his religions in the rocks and trees and streams. Where the Indians were deprived of their solitude by the advent of the white man, almost immediately they lost their faith in the Great Spirit. Christianity, today, shows the relation between" religion and solitude. The greatest preachers are those who-spend the most time apart from the rush of the world; the most truly religious are those who have spent many an hour in solitude. When the lives of the great ministers of our country-are considered, it is found that nearly all of them were brought up in the country, where the youth is compelled to spend a great portion of his time with nothing to keep him company but the voices of nature. Indeed, it can be said that every re-ligion enjoins its devotees to spend a part of each day in soli-tude. -Thus religion and solitude are very closely'related, and one is inclined to speculate as to the grounds on which this relation) exists. There must be solitude before religion can manifest itself. To understand how this can be true it is imperative that religion should be defined with the greatest precision. Al-ready it has been shown that it is not a tangible thing. But the definition must not stop with this statement. Religion is intuitive; it is a divine essence rising up in the sub-conscious-mind ; it is a spark which shows unmistakably that man is in-deed a son of the Infinite. Thus the religious impulse of the lowest savage is just as strong as is the desire of the civilized 1.1,. ,11. THE MERCURY. 267 man to worship a supreme being. Religion, lying as it does in the sub-conscious mind of man, how can it manifest itself unless there is solitude during which it can lise up? But this spark of the Infinite, religion, which abides in the darkest chamber of the soul, is a peculiar thing. If it is continually-forced back by the authority of the conscious mind, it at length goes out forever, and man is left destitute of the greatest power of his existence. Such a state of affairs does not often come to pass, but it can happen. But how can one conceive of this infinite spark as perishing? It is merely a small part of the great Infinity, which may have a million finite parts lost, as it were by atrophy, and yet remain the same. If, on the other hand, the divine spark is allowed to rise into the conscious mind, it fires the imagination and intensifies every purpose of the man. In the light of this reasoning one can easily see that solitude is of vital importance to religion. Thus, as religion is considered in its true nature, it is seen that religion and solitude are supplementary to each other. Re-ligions have sprung forth in solitude and have been kept alive through its influence. To those accepting the superficial view of religion, many ot the inner workings are inexplicable. For example, they cannot account for the fact that many a man turns to religion on a sick bed, or when he is suddenly removed from the walks of men into the solitude of a wilderness. But those who appreciate its hidden meaning understand that such conduct is due to the divine element which has sprung up dur-ing the solitary hours. Such is the relation of these two terms made plain, which seem at the first glance to be so foreign to each other. 268 THE MERCURY. THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A MILLIONAIRE. [Contributed for the Pen and Sword Ptize Essay contest.'] WHEN Columbus discovered this new world, he little knew that he was opening to the known world the greatest discovery of that or any other age. When three centur-ies later George Washington fought for the freedom of the colonies and, having succeeded in that, helped organize and guide the thirteen colonies on the road of progress, even he with his almost prophetic insight could not foresee what a won-derful future was in store for them. Now this lusty young giant stands with his feet firmly planted on the Isthmus of Panama, his bulk reaching from Ocean to Ocean, from Canada to the Gulf, a hand reached eastward in the Philippines, another extending into the frozen north, Alaska. Covered with farms and forests, factories and cities, honeycombed with mines, bound in the bonds of fraternal friendship by almost two hundred thousand miles of railroad, inhabited by a people the most pro-gressive and civilized of any living; is it any wonder that with all these advantages, natural and artificial, he has rapidly forged to the front in riches also. The natural advantages sur-pass those of all Europe. Now in the midst of this amazing national growth there has been a wonderful growth in private riches. When the country was young and poor the people were also poor. With the rapid settling of the West, the opening of coal and iron mines, the invention of the locomotive and the steamboat, the wealth of individuals rapidly increased. Yet up until the Civil War huge private fortunes might be counted on the fingers of one hand. But after the Civil War begins the period of inventive and industrial advancement, the age of the millionaire. Now a millionaire is a man who by inheritance, in-dustry and economy or by other means too numerous to men-tion, has become possessed of a million dollars or its equivalent. He may have come by this sum honestly or dishonestly but it is the responsibility which comes with this sum of money of which we will take notice. iPIMMIfBm^MW THE MERCURY. 269 Let us take the millionaire from boyhood. He is probably no brighter, no different in outside appearance than the average run of boys, yet by saving a dollar where the other man spends two, by judicious investment where money will the most surely and rapidly increase, these by the time he has reached manhood have made him a comparatively wealthy man. Of course no matter what his morals, his ability to earn money has been held up as a model to other struggling youths, his past has been re-hearsed by the Oldest Inhabitant, boyhood chums are proud to call him by name, so by his example many are willing to jise or fall. Here his responsibility as a moral factor begins. All the while his fortune is increasing until some day when he "takes stock" he finds he is a millionaire. If he is not vastly different from the majority of us, he begins to get a little more exclusive and distant. His old acquaintances gradually fall away and he seeks new friendships among men of his own business standing. If he is selfmade there are no doubt a few rough corners to be smoothed down and polished up in order that he may not appear at a disadvantage among his fellows. This process is usually one of marriage. All this time he is looming larger and larger in the public eye and more and more do newspapers devote space to his goings and comings. Indeed he has no privacy, his every act is under the scrutiny of a lynx eyed public. Now let us glance at a few calamities for which the million-aires of this country may be justly held responsible. There was a time when ability was the measure of success. The time also was when thrift was considered a virtue. Once our poli-tics were pure and uncorrupted. Equality between men as spoken of in the Constitution was not a joke. Honesty in business was a maxim. Human life was regarded as precious not many decades since. Divorce was synonymous with dis-grace. In a word the American people have seen the day when virtue, not money, was the goal of every honest man's ambition. Now all this is changed. Why ? Who are respon-sible for the change? When men like Webster, Clay, Calhoun, Seward, Lincoln, , I : , 27o THE MERCURY. Douglass and others thundered in our legislative halls, there was no thought of their money. The taste of the people had not been debauched by a bribed press, which by skillfully ad-vertising the merits of their customer and belittling the ability of his opponent render it almost impossible for a poor man to secure high office. For example look at our Senate. No men of tremendous personality and ability sit in seats made famous by their predecessors. No orators arise and hold their hearers spellbound by the power of their oratory. No indeed. Instead there sit in our once glorious Senate a body of men whose money has been the open sesame to halls to which their brains would have been found an insurmountable barrier. This ignoble condition is laid at the doors of the millionaires. Again, what has changed a people from a race thrifty and economical, always striving (and usually succeeding) to live within their income, into a people rushing, with a frenzy that amounts to madness almost, in pursuit of the Almighty Dollar? Isn't it the extravagance of the rich from whom the people model their deportment? Million-dollar homes, yachts, autos, balls, operas and the like have such an irresistible attraction for the majority ot people that it is only a man of the most in-flexible will power who can live his life undisturbed by the glitter of much gold. So overwhelming is the desire to possess the fixtures enumerated above that men throw all virtues and vices aside, in order-to secure them. Robbery, embezzlement, fraud and even murder are the agents used in extreme cases. The ostentation of the millionaire is responsible for this. In the magazines of the past year there have been a number of articles pro and con as to whether we have an American Aristocracy. Our Constitution says all men are created free and equal and for almost one hundred years this doctrine was held sacred and we prospered. But with the coming of the millionaire all that was changed. Believing that because they owned more valuable real estate and more gilt-edged bonds than their poor neighbor, they were of superior clay, our mil-lionaires began to ape the degenerate though genteel aristo-cracy of Europe. And those who have occasion and oppor- THE MERCURY. 271 tunity to observe say that they have aped not too wisely but too well. Forgetting that a cad is not a gentleman, that cul-ture, education and brains, not money, give grace and elegance in speech and deportment, some of our would be Aristocrats pose and strut with an affectation of superiority that would be insufferable, were it not so ridiculous. So many owners of >much money gladly take the responsibility for opening the breach of class between man and man. Joseph Folk, swept into the Governor's Chair by a tidal wave ■of reform votes, reached his position by the conviction of bood-lers in the city of St. Louis. When Folk began his now famous •investigation, whom did he find were the bribers, lawbreakers and corruptors of public morality ? They were rich men, the ■financial backbone of St. Louis. It is the same everywhere. The wealthy, the millionaires, have bought outright whole ■city councils, legislatures, judges and have even carried their infamous designs into the nation's lawmakers themselves. In-deed the venal character of our judges have caused the poor to give up all hope of justice when combatted by a man of wealth. And in business men eminently respectable, men above re-proach, lend their names and influence to schemes which, if attempted by an ordinary gold-brick speculator or bunco steerer, would result in that worthy rusticating behind the bars of some penal institution. But because there are millions in it, it is considered high finance to unload Lake Superior, U. S. Ship-building, Amalgamated Copper and Bay State Gas, on a public dazzled by the prospect of sure dividends which never come; and rendered trustful by an eminently respectable directorate. Year by year the man of the monster death has been feeding thousands of victims through the negligence and greed of corpor-ations. This number has increased so rapidly that the President thought it worthy of mention in his last message to Congress. It was high time; men in mills have been burned, maimed, crushed, torn and mutilated; either because the price of their work was so low that they had to constantly work under the •shadow of violent death, or because the owner, squeezing every last cent, refused to place safeguards around death-traps. So : 272 THE MERCURY. long as a mill, railroad or factory pays dividends, what matters it how many poor wretches are ground to fragments, providing: their death does not entail any extra expense on the firm P This criminal disregard of human life does not confine itself to-a purely impersonal matter like a mill or factory. It takes a form of amusement when reckless men crazed with the mad-ness of much money hurl giant automobiles through crowded city streets, at express-train speed. The desire to make a dol-lar was never better illustrated than in the case of a Western) railroad which, by removing a switch-light to save the oilr caused a wreck which hurled scores of human beings into eter-nity. Last but not least, look at the responsibility which million-aires bear to the gravest danger which threatens us at the pres-ent day. We will consider divorce, because the divorce evil1 had its inception among the moneyed class in this country. The home is the bulwark of all lands and all peoples. Where the home is sacred there courage, fidelity and all kindred vir-tues flourish. There also are found the brightest ideals. Ir* this country in the last ten years there has been a flood of divorces so overwhelming that almost all churches have taken* steps to check the evil. On the most trifling charges the bondr which should bind men and women for life, has been rudely snapped asunder, and all over the land we see the distressing; sight of homes desolated and families scattered. Beyond any doubt the millionaires must be held accountable for this. In> New York the so called Four Hundred has more divorces to-the square inch than any similar body of people in this country. Since New York sets the fashions and the rest of the country sheepishly follows, this fashion soon became the reigning fad" in Smart (?) Sets. Other States anxious to keep in the proces-sion enacted lax divorce laws until South Dakota made six-months residence equivalent to divorce. This is the greatest responsibility which rests on the shoulders of our millionaires. Now for a summing up of the misdeeds for which our moneyed men must some day suffer. Overlooking the fact that in our belief no man is fit for heaven who selfishly spends- .MM _ . THE MERCURV. 