Dear Friends and Students
A few weeks back Covid fear
was mongering around us! As of yesterday we had more than 10000 cases! However,
nobody seems to be worried too much! One problem ate the other problem. A big
fish eats smaller fish. A big fear eats small fears. The
current fear of war ate the Covid fear.
Whole world runs on
fear! Fear drives the economy, Jobs, Medicines, Education and so on. Cyber
security is born out of fear of cyber-attacks. Cryptocurrency is born out of
fear of physical bank’s transparency. Defense industry is born out of fear of
insurgency. Criminal Law is born out of crime. This list continues!
Recently I was reading an
article “Ecology of fear”, published in Current Biology, ScienceDirect (sciencedirect.com ).
Liana & Michael, Department of Biology, Western University, Ontario, Canada writes, ecology of fear determines
conservation. Fear can kill! Fear effects numbers! Fear affects offspring or
fecundity. The survival of young depends on the actions of their parents in
most birds and mammals but it is not pertinent in the majority of other
species. Fear is likely to affect prey populations because scared prey eat
less. In the
wild, predators not only kill adult prey but also prey offspring. Parent birds
that