273 forty thousand dollars a year on himself, what have millionaires individually and collectively done ? They have corrupted our politics, made bare money the criterion of success, destroyed the desire for thrift and economy by lavish expenditure, en-couraged dishonesty directly and indirectly, made a joke of equality between man and man, have made divorce so common that it excites almost no comment, have encouraged race sui-cide and have by gifts of money, dishonestly earned, pauperized ■a portion of our people. They have lowered the ideals which made this republic possible. In a word, if the people have not degenerated under the paralyzing influence of huge fortunes, it is because the heart of the people beats time, in spite of all inducements to the contrary. If they have degenerated it is because of the examples cited above. And weighing all these facts, taking into consideration the good done by much money, we are led to believe, half unwillingly, that it would have been better to have held fast to the conservative principles which ruled in the days of our grand-fathers. A more contented, happy people we should certainly be in place of a nation of vulgar money-grabbers. We would not, of course, have been a world power, with a navy to sweep the seas; but we would have been more respected and feared than we are now. And last and most important, we would have been consistent to the high ideals of which we gave promise in our National Youth. But it is done, our course is changed, time alone can tell what the future has in store for us. As a body our millionaires have much to answer for. Yet setting our faces to the right, let us all in a simple, unassuming way do what destiny has marked for us and all will yet be well with the grandest republic on «arth. ■■■■■■Hi THE MERCURY Entered at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class Matter VOL. XIII GETTYSBURG, PA., FEBRUARY, 1905 No. 8 Editor-in-chief C. EDWIN BUTLER, '05 Exchange Editor CHARLES GAUGER, '05 Business Manager A. L. DILLENBECK, '05 Asst. Business Manager JOHN M. VAN DOREN, '06 Associate Editors H. C. BRILLHART, '06 ALBERT BILLHEIMER, '06 H. BRUA CAMPBELL, '06 Advisory Board PROF. J. A. HIMES, LITT.D. PROF. G. D. STAHLEY, M.D. PROF. J. W. RICHARD, D.D. Published each month, from October to June inclusive, by the joint literary societies of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. Subscription price, one dollar a year in advance; single copies 15 cents. Notice to discontinue sending the MERCURY to any address must be accompanied by all arrearages. Students, Professors and Alumni are cordially invited to contribute. All subscriptions and business matter should be addressed to the Busi-ness Manager. Articles for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address THE MERCURY, GETTYSBURG, PA. EDITORIALS. How swiftly the months pass ! One after another in endless succession they come and go, yea even with this issue the MERCURY adds another year to its history and closes forever the pages of another volume. If it has been any improvement over its predecessor, if it records with any reasonable precision the literary attainments of the student body, and if it is worthy of preservation in the archives of the College, then our labor has not been bought without a price and the high mark, to which we have been endeavoring to approach, has not been entirely missed. As the last line and the last word is written and the time for our departure is come, we go, but not until our faithful contri-butors, our patrons and loyal friends, than which there are none more loyal, are assured of our sincere gratitude and apprecia-tion. THE MERCURY. I 275 Without you our existence would have been impossible, with you the most happy relation has been enjoyed. If we have merited commendation the glory is to you, if censure, we are the chief offenders, and by the much importunity we invite all criticism to be placed to our credit. We bequeath not un-willingly to the associate and assistant staff a very generous portion of this rich legacy—if it may not improperly be so termed. That the termination of the close relation as a staff and as friends of the staff has inevitably come we regret but at the same time remember the sweet incense which the memory of the past year will send so often floating through our minds. This alone is reward enough and for our efforts a princely re-compense. Not even the trained minds of philosophers would be able to divine the origination of the .mysterious ideas and current rumors which are frequently promulgated without authority or xredence. For the benefit of those who may not know it, we announce that a few philosophic prodigies have been secured and are really matriculated with the student body, though the MERCURY has been unfortunate enough not to have had the honor to publish any of their esoteric cogitations, and even they would not perhaps venture a solution. The hypothesis nevertheless is agitated and really believed by some that the MERCURY will cease to be the organ of the College Literary Societies ; will cease to be a medium for the publication of the Literature of merit in the College; will cease to print the different prize essays and preserve them for future reference; in fine will cease to exist after this issue. We have said, just where such incongruous fancies first originated seems to be somewhat of a mystery. The claims are unfounded from the start but from some inexplicable cause they have seized many of the students. As our college publica-tions, unfortunately, are wholly student papers their existence of course depends on the pleasure of said body. The position we presume to maintain with regard to the continuance, dis-continuance or uniting with our weekly we will not define here 276 THE MERCURY. for obvious reasons. The decision of such a grave problem should receive the careful, thoughtful and deliberate attention of the members of our literary societies. In any event the staff deems it advisible to lay down here the present status of affairs for the benefit of those who are in-tensely interested and not now of the student body. Financially the Journal is by no means embarrassed. If there be an en-cumbrance at all, it will be insignificant. Generally a surplus over and above current expenses has been handed down from manager to manager, if this indicates anything. Relerring to the numbers of the magazine now on file, this volume is not believed to be inferior to its antecedents, yet we are not pre-sumptuous enough to flatter ourselves with its superiority. Who have "fought and bled" for it in the years past have writ-ten us very encouraging letters which have been voluntary contributions on their part. Generally speaking, we do know the students of the College have not supported the magazine by liberal literary contribu-tions but we believe since many other interests which formerly slumbered are now throbbing with life and activity, the MER-CURY will also within a comparatively short time receive its due apportionment of interest and enthusiasm. EXCHANGES. With this issue of THE MERCURY the "Ex-man's" qurll will be handed down to his successor. 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Lebensmittelverluste sind größtenteils unbeabsichtigt und werden unter anderem durch Ineffizienz im Lebensmittelsystem verursacht (vgl. FAO 2017, S. 4). Ein großer Anteil des Lebensmittelabfalls entsteht bei Verbraucher*innen in Privathaushalten. Das sorgt für einen Anteil von etwa einem Drittel an Lebensmitteln, die vom Anbau beziehungsweise der Schlachtung bis zu unseren Tellern verlorengehen. In Deutschland sind das ungefähr elf Millionen Tonnen verschwendete Lebensmittel pro Jahr (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2023b). Welche Auswirkungen hat das und was wird dagegen getan?In diesem Blogbeitrag wird es um die komplexen Ursachen der Lebensmittelverschwendung gehen, genauso wie um die Auswirkungen, die die Lebensmittelverluste sowohl auf die Umwelt als auch auf die Gesellschaft haben. Es soll dargestellt werden, welche Strategien Deutschland beschlossen hat, um die Lebensmittelverschwendung zu verringern. Die Initiative "Zu gut für die Tonne" (https://www.zugutfuerdietonne.de) kann ein Tipp für alle Blogleser*innen sein. Welchen Beitrag die Umweltbildung in der Schule leisten sollte, soll als letztes kurz angeschnitten werden.In diesem Blogbeitrag sollen Lebensmittel nach der Definition der Europäischen Verordnung (EG) Nr. 178/2002 verstanden werden. Laut dieser sind Lebensmittel"alle Stoffe oder Erzeugnisse, die dazu bestimmt sind oder von denen nach vernünftigem Ermessen erwartet werden kann, dass sie in verarbeitetem, teilweise verarbeitetem oder unverarbeitetem Zustand von Menschen aufgenommen werden" (Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2019).Dazu zählen auch alle Stoffe, die bei der Produktion zugesetzt werden. Tiere und Pflanzen sind erst nach der Schlachtung bzw. Ernte Lebensmittel (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2019).Die FAO (vgl. 2011, S. 2) definiert Lebensmittelverluste als Abnahme der essbaren Lebensmittelmasse in dem Teil der Lieferkette, der speziell zu essbaren Lebensmitteln für den menschlichen Verzehr führt. Diese treten in Produktions-, Ernte-, Nachernte- und Verarbeitungsstufen der Lebensmittelversorgungskette auf. Als Lebensmittelverschwendung werden Lebensmittelverluste bezeichnet, die am Ende der Lebensmittelkette auftreten und für die Händler und Verbraucher verantwortlich sind (vgl. FAO 2011, S. 2).In einer weiteren Definition wird hinzugefügt, dass Lebensmittelverluste entlang der gesamten Versorgungskette auftreten, neben Produktions-, (Nach-)Ernte- und Verarbeitungsstufen betrifft das demnach auch Lagerung und Transport. Lebensmittelverluste oder -verschwendung werden stets als Abnahme der Menge und/oder Qualität von Lebensmitteln gesehen, die für den menschlichen Verzehr bestimmt waren (vgl. FAO 2017, S. 4).Ursachen der LebensmittelverschwendungLebensmittelverschwendung findet an allen Stellen der Lebensmittelwertschöpfungskette (auch Lebensmittelversorgungskette) statt (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2021). Diese umfasst nach dem Bundeszentrum für Ernährung (vgl. 2023) verschiedene Stufen. Die erste Stufe besteht aus der Produktion und der Erzeugung und beinhaltet Agrarproduktion und Viehzucht. Die zweite Stufe betrifft die Weiterverarbeitung, demnach die Herstellung der Lebensmittel. Die dritte Stufe, Handel und Vermarktung, betrifft den Groß- und Einzelhandel. Als letztes folgt der finale Konsum, sowohl im Bewirtungssektor als auch in den Privathaushalten. Lebensmittelverluste entstehen nicht nur in den Stufen der Versorgungskette, sondern gerade auch bei Transport und Lagerung zwischen und nach den einzelnen Stufen (vgl. Bundeszentrum für Ernährung 2023).Durch die globale Vernetzung in den letzten Jahrzehnten wurde auch der Ernährungssektor vernetzt. Strukturelle Veränderungen sowie der gesellschaftliche Wandel haben die Lebensmittelversorgungskette demnach verlängert (vgl. FAO 2009, S. 18 f.).Weltweit gehen durch die verschiedenen Stufen der Lebensmittelwertschöpfungskette ein Drittel der produzierten Lebensmittel verloren. Nach Schätzungen der Welternährungsorganisation sind das jedes Jahr 1,3 Milliarden Tonnen (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2021). Dafür verantwortlich sind vor allem Industrie, Handel, Großverbraucher und Privathaushalte. Letztere verursachen den größten Anteil an Müll. Laut Eyerund/ Neligan (vgl. 2017, S. 2) wirft jede*r Bundesbürger*in im Jahr rund 82 kg Nahrungsmittel in den Müll, davon wäre ein großer Teil, zum Beispiel Speisereste, vermeidbar. Ein kleiner Teil, zum Beispiel Knochen und Bananenschalen, müssen tatsächlich entsorgt werden.Seit ungefähr 1870 ist die Herstellung von Lebensmitteln stärker wissensbasiert und Fortschritte ermöglichen, dass aus wenigen Rohstoffen eine große Vielfalt an Lebensmitteln produziert werden kann (vgl. Hamatschek 2021, S. 351). Allerdings sorgen eine weniger effiziente Ernte sowie neue Transport-, Lagerungs- und Verarbeitungstechniken für größere Verluste. Dazu gehören Ernteverluste, Überproduktion auf dem Feld und Verluste in der Produktion, weil beispielsweise fehlerhaft geplant wurde oder es technische Störungen gab (vgl. Hamatschek 2021, S. 356f.).Die ersten Verluste entstehen in der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion, wenn beispielsweise das Obst und Gemüse nicht den Standards entspricht, von Schädlingen befallen oder auf andere Art und Weise verunreinigt ist. In der Verarbeitung entstehen Abfälle, weil nur Teile eines Lebensmittels gebraucht werden können oder maschinell bedingt Reste entstehen. Auch Etikettierungsfehler können dazu führen, dass Lebensmittel ganz aussortiert werden müssen (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2020).Im Groß- und Einzelhandel kann es passieren, dass Bestellmengen nicht der Nachfrage entsprechen oder die Ware falsch gelagert und gekühlt wurde. Auch bei fehlerhaften Logistikprozessen kann es zu unnötigem Abfall kommen. Wenn Lebensmittel zu lange gelagert wurden und überreif sind beziehungsweise das Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum abgelaufen ist, kann es auch so zu Lebensmittelverschwendung kommen (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2020).In der sogenannten Außer-Haus-Verpflegung, mit welcher die Gemeinschaftsverpflegung in Betriebskantinen, Schulen, Kindergärten oder der Gastronomie gemeint ist, kommt es zu Lebensmittelverschwendung durch eine schwankende Nachfrage, zu großen Portionsgrößen oder fehlerhaften Einschätzungen (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2020).Haushalte sind für zwei Drittel der Abfallmenge verantwortlich. Häufige Gründe für die hohe Lebensmittelverschwendung in Privathaushalten sind unüberlegte Einkäufe, zu große Portionspackungen im Supermarkt, ein falsches Verständnis für das Mindesthaltbarkeitsdatum oder unzureichendes Wissen über die richtige Lagerung von Lebensmitteln (vgl. Hamatschek 2021, S. 356f.). Dazu kommen in der Regel andere individuelle Gründe, die sehr vielfältig sein können (vgl. Universität Stuttgart/ Institut für Siedlungswasserabbau, Wassergüte- und Abfallwirtschaft 2012, S. 216) und von den Lebensumständen, der Lebensweise der Haushalte und bestimmten Situationen abhängig sind (vgl. ebda., S. 219).Des Weiteren liegt bei der Ermittlung von Ursachen der Lebensmittelverschwendung eine besondere Schwierigkeit vor. Die Haushalte müssen mitmachen und Gründe für ihren Lebensmittelabfall angeben. Dazu müssen sie in der Lage sein, den Grund anzugeben und diesen auch angeben zu wollen, denn das Ergebnis wird verfälscht, wenn Personen anfangen, im Sinne sozialer Erwünschtheit zu antworten (vgl. ebda., S. 219).Es ließ sich feststellen, dass Personen, die Lebensmittelknappheit im Zweiten Weltkrieg erlebt haben, deutlich weniger Lebensmittel verschwenden als heutige Generationen (vgl. Eyerund/ Neligan 2017, S. 3). Neben individuellen Gründen kommen außerdem gesellschaftliche Ursachen hinzu. Die heutige westliche Welt lebt in einer Konsum-, Überfluss- und Wegwerfgesellschaft, welche das Wegwerfen von Lebensmitteln begünstigt.In den Supermärkten herrscht ein Überangebot an Lebensmitteln. Durch eine zunehmende Mobilisierung und Flexibilisierung der Gesellschaft sind die meisten Lebensmittel immer vorhanden. Dazu kommen soziographische Veränderung wie die Zunahme an Ein-Personen-Haushalten oder die Verstädterung (vgl. Universität Stuttgart/ Institut für Siedlungswasserabbau, Wassergüte- und Abfallwirtschaft 2012, S. 216).Durch die Zunahme des ökonomischen Wohlstands ist auch der Konsum von Fleisch seit Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts gestiegen (vgl. Dräger de Teran 2013, S. 11). Soziale Faktoren bestimmen die gesellschaftlich-kulturellen Essgewohnheiten. Die Industrialisierung sorgte für eine Entfremdung von Nahrungsmitteln durch die Nahrungsmittelproduktion, die immer komplexer wurde. Vor allem bei den Menschen, die keine Lebensmittelknappheit erlebt haben, führte das zu einer verminderten Wertschätzung der Lebensmittel, weil die Herkunft der Lebensmittel zunehmend unbekannt wurde (vgl. Universität Stuttgart/ Institut für Siedlungswasserabbau, Wassergüte- und Abfallwirtschaft 2012, S. 217).AuswirkungenAuf die UmweltJährlich wird für verschwendete Lebensmittel eine Fläche bearbeitet und geerntet, die so groß ist wie Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Von diesen 2,4 Millionen Hektar, die gespart werden könnten, werden 1,4 Millionen Hektar für die Produktion von tierischen Produkten benötigt (vgl. Dräger de Teran 2013, S. 13). Würden alle Lebensmittel gegessen werden, die auch hergestellt wurden, würde demnach eine Fläche von 2,4 Millionen Hektar für andere Zwecke frei werden. Diese Fläche könnte beispielsweise als Grünfläche genutzt werden und beim Kampf gegen den Verlust der Biodiversität helfen (vgl. Noleppa 2012, S. 7).Von den jährlich rund 6,5 Millionen Tonnen Lebensmittelabfall aus Privathaushalten in Deutschland sind ungefähr ein Drittel Obst und Gemüse, am zweithäufigsten werden Speisereste weggeworfen und am dritthäufigsten Brot und Backwaren. Ein kleiner Teil ist unvermeidbar (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2023c). Im Pro-Kopf-Vergleich der Lebensmittelverschwendung der EU liegt Deutschland mit seinem Lebensmittelabfall im EU-Durchschnitt, genauso wie Frankreich oder Österreich (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2020).Folgeprobleme dieser Lebensmittelverschwendung werden seit Jahrzehnten immer größer. Dazu gehört beispielsweise die Erzeugung von Treibhausgasemissionen (vgl. Brunner 2009, S. 33). Noleppa (vgl. 2012, S. 25) unterscheidet zwischen direkten Treibhausgasemissionen von Lebensmitteln, die während der Lebensmittelwertschöpfungskette zu Stande kommen, und indirekten Treibhausgasemissionen, die aus Landnutzungsänderungen entstehen.CO2-Emissionen bilden sich bei der Erzeugung, Produktion und Weiterverarbeitung von Lebensmitteln, während Lachgas-Emissionen durch anorganische und organische Stickstoffdüngung gebildet werden. Methan-Emissionen sind die Folge einer Wiederkäuerverdauung sowie der Nutzung von organischem Dünger und Reisanbau (vgl. Dräger de Teran 2013, S. 14). In internationalen Inventaren und unterschiedlichen Standards werden die indirekten Emissionen im Vergleich zu den direkten Emissionen allerdings häufig nicht berücksichtigt.Von 2009 bis 2010 wurde ein leichter Anstieg der Lebensmittelnutzung der Deutschen von 667 kg auf 677 kg verzeichnet. Dieser gering wirkende Anstieg sorgte allerdings für einen Mehrausstoß an indirekten Emissionen von ungefähr 40 Millionen Tonnen. Da die landwirtschaftliche Nutzfläche Deutschlands irgendwann seine Grenze erreicht hat, müssen zusätzlich Flächen im Ausland in Anspruch genommen werden (vgl. Dräger de Teran 2013, S. 14).Es wird ein weiteres Problem des hohen Lebensmittelverbrauchs sichtbar: die Flächennutzung. Die von Deutschland in anderen, meist ärmeren Ländern genutzten Flächen fehlen anschließend beim Anbau von Nahrungsmitteln für die Ernährung der einheimischen Bevölkerung (vgl. Verbraucherzentrale 2022). Um diese ethische Problemsituation soll es weiter unten gehen.Des Weiteren sorgen eine hohe Materialnutzung, ein hoher Energieverbrauch, Bodenkontamination und eine Reduktion der Artenvielfalt für Umweltproblematiken aufgrund der Lebensmittelherstellung (vgl. Brunner 2009, S. 33). Laut Brunner (vgl. 2009, S. 34) hat besonders die Industrialisierung die Landwirtschaft produktiv gemacht, wodurch die oben genannten Umweltproblematiken gestiegen sind, besonders die schädigenden Emissionen."Seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg hat sich die moderne Landwirt­schaft vom Energielieferanten zum Energieverbraucher entwickelt" (Brunner 2009, S. 34).Nach Angaben der OECD führen energieintensive Produkte, wie zum Beispiel Fertigmahlzeiten und der Konsum von tierischen Lebensmitteln, insbesondere Fleisch, zu höheren Umweltbelastungen. Deshalb lässt sich sagen, dass die Konsument*innen durch ihr Nachfrageverhalten einen Einfluss haben, jede*r Bürger*in entscheidet selbst, was gekauft und gegessen wird (vgl. Brunner 2009, S. 34). Ein Beispiel dafür wäre der Vergleich zwischen dem Kauf einer Tomate aus der eigenen Region, welche weniger Umweltschäden verursacht und dem Kauf eines abgepackten Tomatensalats, der höhere Emissionen mit sich bringt. Die Lebensmittelversorgungskette sorgt nicht nur für Umweltbelastungen, sondern hat auch Auswirkungen auf die Menschheit, was im Folgenden gezeigt werden soll.Auf den MenschenDer Weltagrarbericht (IAASTD) hat 2009 durch das Menschenrecht auf Nahrung gefordert, dass kein Mensch mangelernährt sein darf. Laut Hamatschek (vgl. 2021, S. 355) wird damit Realität und Anspruch gegenübergestellt. Der globale Welthunger-Index (WHI)-Wert von 2022 zeigt, dass die Fortschritte gegen die Hungersnot stagnieren. Im Jahr 2021 ist die Zahl der chronisch Hungerleidenden auf fast 828 Millionen gestiegen, die Zahl der akut Hungernden lag bei ungefähr 192 Millionen (vgl. Von Grebmer et al. 2022, S. 3).Ursachen für diese dramatische Situation sind die "strukturelle Ungleichheit und Macht-Asymmetrien im Ernährungssystem" (vgl. Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V. 2022). Aufgrund globaler Krisen und fehlendem politischem Willen soll sich die Hungersnot laut der Deutschen Welthungerhilfe e.V. (vgl. 2022) noch weiter verstärken. Die COVID-19-Pandemie hat die Problematik bereits verstärkt (vgl. Möhle 2023, S. 87). Das ethische Problem zeigt: die Weltproduktion von Lebensmittel reicht theoretisch, um die Menschheit zu ernähren, wenn Lebensmittel fair verteilt und weniger verschwendet werden würden (vgl. Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V. 2022).Nicht nur die Hungersnot ist ein Problem, sondern auch soziale, ökonomische und gesundheitliche Folgen des Ernährungssystems. Beispiele dafür sind die Konzentration der Marktmacht in den reicheren Gebieten, die Zunahme an Krankheiten durch die Ernährung, Bauernhofsterben, Übergewicht als Gegensatz zur Ernährungsarmut und (Umwelt-)Kosten, die auf die Allgemeinheit abgewälzt werden (vgl. Brunner 2009, S. 33).Des Weiteren entstehen allein in Privathaushalten pro Jahr finanzielle Verluste von rund 25 Milliarden Euro durch weggeschmissene Lebensmittel. Anschließend entsteht dadurch eine Menge an Abfall, der entsorgt werden muss. Das führt zu weiteren Kosten und Umweltbelastungen (vgl. Dräger de Teran 2013, S. 15).Die Problematik der Flächennutzung sorgt gerade in den armen Ländern, in denen typischerweise Ackerflächen für die Ernährung in den wohlhabenderen Ländern genutzt werden, für Probleme. Der dortigen Bevölkerung fehlen die für Lebensmittelexporte genutzten Flächen anschließend für die eigene Ernährung (vgl. Verbraucherzentrale 2022). Häufig werden Futtermittel für tierische Lebensmittel angebaut.Durch ein Überangebot und eine Überproduktion entsteht in den Industriestaaten ein leichtfertiger Umgang mit Lebensmitteln. Die dadurch entstehenden Lebensmittelverluste erhöhen laut der Verbraucherzentrale (2022) wieder die Nachfrage nach Rohstoffen wie zum Beispiel Getreide. Das sorgt für einen Preisanstieg von Grundnahrungsmitteln, worunter arme Länder besonders leiden.Zu einer Knappheit an Anbauflächen und einem Preisanstieg kommen meistens eine unzureichende Versorgung und Infrastruktur hinzu. Die Lebensmittel, die ärmere Länder besitzen, können manchmal nicht transportiert, gelagert oder gekühlt werden und gehen deshalb auch auf diese Art verloren (vgl. Verbraucherzentrale 2022). Deshalb ist es wichtig, dass die FAO jedes Jahr einen Bericht zur Nahrungsmittelsicherheit (The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World) vorlegt. Die drei wichtigsten Indikatoren sind dabei die Prävalenz der Unterernährung (PoU), das Befragungselement, die Food Inequality Experience Scale (FIES), und der Welthungerindex (WHI) (vgl. Möhle 2023, S. 91).GegenstrategienNachhaltiger Konsum lässt sich folgendermaßen definieren:"'Nachhaltig' ist ein Konsumverhalten dann zu nennen, wenn es die Bedürfnisse der Kon­sumenten in einer Weise erfüllt, die die Absorptions­- und Regenerationsfähigkeit der natürlichen Mitwelt nicht überfordert" (Brunner 2014, S.5, zit. n. Scherhorn et al. 1997, S. 7).Daraus lässt sich schließen, dass das momentane Ernährungssystem gemeinsam mit der Lebensmittelwertschöpfungskette in großen Teilen nicht nachhaltig sein kann. Schon auf der UN-Konferenz in Rio 1992 wurde über nachhaltige Entwicklung in Verbindung mit dem Abbau nicht-nachhaltiger Konsum­- und Produktionsweisen gesprochen. Beim Weltgipfel in Johannesburg 2002 wurde das Ziel einer "weltweiten Förderung nachhaltiger Konsum- und Produktionsmuster" (Brunner 2009, S. 31) beschlossen. Mittlerweile weiß man, dass ein Konsummuster nicht weltweit zu verallgemeinern ist, sondern sich je nach Region und Wohlstand unterscheidet. Es wird deshalb ein besseres Verständnis für Konsummuster gesucht und versucht, Lebensstile und Konsummuster in Richtung Nachhaltigkeit zu lenken (vgl. Brunner 2009, S. 31, zit. n. Wuppertal Institut 2005).Laut Brunner (vgl. 2009, S. 45) sind Lebens- und Ernährungsstile eng mit der Identität der Menschen verknüpft und von sozialen, kulturellen und ökonomischen Kontexten beeinflusst. Damit sich das Konsument*innenverhalten ändert, müssen sich zuerst kontextuelle Rahmenbedingungen ändern. Dazu gehören Angebote und Anreizsysteme sowie kommunikative Maßnahmen. Auch die Voraussetzungen der Konsument*innen müssen sich ändern.Ein geringerer Fleischkonsum wird durch die Ernährungsökologie eingefordert. Genauso wie die Wahl von ökologisch produzierten und wenig verarbeiteten Lebensmitteln oder regional und saisonal erzeugten Produkten. Ein veränderter Fleischkonsum sowie die Zunahme wenig verarbeiteter Lebensmittel haben längerfristig gesundheitlich und ökologisch eine positive Wirkung (vgl. Brunner 2009, S. 34). Hier sind kommunikative Maßnahmen besonders wichtig. Die Wertschätzung für Lebensmittel sollte gesteigert werden (vgl. Universität Stuttgart/ Institut für Siedlungswasserabbau, Wassergüte- und Abfallwirtschaft 2012, S. 280).Ein sorgsamerer Umgang mit Lebensmitteln führt in der Regel zu weniger Lebensmittelverschwendung. Eine gesündere, fleischärmere Ernährung sorgt für weniger Umweltbelastungen in der Lebensmittelversorgungskette sowie bei der Flächennutzung. Flächen, die frei werden, weil beispielsweise weniger Futtermittel angebaut werden muss, könnten für den Schutz von Ökosystemen genutzt werden oder positiv zur Welternährung beitragen.Denn bei der Lebensmittelverschwendung entstehen nicht nur viele Tonnen an Müll, sondern auch die verwendeten Ressourcen wurden verschwendet. Dazu gehören wertvoller Ackerboden, Wasser und Dünger, was gerade heute, in Zeiten einer kommenden Wasserknappheit, zum Problem werden könnte. Auch die bereitgestellte Energie für Verarbeitung und Verbrauch wurde damit umsonst erzeugt. Treibhausgasemissionen wie CO2 werden umsonst freigesetzt. Die nationale Strategie Deutschlands will deshalb dafür sorgen, dass unnötige Abfälle erst gar nicht entstehen (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2023c). Laut der FAO ist die"Verringerung von Lebensmittelverlusten und -verschwendung […] ein wichtiger Hebel für umfassendere Verbesserungen unserer Lebensmittelsysteme zur Verbesserung der Lebensmittelsicherheit, der Qualität und der Nachhaltigkeit sowie zur Steigerung der Effizienz" (FAO 2018).Die Agenda 2030, die 2015 von den Vereinten Nationen beschlossen wurde, enthält 17 Ziele für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung. Zwei Ziele sprechen die Lebensmittelverschwendung an. Das zweite Ziel, welches "Kein Hunger" heißt und gegen die dramatische Hungersnot vorgehen soll, will eine Ernährungssicherheit erreichen und die nachhaltige Landwirtschaft fördern. Das zwölfte Ziel heißt "Nachhaltige/r Konsum und Produktion". Es soll die Nutzung natürlicher Ressourcen fördern und einer hohen Nahrungsmittelverschwendung entgegenwirken (vgl. Bertelsmann Stiftung o. J.).Jedoch muss die Politik die formulierten Ziele anhand von Maßnahmen durchsetzen (vgl. Universität Stuttgart/ Institut für Siedlungswasserabbau, Wassergüte- und Abfallwirtschaft 2012, S. 280). Dafür ist eine gute Kommunikations- und Kooperationsbereitschaft der Landwirtschaft, der Lebensmittelindustrie, des Einzelhandels, der Wissenschaft und der Politik notwendig (vgl. ebda., S. 282). Um diese gesamtgesellschaftliche Aufgabe zu bewältigen, wurde im Februar 2019 die Nationale Strategie zur Reduzierung der Lebensmittelverschwendung vom Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (BMEL) beschlossen.Nationale Strategie zur Reduzierung der Lebensmittelverschwendung Im Koalitionsvertrag wurde das Ziel gesetzt, die Lebensmittelverschwendung branchenspezifisch zu reduzieren. Diesen Auftrag will die Nationale Strategie (siehe hier) nach und nach durchsetzen, denn in Zeiten von Krisen wie dem Russland-Ukraine-Krieg, der Klimakrise und steigenden Energie- und Lebensmittelpreisen wird dies immer dringender (vgl. Die Bundesregierung 2022).Die Lebensmittelabfälle und -verluste sollen in allen Stufen der Lebensmittelwertschöpfungskette verringert werden mit besonderem Augenmerk auf den Schnittstellen zwischen den Sektoren (vgl. Bundeszentrum für Ernährung 2023c). Das große Ziel ist, die Lebensmittelverschwendung bis 2030 um 50% zu reduzieren (vgl. Die Bundesregierung 2022). Dazu wurden vier Handlungsfelder geschaffen: der Politische Rahmen, die Prozessoptimierung der Wirtschaft, eine Verhaltensänderung bei allen Akteur*innen und Potenziale durch Forschung und Digitalisierung (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2021b).Durch den Politischen Rahmen wurden verschiedene Gremien gebildet. Beispielsweise wurde das Bund-Länder-Gremium gebildet, um ressort- und länderübergreifend die Strategie zu steuern und weitere Handlungsfelder zu identifizieren. Die Arbeitsgruppe AG Indikator SDG 12.3 besteht aus Vertreter*innen des BMEL, des Verbraucherschutzes, des Thünen-Instituts und weiteren und koordiniert die Berichterstattung (vgl. Bundeszentrum für Ernährung 2023c). Weil alle Akteure entlang der Lebensmittelversorgungskette vernetzt sein müssen, wurde ein Nationales Dialogforum geschaffen."Vertreter:innen aus Unternehmen und zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen arbeiten in den fünf sektorspezifischen Dialogforen Primärproduktion, Verarbeitung, Groß- und Einzelhandel, Außer-Haus-Verpflegung und Private Haushalte zusammen" (Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2021b).Das zweite Handlungsfeld, die Prozessoptimierung der Wirtschaft, hat Maßnahmen geschaffen, mit denen Unternehmen eigenverantwortlich Ziele gegen die Lebensmittelverschwendung umsetzen sollen. Ein Beispiel wäre die Überprüfung von Werbeaussagen auf Produkten hinsichtlich der Wertschätzung von Lebensmitteln.Das dritte Handlungsfeld, die Verhaltensänderung bei allen Akteur*innen, ist für die Informations- und Kommunikationsarbeit zuständig, um eine Verhaltensänderung gegenüber Lebensmitteln zu schaffen. Dafür wurde die Initiative "Zu gut für die Tonne!" geschaffen, um die es weiter unten gehen wird. Des Weiteren sollten Informations- und Lehrmaterialien zur Sensibilisierung von Kindern und jungen Erwachsenen erstellt werden, in denen es um die Vorteile einer Reduzierung der Lebensmittelverschwendung geht (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2021b).Das letzte Handlungsfeld, Potenziale durch Forschung und Digitalisierung, steht für die Erforschung und Entwicklung innovativer digitaler Möglichkeiten. Beispiele wären intelligente Verpackungen oder Systeme zur Erstellung von Nachfrageprognosen (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2021b). Die Bundesregierung hat deshalb 16 Millionen Euro bereitgestellt, um Forschungsprojekte zu ermöglichen (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2019, S. 9f.). So soll die Strategie immer weiterentwickelt werden.Eine große Rolle spielt des Weiteren die Erfassung von Lebensmitteln, denn nur mit dem Wissen, wo, wie viele und warum Lebensmittel weggeworfen werden, kann die Lebensmittelverschwendung reduziert werden (vgl. Bundeszentrum für Ernährung 2023c).Weitere Maßnahmen sollen die Umsetzung der Strategie fördern: die Erleichterung der Weitergabe von Lebensmitteln oder eine strafrechtliche Neubewertung des Containers soll überdacht werden (vgl. Bundeszentrum für Ernährung 2023c); für ein gesamtgesellschaftliches Umdenken in Richtung mehr Wertschätzung gegenüber Lebensmitteln wurde 2016 der Tag der Lebensmittelverschwendung durch den WWF geschaffen. Am 2. Mai landet statistisch gesehen die Menge an Lebensmitteln, die von Januar bis Mai produziert wurde, im Müll (vgl. Die Bundesregierung 2022). Initiative "Zu gut für die Tonne!"Durch die Initiative (https://www.zugutfuerdietonne.de) soll das Thema Lebensmittelverschwendung stärker in die Öffentlichkeit gebracht werden. Sie hat das Ziel, Verbraucher*innen für den Prozess der Lebensmittelproduktion und die notwenige Wertschätzung zu sensibilisieren (vgl. Bundeszentrum für Ernährung 2023c). "Zu gut für die Tonne!" wird vom BMEL durchgeführt und informiert Bürger*innen durch eine Website über Ursachen der Lebensmittelverschwendung und Möglichkeiten, bei der Reduzierung zu helfen (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2019, S. 9).Die Bundesregierung will alle Stufen der Lebensmittelkette miteinbeziehen. Auch die Länder spielen eine wichtige Rolle, denn Länder und Kommunen sind für das Abfallmanagement zuständig, und auch hier wurden einige Aktionen und Initiativen gestartet. Die Wirtschaft erarbeitet Nachhaltigkeitsstrategien, während die Wissenschaft in Forschungseinrichtungen neue Methoden und Techniken entwickelt (vgl. ebda.). Besonders wichtig ist, dass neben diesen Bereichen gerade auch die Zivilgesellschaft die Lebensmittelverschwendung reduziert."Zahlreiche Vereine und Organisationen tragen dazu bei, dass nicht mehr marktgängige Lebensmittel, die noch für den Verzehr geeignet sind, als Lebensmittel verwendet werden" (Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2019, S. 8).Tafeln, foodsharing und Brot für die Welt sind Beispiel dafür. Spendensysteme, Internetforen und sogenannte fairTeiler helfen bei der Verteilung von Lebensmitteln, die noch brauchbar sind, aber sonst weggeschmissen werden würden.Verbraucher*innen, die über den Prozess der Herstellung und beispielsweise den Ressourceneinsatz bei der Produktion der Lebensmittel Bescheid wissen, erkennen eher den Wert der Lebensmittel und die Wichtigkeit, den Umgang damit nachhaltiger zu gestalten (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2023b). Die Website der Initiative stellt deshalb ein großes Angebot an Informations-, Bildungs- und Werbematerial bereit.Bürger*innen bekommen Tipps zur Lagerung von Lebensmitteln und Rezepte sowie Tutorials zur Resteverwertung. Auch ein Thema ist das bedarfsgerechte Einkaufen und Zubereiten. Ein langfristiges Ziel der Initiative ist es, Bürger*innen zu zeigen, wie man das eigene Verhalten im Alltag ändert, um so wenig Lebensmittel wie möglich wegzuwerfen (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2023b).Veranstaltungen wie die "Aktionswoche Deutschland rettet Lebensmittel!" (https://www.zugutfuerdietonne.de/unsere-aktivitaeten/aktionswoche-deutschland-rettet-lebensmittel) soll Bürger*innen bei der Umsetzung helfen. Am 29. September ist der International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste der FAO. Aus diesem Grund startet die Initiative des BMEL eine bundesweite Aktionswoche mit Aktionen zum Thema Lebensmittelverschwendung. Sowohl digital als auch vor Ort können Bürger*innen teilnehmen. 2023 liegt der Schwerpunkt auf dem Thema "Kochen und Essen nach Maß" (vgl. Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft 2023d).Bewusstseinsförderung & Umweltbildung zum Thema LebensmittelverschwendungDie Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission sieht einen direkten Zusammenhang zwischen den Handlungsfeldern Lebensstil, Konsum, Klimawandel, globaler Gerechtigkeit und Ernährung. Diese sind entscheidend für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung (vgl. Innemann 2013, S. 66). Daraus entsteht die Anforderung einer Ernährungsbildung, die praxisorientiert stattfindet und eine alltägliche und individuelle Umsetzung fördert (vgl. ebda., S. 75). Für eine entsprechende Kompetenzförderung müssen laut Innemann (S. 66) Lehr-Lern-Arrangements geschaffen werden, was der Bildung in der Schule eine besondere Rolle zuschreibt.Laut Schlegel-Matthies (2005) ist die Ernährungsbildung in der Schule ein "unverzichtbarer Bestandteil der Vermittlung zentraler Kompetenzen für die Lebensgestaltung und insbesondere [für die] […] Gesundheitsförderung". Sie hat nicht nur Einfluss auf das Individuum, sondern auf die ganze Gesellschaft. Ziel ist, einen lebenslangen, selbstbestimmten und verantwortlichen Umgang mit Lebensmitteln und der eigenen Ernährung zu schaffen (vgl. Schlegel-Matthies 2005). Der erste Schritt ist deshalb die Vermittlung von natur-, sozial- und kulturwissenschaftlichem Basiswissen (vgl. ebda.).Weil einfaches Wissen über Ernährung in den meisten Fällen nicht ausreicht, um sich gesund und nachhaltig zu ernähren, ist es wichtig, dass neben der Vermittlung von theoretischem Fachwissen ein Diskurs in der Klasse stattfindet, bei dem über förderliche gesellschaftliche Strukturen und die Motivation sowie Bereitschaft und Kompetenzen für eine Ernährungswende in der Gesellschaft gesprochen wird (vgl. Schlehufer/ Goetz 2014, S. 9).Eine besondere Herausforderung für Lehrkräfte und für Schüler*innen stellt die Ernährungsbildung deshalb dar, weil das meist persönlich und emotional besetzte Bedürfnisfeld Ernährung mit einem komplexen, normativen Leitbild der Nachhaltigkeit verbunden werden muss (vgl. Innemann 2013, S. 66f.). Schulnahe Projekte können bei der Vermittlung nachhaltiger Ernährung helfen, weil sie besonders praxisorientiert sind (vgl. ebda., S. 74).Der Bildungsanspruch einer Ernährungs- und Verbraucherbildung durch die Vermittlung von Kompetenzen zur "Bewältigung von Anforderungen im Rahmen der alltäglichen Lebensführung und für eine aktive Teilhabe am gesellschaftlichen Leben" (Schlegel et al. 2022, S. 109) besteht bereits von Anfang an. Der Sachunterricht in der Primarstufe und der weiterführende Unterricht in der Sekundarstufe soll die Bildungsziele durchgängig erreichbar machen.Da die derzeitigen Bildungspläne den Anforderungen der notwendigen Ernährungsbildung nicht entsprechen, haben Schlegel et al. (vgl. 2022, S. 110) zehn wichtige Bildungsziele formuliert, die lebenswelt-, kompetenz-, problem- und handlungsorientiert sein sollen. Durch diese sollen individuelle und gesellschaftliche Bezüge hergestellt und notwendige Kenntnisse und Fähigkeiten erworben werden (vgl. ebda., S. 111). Im Folgenden sollen einige davon kurz aufgeführt werden.Es soll sich mit den Chancen und Risiken einer nachhaltigen Lebensführung und den dafür notwendigen Ressourcen auseinandergesetzt werden. Dabei soll klar werden, inwiefern Individuen bei ihrem Verhalten oder Handeln voneinander abhängig sind. Die Auswirkungen der Konsumentscheidungen von Konsument*innen müssen reflektiert und analysiert werden und dabei gesellschaftliche Verhältnisse betrachtet werden.Es ist wichtig, dass die Zusammenhänge zwischen Ernährung und Gesundheit sowie der eigenen Identität verstanden werden. Praxisnah sollen deshalb Einflussfaktoren, Begrenzungen und Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten des eigenen, individuellen Handels betrachtet werden. Unterschiedliche Konzepte und gerade die Organisation der eigenen Lebensführung müssen außerdem behandelt werden (vgl. Schlegel et al. 2022, S. 110). Mithilfe dieser Ziele sollen die Schüler*innen bei der Entwicklung eines nachhaltigen Lebensstils inklusive einer nachhaltigen Ernährung unterstützt werden. Gerade in der heutigen Welt, in der global mehr Nahrungsmittel zur Verfügung stehen als notwendig wären, ist ein nachhaltiger Umgang besonders wichtig (vgl. Kofahl/Ferdaouss 2013, S. 6).FazitEine vollständige Vermeidung von Lebensmittelverlusten ist nicht möglich, eine deutliche Verringerung jedoch schon, wenn Maßnahmen ergriffen und Strategien umgesetzt werden (vgl. Verbraucherzentrale 2022, S. 283). Dies ist außerdem notwendig, um die Nachhaltigkeitsziele der UN von 2015 durchzusetzen. Die Lebensmittelverluste sollen nicht nur in der Lebensmittelversorgungskette während und zwischen den einzelnen Stufen reduziert werden, sondern gerade auch beim finalen Konsum in der heutigen Wegwerfgesellschaft (vgl. Eyerund/ Neligan 2017, S. 4).Aufgrund der schwerwiegenden Auswirkungen auf die Umwelt, wie beispielsweise der Ausstoß von Treibhausgasemissionen und ein hoher Landverbrauch sowie eine Gefährdung der Biodiversität, sollten Maßnahmen schnell umgesetzt werden. Auch aufgrund unethischer Dilemmasituationen, wie der dramatischen Hungersnot, muss dringend gehandelt werden. Die Umsetzung von Strategien stellt die Lebensmittelindustrie sowie die Konsument*innen vor Herausforderungen (vgl. Hamatschek 2021, S. 355). Ein besonderes Augenmerk wurde auf die Sensibilisierung der Bevölkerung gelegt, weswegen die Initiative "Zu gut für die Tonne!" geschaffen wurde (vgl. Eyerund/ Neligan 2017, S. 4). Weil die Sensibilisierung für einen nachhaltigen Umgang mit Lebensmitteln schon früh beginnen sollte, muss die Umweltbildung in der Schule praxisorientiert und alltagsnah sein.QuellenBertelsmann Stiftung (o. J.): SDG-Portal. Die Agenda mit den 17 SDGs. URL: https://sdg-portal.de/de/ueber-das-projekt/17-ziele (Zugriff am 08.09.2023).Brunner, K.-M. (2009): Nachhaltiger Konsum - am Beispiel des Essens. In: SWS-Rundschau, 49(1), S. 29-49. URL: https://nbn- resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-250335 (Zugriff am 11.09.2023).Brunner, K.-M. (2014): Nachhaltiger Konsum und soziale Ungleichheit. In: Working Papers. Verbraucherpolitik, Verbraucherforschung. Wien: AK-Wien. URL: https://www.arbeiterkammer.at/infopool/akportal/Working_Paper_Nachhaltiger_Konsum.pdf (Zugriff am 16.09.2023). Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (2019): Nationale Strategie zur Reduzierung der Lebensmittelverschwendung. URL: https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/_Ernaehrung/Lebensmittelverschwendung/Nationale_Strategie_Lebensmittelverschwendung_2019.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3 (Zugriff am 08.09.2023). Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (2021): Zu gut für die Tonne! Nationale Strategie zur Reduzierung der Lebensmittelverschwendung. Hintergrund. URL: https://www.zugutfuerdietonne.de/strategie/hintergrund (Zugriff am 09.09.2023). Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (2021b): Zu gut für die Tonne! Nationale Strategie zur Reduzierung der Lebensmittelverschwendung. Handlungsfelder. URL: https://www.zugutfuerdietonne.de/strategie/handlungsfelder (Zugriff am 17.09.2023). Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (2023a): Fragen und Antworten zum Pakt gegen Lebensmittelverschwendung. URL: https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/FAQs/DE/faq-pakt-lmv/FAQList.html#f104622(Zugriff am 06.09.2023) Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (2023b): Zu gut für die Tonne! Nationale Strategie zur Reduzierung der Lebensmittelverschwendung. URL: https://www.zugutfuerdietonne.de/strategie (Zugriff am 08.09.2023). Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (2023c): Nationale Strategie zur Reduzierung der Lebensmittelverschwendung. URL: https://www.bmel.de/DE/themen/ernaehrung/lebensmittelverschwendung/strategie-lebensmittelverschwendung.html(Zugriff am 17.09.2023). Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (2023d): Aktionswoche Deutschland rette Lebensmittel! URL: https://www.zugutfuerdietonne.de/unsere-aktivitaeten/aktionswoche-deutschland-rettet-lebensmittel (Zugriff am 19.09.2023). Bundeszentrum für Ernährung (2023c): Lebensmittelverschwendung vermeiden. Zu gut für die Tonne! URL: https://www.bzfe.de/nachhaltiger-konsum/lagern-kochen-essen-teilen/lebensmittelverschwendung/ (Zugriff am 10.09.2023). Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production GmbH/ Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut Bundesforschungsinstitut für Ländliche Räume, Wald und Fischerei (2022): Schlussbericht zum Thema. Nationales Dialogforum des Groß- und Einzelhandels zur Reduzierung der Lebensmittelverschwendung. Bonn: Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung. Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V. (2022): Welthunger-Index. URL: https://www.welthungerhilfe.de/hunger/welthunger-index/?gclid=CjwKCAjwvMqDBhB8EiwA2iSmPCUSS2n-a2TzwsWjalPgtMB_nOibD7yxOThTtMqYhh3XLcDyjIUqWRoCUQMQAvD_BwE (Zugriff am 16.09.2023). Die Bundesregierung (2022): Alle sind gefragt! Lebensmittelabfälle reduzieren. URL: https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/weniger-lebensmittelabfaelle-2029762 (Zugriff am 17.09.2023). Dräger de Teran, T. (2013): Gut für uns, gut für den Planeten. Gesunde Ernährung und eine geringe Lebensmittelverschwendung können unseren ökologischen Fußabdruck in erheblichem Ausmaß reduzieren. In: Journal für Generationengerechtigkeit, 13(1), S. 11-17. URL: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-343442(Zugriff am 17.09.2023). Eyerund, T./ Neligan, A. (2017): Verschwenderische Generationen X und Y. IW-Kurzbericht, Nr. 56/2017. Köln: Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft. URL: https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/167636 (Zugriff am 17.09.2023). FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2017): Save Food for a better climate. Converting the food loss and waste challenge into climate action. URL: https://www.fao.org/3/i8000e/i8000e.pdf (Zugriff am 10.09.2023). FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2011): Global food losses and food waste. Extend, causes and prevention. URL: https://www.fao.org/3/i2697e/i2697e.pdf (Zugriff am 10.09.2023). FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2009): How to Feed the World in 2050. URL: https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/expert_paper/How_to_Feed_the_World_in_2050.pdf (Zugriff am 10.09.2023). FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2018): Food loss analysis case study methodology. URL: https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=374 (Zugriff am 17.09.2023). Hamatschek, J. (2021): Lebensmitteltechnologie. Die industrielle Herstellung von Lebensmitteln aus landwirtschaftlichen Rohstoffen. 2. Aufl. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer KG. Innemann, H. M. (2013): Prinzipien und Konzepte nachhaltiger Ernährung und ihre Vermittlung in Bildungsprozessen. In: Haushalt in Bildung & Forschung 2 (1), S. 66-78. URL: https://www.pedocs.de/volltexte/2020/20952/pdf/HiBiFo_2013_1_Innemann_Prinzipien_und_Konzepte.pdf (Zugriff am 21.09.2023). Kofahl, D./ Ferdaouss, A. (2013): Komplikationen im Schlaraffenland. Ethische und politische Nahrungsproduktion. In: Außerschulische Bildung. Materialien zur politischen Jugend- und Erwachsenenbildung. Politische und soziale Dimensionen von Ernährung, 44(1), S. 6-14. URL: https://www.adb.de/download/publikationen/AB_1-2013_Komplettausgabe.pdf (Zugriff am 21.09.2023). Möhle, M. (2023): Globale soziale Ungerechtigkeit. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer GmbH. Noleppa, S. (2012): Klimawandel auf dem Teller. Ernährung, Nahrungsmittelverluste, Klimawirkung. Berlin: WWF Deutschland. Schlegel-Matthies, K. (2005): Ernährung und Verbraucherbildung im Internet. EVB. URL: http://www.evb-online.de/evb.php (Zugriff am 21.09.2023). Schlegel, K. et al. (2022): Konsum – Ernährung – Gesundheit. Didaktische Grundlagen der Ernährungs- und Verbraucherbildung. Opladen/Toronto: Verlag Barbara Budrich. Schlehufer, A./ Goetz, M. (2014): Mit Genuss und Verantwortung. Praxisbeispiel zu nachhaltiger Ernährungsbildung im Kreisjugendring München-Land. Pullach: Kreisjugendring München-Land im Bayerischen Jugendring. URL: https://www.jugendbildungsstaetten.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/KJR_Mit_Genuss_und_Verantwortung.pdf(Zugriff am 21.09.2023). Universität Stuttgart/ Institut für Siedlungswasserabbau, Wassergüte- und Abfallwirtschaft (2012): Ermittlung der weggeworfenen Lebensmittelmengen und Vorschläge zur Verminderung der Wegwerfrate bei Lebensmitteln in Deutschland. URL: https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/_Ernaehrung/Lebensmittelverschwendung/Studie_Lebensmittelabfaelle_Langfassung.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3 (Zugriff am 09.09.2023). Verbraucherzentrale (2022): Lebensmittelverschwendung: Folgen für Umwelt, Ressourcen, Welternährung. URL: https://www.verbraucherzentrale.de/wissen/lebensmittel/auswaehlen-zubereiten-aufbewahren/lebensmittelverschwendung-folgen-fuer-umwelt-ressourcen-welternaehrung-59565 (Zugriff am 06.09.2023). Von Grebmer, K. et al. (2022): Welthunger-Index. Transformation der Ernährungssysteme und lokale Governance. Bonn/Dublin: Deutsche Welthungerhilfe e.V./ Concern Worldwide. URL: https://www.welthungerhilfe.de/aktuelles/publikation/detail/welthunger-index-2022 (Zugriff am 20.09.2023).

El agotamiento del petróleo, conocido en la bibliografía especializada como "the peak of oil", no es una inminente catástrofe natural sino una realidad política de largo plazo. Esta presenta serios desafíos, tanto para países consumidores como para países productores. En cuanto a los Estados Unidos, su rol de poder global dentro del orden mundial dependerá en gran medida de la manera en que dicho país responda al desafío energético planteado. En términos prácticos los EE.UU deberán garantizarse a sí mismos y a sus aliados la provisión constante de combustibles convencionales, al tiempo que consolidarse en el primer lugar en la carrera ya librada por desarrollar energías alternativas. Acompañando este doble esfuerzo, el país número uno en difusión de su cultura popular deberá crear y difundir nuevos patrones culturales de consumo de energía. En la primera sección de este artículo presentaré el debate entre los "optimistas" y los "pesimistas" respecto de la disponibilidad futura del petróleo "barato" o "fácil". En la segunda sección presento un análisis, que aplicando la lógica científica e integrando factores económico-políticos, argumenta a favor de los "pesimistas". En la tercera sección explico el modo en que el futuro hegemónico de los EEUU dependerá de la manera en que sea manejada una "transición energética de largo plazo" y presento algunas recomendaciones generales. 1. Pesimismo Científico Vs. Optimismo Falaz: El modelo de Hubbert. El modelo del "peak of oil" de Hubbert (1) afirma que partiendo desde cero, la producción de todo pozo petrolero crece hasta alcanzar su pico máximo en el momento en que la mitad de las reservas han sido extraídas. Luego de este "punto medio", la tasa de extracción comienza una irreversible declinación. Este fenómeno puede ser representado en forma de campana de Gaus. En esta función logarítmica el área contenida dentro de la campana expresa la producción acumulada. El modelo fue diseñado al observar la vida útil de los pozos petroleros de los EEUU hacia la década del 50 y desde entonces cada nueva cuenca petrolífera ha seguido el mismo patrón. El modelo es simple y provee una explicación científica de gran parsimonia para el fenómeno del agotamiento petrolero. Nadie ha refutado teóricamente este razonamiento de solidas bases epistemológicas, pero lo que es más preocupante aun: las estadísticas de la producción han confirmado el patrón en la práctica. No solo eso. La tasa de descubrimiento de nuevos pozos de petróleo alrededor del mundo ha venido describiendo una curva similar. Tal es así puesto que el principio que Hubbert aplicó al petróleo, es el que se observa en el consumo de todo recurso consumido de manera "libre" y "normal". Independientemente de la fecha exacta en que el pico mundial ha sido o será alcanzado, lo que resulta importante es el patrón general de declinación productiva. A esta declinación debe adicionarse el hecho de que el consumo energético se incrementa sostenidamente a escala global a un ritmo que la producción no puede ni podrá seguir. El Optimismo de los críticos de Hubbert se basa generalmente en señalar que su modelo no ha tenido en cuenta distintos factores relevantes. En efecto, aspectos técnico-geológicos, económicos y políticos no forman parte del mismo. Sin embargo, veremos que dichos factores no niegan la conclusión principal del modelo, esta es, la irreversible declinación productiva, sino que solo refieren a la posibilidad de extender su plazo. Podemos dividir en tres grupos a quienes afirman que el petróleo "fácil" o "barato" seguirá estando disponible(2): Hechos Geológicos y Argumentos Técnicos:"Las reservas mundiales eran de 645 billones de barriles en 1977. Hacia 1990 fueron producidos alrededor de 320 billones de barriles. Sin embargo las reservas ascienden hoy a casi 1 trillon de barriles. (…) El agotamiento es como el horizonte, siempre alejándose a medida que uno se mueve hacia el." (Adelman: 1991, p.4)"…extensas aéreas del planeta permanecen inexploradas o solo superficialmente evaluadas (…) valores inicialmente citados para el extracción ultima estimado(3) tienden a crecer en el tiempo debido a taladros adicionales o mayores tasas de recuperación." (Smil: 2008, p. 171)"Consideremos, por ejemplo, que solamente en Texas han sido instaladas 1 millón de bombas, contra 2300 en todo Irak y que hoy hay más de 569.000 bombas produciendo en los EE.UU contra apenas más de 1500 en Arabia Saudita."(Maugeri: 2006, p.204)"Cuando un nuevo pozo es encontrado recibe un tamaño estimado que indica cuando se supone que es extraíble en ese momento. Sin embargo a medida que los años pasan la estimación es casi siempre corregida ascendentemente. (…) Cientos de pozos que producen "petróleo fácil" hoy, fueren una vez considerados tecnológicamente inalcanzables. (…) Como los saudíes han demostrado recientemente en Ghawar, inversión adicional –para encontrar nuevos depósitos y realizar nuevas perforaciones- puede mantener la producción total de un pozo." (Michael Lynch, "Peak oil is a waste of energy", New York Times, August 25, 2009)Observación: Incluso una exploración extendida hacia todos los rincones del planeta y el uso intensivo de tecnología no cambiarían el patrón general descrito por el modelo de Hubbert. Por otra parte, es necesario destacar que no todos los argumentos expuestos se refieren al petróleo "fácil" o "barato". Argumentos Económico-Financieros:"El petróleo sigue siendo abundante y el precio probablemente bajara a su nivel histórico de U$S 30 el barril a medida que nueva provisión llegue de las aguas profundas de África Occidental y América Latina, del Este Africano y quizá de los campos de petróleo de esquisto (4) en Montana o Dakota del Norte" (Michael Lynch, "Peak oil is a waste of energy", New York Times, August 25, 2009)"El elevado precio de la ultima década ha generado también un masivo salto tecnológico (…) el esquisto en Norteamérica es tan vasto que hay planes para su exportación como el GNL (5) de la costa Oeste de Canadá. (…) Los elevados precios han disparado revoluciones tecnológicas similares a lo largo de toda la cadena de producción energética, haciendo descender los costos de extraer petróleo de las arenas canadienses, la Tundra siberiana y el mar brasilero." (Edward Morse: 2009, p.5) "Cuanto más limita la OPEC su propia producción para subir los precios, mas las compañías internacionales tienen incentivos para invertir dinero en el desarrollo de nuevas Fuentes fuera de la OPEC." (Maugeri: 2009, p. 260)Observación: Estos argumentos son verdades parciales referidos principalmente al sector productivo de la industria petrolera y, particularmente a las compañías internacionales de petróleo (IOC's). Sin embargo, estas compañías solo dominan el 8% de las reservas mundiales de crudo y pocas aéreas accesibles para la exploración. Estos argumentos no toman en cuenta a los países consumidores y las implicancias para sus presupuestos nacionales. Por otra parte, al igual que el grupo anterior, los argumentos expuestos no se refieren al petróleo "fácil" y "barato". Argumentos Políticos y de Seguridad:"Así como en los 70s se trato del embargo petrolero árabe y la revolución iraní, hoy se trata de la invasión a Irak y la inestabilidad política en Venezuela y Nigeria. Pero la solución, como siempre, es un cambio en el destino de las inversiones de la industria hacia nuevas regiones, y esto es lo que se está haciendo." (Michael Lynch, "Peak oil is a waste of energy", New York Times, August 25, 2009)"Un periodo extendido de bajos precios podría revertir el proceso hacia el nacionalismo de los recursos, la tendencia de los países productores a concentrar el control de sus recursos en manos de entidades estatales…" (Edward Morse: 2009, p.1) "…la imagen espejada de los países consumidores y su histeria por la inseguridad petrolera ha sido el creciente "nacionalismo de los recursos" por parte de los productores (…) la leyes del mercado –aunque imperfectas- han prevalecido siempre manteniendo el desastre a raya. (…) hasta Osama Bin Laden parece haber tomado una mirada cauta en relación a los precios del petróleo." (Maugeri: 2006, p. 266)Observación: Diluir y perder de vista los desafíos políticos y de seguridad en un mar llamado "Mercado" lleva a la confusión y resulta peligroso. Debido a que "the true threat to that security arises from political reasons exogenous to the energy market itself." (Doran: 2007, p. 234)Una Perspectiva Realista:Los argumentos optimistas son semánticamente elusivos al negar el "peak of oil": Por un lado tienden a interpretar "seguridad" de manera literal. Al mismo tiempo, algunos de ellos afirman eufemísticamente que "…a process of de-conventionalization is taking place". (6) En mi opinión, el sentido del debate debe referirse al petróleo "fácil" definido como "…high quality, close to the market and not too expensive to extract." (7) Las proposiciones optimistas toman las variables técnicas, económicas y políticas de manera aislada, sin combinarlas entre ellas y de acuerdo a sus propias presuposiciones: Esta simplificación ignora hechos, impide contemplar el amplio abanico de externalidades negativas o nos lleva a explicaciones tautológicas. Hechos y Externalidades Negativas Ignoradas por los Optimistas:Un tercio del déficit comercial de los EEUU se debe a la importación de petróleo.El precio del petróleo afecta la estructura relativa del precio de los alimentos debido a los insumos derivados requeridos por la agricultura.El rol del dólar como moneda de referencia para el precio del petróleo afecta negativamente a los EEUU vis a vis países productores y otros consumidores, particularmente China. El 70% del petróleo mundial se encuentra en el Golfo Pérsico. Si bien esta región es una proveedora menor para los EEUU, dada la elevada integración del Mercado petrolero, cualquier disrupción, en cualquier punto afectaría los precios para el sistema en su conjunto. La elevada vulnerabilidad de los pozos de petróleo, refinerías y puntos neurálgicos de las rutas comerciales. El costo político y económico que acarrea para los EEUU las medidas para asegurar el Golfo Pérsico. Las implicancias de un Irán nuclearizado que adicionara nuevas tensiones a la región. Contradicciones y Explicaciones Tautológicas ofrecidas por los Optimistas: El "basto petróleo disponible" no está disponible debido a que la inversión correcta no puede alcanzar el lugar correcto.Mientras tanto, distintos aspectos del "peak of oil" se hacen evidentes aun para la prensa no especializada: "Desde iniciados los 80s, los descubrimientos no lograron igualar la tasa global de consumo (…) En cambio, las compañías han logrado expandir la producción encontrando nuevos modos de extraer mas petróleo de los pozos existentes, o produciendo mediante recursos no convencionales, como las arenas bituminosas canadienses o el petróleo pesado de Venezuela." (Jad Mouawad, "Oil Industry Sets a Brisk Pace of New Discoveries", New York Times, September 24, 2009).El bien documentado libro del Profesor Klare "Rising Powers Shrinking Planet" ha descrito al detalle el modo en que el mercado energético se está tornando cada vez más politizado al tiempo que las compañías nacionales de petróleo y sus gobiernos trabajan asertivamente para satisfacer sus necesidades. Ante el aumento en la competencia y la carrera tecnológica, ¿que deberían hacer los EEUU?2. El Futuro de los EEUU y el Orden MundialLa creciente demanda energética, por un lado, y la declinación en la producción y accesibilidad petrolera por el otro, representan un serio desafío para los EE.UU y su rol de poder global. Un EEUU herido económicamente se vería amenazado en su status y su rol hegemónico estaría en riesgo, aún mas de lo que ya se encuentra hoy. Nos encontramos en una nueva etapa histórica y el futuro de los EEUU dependerá de las decisiones que sean tomadas así como del modo en que sean implementadas. De acuerdo al professor Smil: "…energy transitions have always been among the most important stimuli for technical advances." (Smil:2008 p. 175) Sería en el interés de los EEUU seguir este razonamiento que implica que "…an indisputable peak followed by precipitous decline in production would not trigger and unchecked bidding for the remaining oil but would rather accelerate an ongoing shift to other energy sources." (Smil: 2008, p.174) Sin embargo el final feliz no está asegurado. Los EEUU deberán trabajar para modelar una nueva cultura energética que reduzca y haga más eficiente el consumo. Al mismo tiempo deberán situarse primeros en la carrera tecnológica que implica la búsqueda de energías alternativas. EEUU deberá seguir lidiando con los desafíos actuales del mercado mundial del petróleo debido a que las energías alternativas no son económicamente competitivas todavía. El reto es económico, político y tecnológico.La historia ha dejado algunas lecciones que deben ser tomadas en cuenta. Entre especialistas es extendido el acuerdo respecto de que luego de cada recesión, al repuntar la demanda de energía, esta es menor que en el periodo previo. Las medidas de conservación y eficiencia que explican dicho fenómeno deben ser estudiadas, mejoradas y popularizadas. Por otra parte, los miembros de la OPEC, al igual que otros productores, se encuentran enfrentando sus propios problemas brindando una oportunidad a la diplomacia constructiva. El creciente mercado de gas natural licuado y el proceso de concientización respecto del calentamiento global se presentan como fenómenos planetarios haciendo posible la movilización de la opinón publica para fines políticos. El desafío es serio pero no insoluble. Como expresó el Profesor Adelman refiriendose a la batalla entre el precio de las commodities y la carrera científica:"Historically, knowledge has won and almost all mineral prices have decreased, though this need not always be true. If costs rise, they will inflict higher prices, which will choke off demand." (Adelman: 1991, p.2) En términos generales puede establecerse que: 1) Deben tomarse medidas para mitigar y retardar las consecuencias del decrecimiento en la accesibilidad al petróleo "fácil". 2) El desarrollo de tecnologías substitutas debe ser una prioridad cuyos efectos solo podrán ser efectivos si es perseguida a escala global. 3) Esta carrera implica una competencia que podría llegar a resultar en un nuevo balance de poder mundial. La estrategia general de los EEUU debe sustentarse en la idea de que "…the resolution to the conflict between America's current approach to energy and the enviroment is one of the most effective ways to bring the country back toward a more constructive relationship with the rest of the word…" (Fuerth: 2005, p.412) Los EEUU necesitan reconstruir un nuevo estilo de liderazgo global basado en su tradicional mensaje de libertad y democracia que pueda interpelar las esperanzas y necesidades actuales de la poblacion mundial. El desafío es global. En el corto plazo se trata de competencia económica, en el mediano plazo se trata del balance de poder y en el largo plazo se trata de liderar exitosamente una nueva transiciçon energética. En cada una de estas etapas es necesario tener presente que cada vez que un combustible natural fue reemplazado por otro, se debió a factores económicos de mercado y no al agotameinto de recursos. (1) Marion King Hubbert (1903 –1989), geólogo, se desempeño como geólogo en el laboratorio de investigación de la compañía Shellen Houston, Texas.(2) Listamos aquí los argumentos utilizados frecuentemente por los "optimistas" sin implicar esto el etiquetamiento de determinado investigador como tal. (3) He traducido el término Estimated Ultimate Recovery como "extracción ultima estimada".(4) Bakken oil shale fields(5) Gas Natural Licuado.(6) Maugeri: 2006, p 220.(7) Simmons. Citado en Doran: 2007 p. 236. También definido como: "…low in sulfur, near the surface, geographically close to markets and exportable." 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Transcript of an oral history interview with Madonna Commo, conducted by Sarah Yahm at the Sullivan Museum and History Center on 30 March 2015, as part of the Norwich Voices oral history project. The interview focuses on Commo's experiences working at the barbershop at Norwich University for the past thirty years. ; 1 Madonna Commo, Oral History Interview March 30, 2015 Sullivan Museum and History Center Interviewed by Sarah Yahm Transcribed by C.T. Haywood, NU '12, Mary 12, 2015 SARAH YAHM: Okay so I'm wondering if you could introduce yourself. MADONNA COMMO: I am Madonna Commo. I am in the barbershop. I've been in the barber shop for 30 years. SY: And today's March 30th? MC: Thirtieth I believe. SY: Okay it's March 30th and we're here at the Sullivan Museum and History Center. Okay so how did you first come to Norwich? MC: I first came to Norwich because they were looking for an individual that knew how to cut female's hair. The barbershop had male barbers for I'm sure the existence of the barbershop, but females were suddenly being introduced and so there was a new demand for someone that knew how to cut that female's hair. And so I suddenly had a job. SY: And did you see it advertised in the paper. How'd you know it was open? MC: He did advertise in the paper. He advertised for a—actually for a barber slash cosmetologist and I just happened to be reentering the field - I had been out of it for a number of years - and so I answered the call. I thought it would be a lot of fun and so he was quite demanding. He wanted me to go in and take barber college classes before I even started, which was pretty senseless. It cost me a lot of money to do and he could have done this as an apprenticeship, as a barber apprenticeship but he just didn't want to do it I guess or whatever. But I did what he asked me to do and so I did get a number of barber hours under my belt before I even started here at Norwich. But I was a licensed cosmetologist when I started here. SY: And what was your first day like? What was your experience working, it was an all-male bastion, right? MC: It was an all-male, yeah it was very--I'm not gonna say it wasn't intimidating. It was extremely intimidating. I wasn't sure I was gonna come back for the next few days. It was, and I'm not that easily intimidated. I was used to working around guys. But yeah, the whole atmosphere, the whole feeling was just very, very different from what I was used to. So it was, it was a very strong, dominating, loud. Between the military atmosphere which I was not used to, and the solid male pretty much influence, it was a real challenge to try to fit into the barber shop. SY: Did--were things said to you? Or was it more just a feeling? MC: Well, you know, it started out as a feeling. And there was, you know, definitely a, a dominance. The males were definitely dominating and of course they would be, I was the new kid on the block anyways. So I expected the dominance, but as the years went by and so forth they still wanted to continue to be extremely dominating and so forth. And it was more of a male dominance than it was an employee dominance that needed to be there. 2 SY: So how did you kind of assert yourself? How did you kinda make it a place that you were okay to work? MC: We were, we were so busy that I just I just kept cutting hair. I just came in and I just minded my business and I showed up on time, and I just, I just minded my business. And I tried to please both the Corps and my employer. I tried to do the best I could all the way around. I soon found that they you know, they didn't want me to wear certain things and I had to--he event told me not to have a conversation with the guys in my chair, that I didn't need to have a conversation with them. "Just put them in the chair. You don't need to talk to them, just cut their hair." And I'm like, "Okay," because my conversation might be flirting. And I'm like [laughs] "okay," and at one point it got it warmer you know I think it was a fairly warm day and so and I love dresses, so I just it wasn't a fancy dress, I put on a dress. We wore jackets anyway, and they completely flipped out on me, they just said, "Don't you ever show up here with a dress again. We don't want to be looking at those legs. You're giving the whole wrong influence on this barber shop." And I'm like, "o-kay." So it was yeah, it was very interesting job. SY: They sound terrified of women, just like terrified like the fact you and a dress could just "ah." MC: You know you're right it--at that point for me they were terrifying, okay? But as I look back at it they were the ones that were terrified of me, they were terrified of me even being in there they were--you know it's like putting a woman on a boat, it's just bad luck okay. And I got that feeling as the woman working in the barber shop it was just a sailor's bad luck, it was a barber's bad luck to have that woman in there [laughs]. Isn't that awful? SY: Sounds like the fifties in there huh? MC: Yeah let's go back to the thirties maybe, yeah. SY: Interesting. MC: Yeah. SY: Interesting, really strange. And then you left and you were back in Central Vermont where things were, yeah it's so strange. MC: Yeah. SY: Yeah, and so when did things start to change? MC: Well I just. you know I just stayed consistent [laughs] and held my ground as an employee I held my ground. And people came and went, in other words bosses came and went. He'd, they'd contract out the service and individuals would not get the contract and we would get other contractors. And the second gentleman that I worked for was much more a compliant, he was a wonderful boss actually, really liked him a lot and worked for a number of years for him. And ran the shop for him and enjoyed him a lot. So, he was a different, he was still old school but that influence was gone, and he allowed us to make the atmosphere of the barber shop a completely different atmosphere from what it was when I first started. SY: So how did you, how did you change the atmosphere? What was it like when you first started and what was it like when you changed it? MC: First started it was almost like they were sergeants in there, demanding and screaming and hollering at the kids to, you know. The kids were running to the chair, sitting down and staring into space and it was just [laughs] I don't know, that's a long day and I'm not supposed to talk to them. And so we realized 3 and after working there for a number of years I realized that this just ridiculous. So in talking to the commandants at the time I said, "I really don't want this to be a place where the military demand is influenced in here. I want this to be a relaxed atmosphere, you know even the Rooks, can they at ease in here? Can we have conversations with them?" and I believe it might have been Melville at the time or whoever, wonderful man and he's like, "Absolutely, that's ridiculous let's change this." So he took the initiative to allow us to just get rid of all of that and told the cadre or whoever that in the shop you're not to push a kid agonist the wall. Back in the day it was pretty aggressive and so that suddenly was not allowed and as that came into play the kids would come in and relax and then we would have the radio on, and the magazines and even the Rooks were allowed to sit down and relax and be people in there for their, you know, time that they were there. So that worked out much better. SY: So now do you think it's kind of a safe space? Do people look forward getting a haircut especially when they're Rooks? MC: You know I think they do. I think they have for quite a while. We--at this stage of the game if we compared what the shop was when I started compared to what it is now, it's done a complete turnover. I have two other ladies that are working for me with me and this shop right now is almost like the kids come in and they can almost talk to us, because they're away from their moms and it's comfortable and they even confide in us, you know, personal things that we don't let anyone else we'd never, nothing ever leave our shop and I think that's why I've been there 30 years too. But you know it's a completely different space and they're very comfortable there. I do think they are. SY: Isn't that, I mean, isn't that always the story that like hair salons and barbershops and bars are often where people confess things and tell. It's a very intimate relationship. MC: It is. I mean they're sitting in the chair and it's a one on one with the individual that you're cutting their hair. And you know young people today I think are very comfortable with a female barber or person cutting their hair versus the old school barber that was rough and tough, the tattoos and whatever. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just, I think we've really set a nice atmosphere here at the University. And I think the University's happy with what we've done. I do. SY: And you took over the shop at some point? MC: We did, yes we, boy I think it was 1999 that we've had the contract. SY: And how did that happen? Was that, did you think considering the vibe when you started that they would let you run the show? MC: Well you know it -- again being a contractor was a man's world, and so we took a real big leap to go against the barbers that were in charge, the male barbers that had been in business for a long time. And it took us a couple of rounds to get the contract, but I think again the fact that we were constantly dependable, we were constantly reliable, we were doing the job, we had a good feeling about what we're doing, and I think we got the University's confidence in us as individuals and as employees that we would be able to handle the contract as a business. And I'm hoping that I won over there, you know, ability to think that I would able to be a good business person as well as a man. I think the world grew a little bit in those years. So we've had the contract ever since, yeah. SY: Yeah, so let's talk about, because you arrived when the first female Rooks arrived pretty much-- MC: Yes. 4 SY: And so what did you sort of witness? You sort of witnessed that changing campus. What was their experience like? Did you get to talk to them at all? MC: Well at first there was no conversations, but yeah I mean they were, golly gee those poor girls. I, you know, they would pretty much always be together. I don't think there were a lot them at the start and they pretty much always came in together. And you know what? It's still pretty routine that if one gal down another one will come with her. I think that bond here for the females is still pretty, pretty much there. We do have some regular gals that come in all the time and they're just so comfortable at this stage I mean one is graduating for sure, we cut her hair all the time, that she doesn't bring a friend in. But especially that freshman group, they're coming down they're always with another gal. So, yeah. SY: I guess I'm curious about the role that the haircut plays at Norwich 'cause you're there at the very first moment in that rite of passage. Can you talk about that, about Rook Week and haircuts? MC: You know, the haircut -- you can come into the college, you can sit down and take the test, you can look at kind of what's going on, you can put on the uniform and shine your shoes. But nothing is really completely life changing until you sit in that barber chair and we take your hair off. That is the moment that reality really hits not only the kids but the parents. Because the parents throughout the years on and off have still been around when we're cutting hair and I've seen students cry in my chair. I've seen students just literally almost break down in my chair. Students have left my chair because I say to them, I can tell if they're having a hard time and I give them a moment and it's like, and I tell them, I said, "this is the moment that you really need to decide whether you're gonna stay here and give it a shot or if you want to go back to mom and dad." I said, " because once I take this hair off its gonna be awhile coming back and so if you want a few minutes I'll go get your cadre, you can go over there and just take your time." Because this is life changing right here for these kids. And I've had kids get out of the chair, they've literally left the chair. I've had kids that I just cut their hair and I happen to walk out with them at the time and their parents were standing there and their parents just had, they just didn't even recognize them and then they start crying. So yeah I think that the haircut really is huge people don't think about it but it really plays a huge role in changing the whole mood of what they're doing at that, at that moment. SY: So do they come in, is it a somber atmosphere during Rook Week when they come in there? Are they sort of aware suddenly of the symbolism of it? MC: They come down with their company, and so there they come down. Our shop holds 30 at a time. Our shop is a huge shop so that they can sit down, and we just run them through. The cadre are in charge. The cadre tell them what to do but they're not working them in the shop because we don't allow that. But they're still, it's a very strict, there's no conversations between the kids and the individual beside of them. The cadre has very much in charge as we run these, these freshman through. So it's almost like they're in an assembly line and they really don't have any voice at that moment to just jump out of the chair until I give them the opportunity or my girls give them the opportunity. Because they're afraid to say anything to the cadre up until that point. SY: How do you read it? How do you know when need to tell someone that? MC: Oh you can tell. You can just read the kids. You know, yeah. SY: It's on their faces, their body posture? MC: Sure. They're sitting there and you're like, "Oh this kid's having a hard time, hard-hard time." SY: And have some gotten up and not come back? 5 MC: I think they have. I think they've gotten up and not come back. One of the most terrifying moments was this, this individual that marched to my chair, sat down, I caped them up and you know routinely you do so many haircuts that it just become,s your kind of almost in your own daze at the stage of the game, pushing them through. And I went to grab my, my clipper and almost ready to go to right down the center of their head and I happened to take a second look at them and look at their eyes and they were female. I literally almost had the clipper to the head and I just kind of panicked and I backed off, I shut my clipper off and I just like took a deep breath because I almost went right down to the middle. I mean she just looked so much - the uniform she looked like a male - you know I didn't pay attention to her walking. They all walk stiffly into the chair and she sat there and I just, yeah. And so I still - she was here the 4 years and she finally grew out her hair out, because her hair was short, she had a man's haircut then. And I, you know I honestly said to her I said, "I almost got that Rook haircut on you." She said, "Oh I know." She did not say a word to me, she was so afraid that she never said a word. She would have sat there and let me literally give her a high and tight because that's how terrified they are when they come through our shop. You need to realize that. But she graduated. She graduated and I said, "we got to grow your hair out" [laughs]. SY: I wonder because you seem like such a warm person I wonder what little things you do make them feel little better. It's an assembly line but is there still, like are you aware of attempting to transmit kindness or reassurance in some way? MC: The whole, my whole team does. My whole team's great, yeah. SY: Yeah. Just the smile? Like what is it? MC: Yup, yup. We make them feel welcome and comfortable and I even just they sit there and they're so stiff and I'll just even pat them on the shoulders and say, "Okay take a deep breath, relax, you know. This is a great cut, you're gonna love this. You're not gonna have to shampoo for a year." And I say, "and your pillow, it's gonna stick to the side of your heads, so." And they, and they crack a smile and then you know so you just kind of, yeah. But they're not even breathing when they hit your chair. Not even breathing and that's normal, that's normal for them at that stage. They've been running, they've been you know [inaudible] throughout the week, this is Rook Week. SY: Those aren't even the ones who you tell to get u,p those are just normal [laughs]. MC: Normal ones yes. SY: What about the girls. What control, what are the rules regulating their hair? MC: The girls need to have the hair above like the collar of your jacket or whatever, they kind of want it just above that so that it's not hanging down below like your coat or your sweater or your uniform. They call it a blouse, whatever. So that has to be up, so it either needs to be cut fairly short in the back especially and they also restricting how much, you know the new haircut is kind of long in the front there, they would have to pin that up too so. Or you can have it very long which is most of the gals do and they just put it up every day, and that destroys the hair. So they're constantly coming down because we need to constantly trim those ends, you know. SY: So when -- it seems like you would have to talk to the girls in your chair even during Rook Week because you have to figure out whether they want you to cut it or whether you-- MC: Right. SY: Yeah. 6 MC: Yeah. SY: Yeah, and so you are able to talk to them a little bit? MC: Oh we're able to talk to them at this stage in the game, absolutely. I pretty much every once in a while you get some cadre and they're young too, they're just learning. This is their cutting edge of learning their job, and they're, especially at the beginning, they're feeling the power, you know and that's okay. But they start getting a little aggressive and I look at them and say, "Let's just, when they're in here, they're ours. When they're out there, they're yours." And he just looks at me and he backs off so you know, they're, they, you know. SY: They're not messing with you? MC: No, no they don't and we don't. Every once in a while the kids will sit there waiting and you know they're teenagers basically coming out of high school, and the language will get a little you know and immediately we look at them and say, "Not acceptable in here. This a very G-rated shop, be careful with your language." And they'll immediately apologize. We just don't allow it, just don't allow any of that in the shop. SY: Yeah you're creating a culture? MC: We are creating a culture and you know what? We're creating adults, we're trying start creating adults and they need to realize that this not high school. SY: And that's a question too because you're part of training them also, right? MC: I feel we are. SY: So what are, what are you training them to be? MC: Hopefully training them to be good leaders and good adults. SY: And you, how do you think communicate through the language stuff—are there other ways that you sort of communicate that? MC: Yeah we're very strict in the shop I mean we, they would love to come in throw their backpacks in the chair and throw their coats and their covers over in the care, in the corner and we just don't allow it. So when they come through the door we train them - "There's hangers over there, you will put your backpack over there. You will hang up your jacket or whatever, then you will come over here and you will find your card." We have, we really work hard on getting the whole program in place so that when they walk in at this stage in the game they're so well trained you just see them follow the whole little pattern of getting their haircut, because we don't allow anything else. SY: Because it just would be chaos? MC: Yeah, "You're not gonna throw your coat here that's not, no you're not home. Hangers over here." "Oh yes ma'am." Because we're not doing them a favor by doing that, and we're also not doing our shop a favor. We can't have coats all over the place and then have 20 kids come down. Where are they sitting on the floor? You're gonna throw your coats on the floor? Your backpacks? Let's teach them to be adults. SY: Right. And also you have so many kids going through so quickly. MC: So many kids I think we're doing 1500 on a regular month, that's twice a month that's 3,000 haircuts a month. That's huge. 7 SY: That's huge and what do you, how do you keep it interesting? MC: Well every kid's interesting. Every kid is different. I mean it's just like anything else. I mean you're sitting in front of a typewriter all day, you're sitting in front of a computer all day. I think my job is a lot more fun [laughs], a lot more fun. SY: And it's the connecting to the kids that makes it fun? MC: It is connecting to the kids. It's, it can be a fun shop unlike when I started. We try to make it fun in there. I mean there's a lot of haircuts and a lot of hair to deal with and we have to get, productivity is very important in that shop. We've created systems that were not in place when I started to increase the productivity of the shop. SY: What are your systems? MC: I created a rolodex system which is very backwards still, but it's still very functional. So every kid has a card and they flip through it, and we realized that we needed to create a menu. We had a lot of foreign students at this particular time and trying to understand what they wanted for a haircut took a lot of time out of the haircut. So we took pictures and it was like, we called it the McDonald hair menu, and the tops are certain numbers and the bottoms are certain numbers. You can actually mix and match the tops with the bottoms, and you come up with a 2 number on your card. So a lot of kids get a 5-6 which is a half inch top and a zero on the sides faded up. So the number systems work very, very quickly. It's something we can write on the cards so when the kid flips through his card we know what he's getting for a haircut, he doesn't have to worry about what he's getting for a haircut because he picked this out a while ago. So it increased productivity, doubled it so we could get them in and out. The kids love it because they don't have to remember what they're getting all the time. Because I have people that graduate and they go into a barbershop and they say, "Well I want a 2-6," and the barber is like, "what?" [laughs] SY: How fast can do a haircut? MC: Depending on the haircut, yeah. For fun one time I think I decided that I would see how many haircuts I could get done in a half an hour, and if I remember correctly I believe I got 7 haircuts done in half an hour but they were fast ones. [laughs] SY: Is that the record? MC: I--you know I don't know. We're pretty fast. You'd have to go a long way to find barbers that are faster than we are. But we also we don't cut corners because we do a nice job, so yeah. SY: So I feel like you have a unique perspective in some ways on changes at Norwich over time. What changes have you seen? I mean in the student population, have you seen in the culture of the cadre? You said it was pretty intense when you first got there. What's the, what are the larger shifts? International students. What are the larger shifts that you've seen? MC: Oh boy, I'm hoping that the system that's in place is still working which is the students training the students to become leaders. I, I think that's what the whole school is about. It took me a long time to figure this out. But, you know, I think that we need to continue to take you know the kids come in and I've had individuals that I had lunch with that are, they can't understand why they go through the Rookdom: what purpose does this serve? Why are we taking everything away from them? And it became apparent to me that, you know, if we put these kids in the military what is it that they're fighting for? 8 They're fighting for freedom. How on earth you can fight for something when you've never understood what it's like to loose it in the first place. SY: That's interesting. MC: And, and, and you know it appears as though not a lot of people see this whole program as doing exactly that. That's what this is all about. These kids at this age, which I don't think I could have done when I was 18, lose pretty much their freedom: their cell phones, their freedom, they lose their freedom. But they grow so much from that because they become leaders and they earn their freedoms back, you see. But I don't think half the people understand what it's all about. You can't fight a war for freedom if you don't have any idea what freedom is. SY: I don't even think the trainers have put it that way. I don't think the military formulates it that way. I feel like that's the smartest justification of the system that I've ever heard and I don't think I've heard it anywhere else. [laughs] MC: I tell the kids that and you know what it's like a light bulb going off in their head. They're like getting so upset because, "When are we gonna get Recognized? When are we gonna do this? When are--" I said, "Stop it. This is a short term thing. How are you gonna go fight and risk your life for freedom if you have no idea what it's like not to have it? Lose your freedom?" SY: That's so smart [laughs]. MC: It's just common sense. SY: And when, did you sort of have an 'ah ha' moment when that occurred to you? MC: Oh my gosh, um yeah I don't know, just came to me. I mean it's just like, isn't that what it's all about? SY: I just spilled tea all over myself, just so you know and it's this weird tea that has twigs in it. MC: I see that. SY: I'm having like really a day [laughs]. I'm fine. I'm fine. I just was like, what, why am I like suddenly warm? Oh I spilled tea on myself. Let me go back to what you were saying because that's so interesting. So are there any memorable mo--when you sort of when people say, "Oh what do you do Madonna"? And you're like "Oh I'm actually a barber at Norwich." And they say, "Oh, what's your job like? Tell me some stories." What are the stories you tell people? MC: Oh you know [laughs] that's interesting because being a military barber is probably one of the least most respected professions that people seem to have. And it's, I've come to terms with it over the years because it's just been a pretty constant, almost a bullying type of situation. My co-worker just gets so annoyed with people. But as an example, we went to my husband - he's been at his job for 30 years too and we're at this very nice dinner with people in business, contractors, and all kinds of people. Sat beside this gentleman and came up and he says so, "What do you do?" And I explained to him that I work at a military university and I'm the barber. Well you could almost see a sarcastic chuckle on his face. "Oh well what kind of a job is that? You just stand there and shave heads all day. That's a heck of a job." And he actually verbally said that at the table with my husband's other business associates and so forth. My husband was extremely upset and I felt very bad because I felt as though that was making me look, making him look bad by this guy, you know, really rudely making me look very foolish, like my job was very unworthy, like there's no -- anybody could do that. And I just thought for a moment and my 9 husband was getting ready to, you know, defend me. He's so sweet. And I just stopped him and I looked at the man and I said, "You know," I said, "I really love my job." I said, "My job serves a great purpose at the university that I work at." And I said, "Not only does it serve a great purpose there." I said, "But it's done very well for me." And I said, "And I actually do very well as a contractor at the military university." And he just sort of sat there and didn't quite know what to, what to say about that and afterwards a lady over there she looked at me, she said, "I'm so glad you put him in his place." In other words, you know, he just thought he was something very special and just, you know, but we get that all the time. SY: Really? MC: Yeah, all the time. SY: Why do you think that is? MC: I don't know. I guess they think it's, I don't know they just, even here sometimes I feel as though that we are probably the least respected business or contractors here. Until you need us and then suddenly, "Oh wow we need the haircuts." But everyone else in fact we went to get these rolodex done, this was like recently, and the gal up on UP or Jackman Hall sent an email back to my co-partner letting her know that we were not a priority at this university. SY: That's hurtful. MC: It's, yeah, I mean we're huge, we're doing 3,000 haircuts a month, you know, and we don't ask a lot from the university. We've really focused on getting here and doing our job and, you know, but we do need their help with this rolodex because we don't have any way of getting the students names to get this set up and it's very important we get this set up. And they just that was an email that was sent back that we were definitely not a priority. SY: And you take care of every single student in the Corps. MC: We take care of every single student. SY: Multiple times a month. MC: Multiple times a month. SY: Mhm, huh. MC: Yeah. So it's interesting how people's perspective of the--our work is, and I don't know. SY: But at the same time lots of members of the community who aren't students also end up in your chair, right? And so you often-- MC: They do. SY: You probably cut the hair of the administration sometimes? MC: We do. SY: And does that change the dynamic in the relationship? MC: No I mean they come in, they're great customers, we service all of them, all of them. Any faculty that's in uniform gets served in our shop, you know. They get a haircut. 10 SY: Yeah I would imagine that it would--that maybe that might make you feel more respected at times. Like those relationships? MC: Well it's interesting because a lot of the faculty, you would think that Dave Magida and the president wants that service extended to the faculty because they want their hair to be in regulation with their uniform. So they figure if they offer this in our contract type of deal that they're gonna come down and get their haircut, okay? But it's interesting because especially with the professors, the students we certainly don't expect anything from the students, but the professors because they're getting their haircut for free they think the university, they even won't leave my girl a dollar tip, you know. Which that's not in good taste, you know? So obviously they don't respect. If they respect the fact that this young lady is really cutting their hair and even whatever as the university they should still show some sort of support to the young lady that's done the service to them. And I find that offensive when they're not leaving my girls a dollar for their haircut. They're doing beautiful haircuts on them. SY: Yeah and if you were going to get your haircut in town you would leave a tip for the barber. MC: You would certainly leave a tip for the barber. So I see that as disrespectful. SY: Yeah huh. MC: Yeah. SY: But it also sounds like you've managed not to internalize it. That like you know you do a good job, you feel good about it and mostly you're able to not take on that judgment or disrespect? MC: Yeah, we don't treat them any different. I mean they still come in and we were, you know we do their hair and it's up them, you know. I mean, I feel [coughs] excuse me that if they thought they were paying maybe they don't understand that tip especially for the girl should still be there. SY: Yeah maybe they don't know. There should be like a PR campaign you know what I mean? Like tip your barber [both laugh]. How did you get into cosmetology? What was your, when did you decide that is what you wanted to do? MC: Right out of high school. Yeah I went to college for that right out of high school and then ended up doing music pretty much full time for 10 years. And that's why ended up coming back into it. SY: I was just gonna say you also have a whole other career. MC: Yeah. SY: So can you talk about that a little bit? What is it that you do? MC: Oh music is just wonderful, you know, it's been a great gift. My dad was musician and passed it on and so music has been part of my life. It's been a lot of fun. SY: And you're a fiddler? MC: I am, but I also ran my own band. I've run my own band. I play a lot of different, like seven different instruments, yeah, bass player in my band. But I also wanted to reach out and do as much as I could as far as my profession goes to. So I've served on the board of Barbers and Cosmetologists. I was on the board for 5 and a half years, and they made me chairman of the board for like 3 of those years. I got to go to a barber convention which is really close to [laughs] what is the convention with all those really crazy guys well a barber convention is close to that. 11 SY: Like a Star Trek convention? MC: Like oh my gosh that was such a riot. And then I was chosen to be a subject matter expert and what the subject matter expert does is that go and we create the state boards, national state boards for the barber test. So I, that was kind of interesting to reach out in my field and learn a few more things. I fought for, I went to the legislature because our legislature here in Vermont wanted to combine the cosmetologist and the barber license all in one and call it a go. And I fought for the barbers because that would basically shut down every barbershop in the state, because those cosmetologists would eat them up and spit them out. And I knew that and the only reason he was fighting for it was because he had some cosmetologists that wanted to open up up a barbershop and you can't. The rule, the law says, there's separate licenses and so I had to really go and fight him at the legislature. And we won. So still they're separate licenses so the barber still has his business, and the cosmetologist has her business so. SY: Do you have both licenses? MC: I have both, yes. SY: You have both licenses. Oddly my grandfather is in the Cosmetology Hall of Fame, there's like a weird bust of his head. And who knew Cosmetology Hall of Fame existed? But apparently it does because he used to write the certification exams for cosmetologists in New York State in like the fifties. MC: There you go. SY: But anyway there's literally a bronze bust of his head. So odd [laughs]. MC: How neat is that? SY: It's very cool. Jacob J. Yahm in the Cosmetology Hall of Fame. Um I don't know if I, I feel this was like a short but sweet interview. I'm not sure if I have any more questions. Do you have any other sort of last thoughts about your time at Norwich? Do you plan on working here until you retire? What's next for you? MC: I'm hoping that Norwich is still pretty comfortable with us. I think we're certainly providing the service that they're hoping comes out of that barbershop. I, you know, I plan on hopefully being a contractor here as long as they'll let me. I may not always be the physical one standing behind the chair because as I get older here, it is a very physical job. SY: I was gonna ask about that. MC: So my body's starting to take toll. SY: Is there, are there things, like is it your arms and your wrists? MC: Yeah my arm, I've got you know my elbow is, tendonitis in my shoulder. These clippers are heavy and you're standing. It's really a job doing 3,000 haircuts, pushing that through. This is, you know, this is a huge physical job and so I'm starting to feel that. But that doesn't mean I won't make sure that the person standing behind my chair isn't well trained to take my place so. SY: And you also need to keep, you know, if you hurt yourself cutting hair that also means probably you can't play music right? 12 MC: Right their both pretty physical. The music is not as demanding as this 8 hour, you know, grueling haircutting is. This is a tough one. Twenty year old is perfect in there [laughs]. Pushing 60 not so much [laughs], so yeah. SY: I don't know if I have any more questions. Any other thoughts about women at Norwich and how their transition occurred? You said they seemed scared--did you sort of, did people talk to you? Did they say to you? Were you sort of like a mother confessor a little bit where they talked to you what they were going through? MC: It was so strict back then that no one dared have conversations. So the young ladies wouldn't have dared to confide in me at that stage in the game. But I'm very excited to see how young ladies have grown and they're, they're heading up our university. So I think we've grown a lot. SY: So you've seen them get much more confident? MC: Oh they're confident and they're smart and they're gonna be great leaders. SY: That's fabulous. I don't have any last questions that was terrific and now you still have a couple more minutes on your lunch hour. MC: There we go. [laughs]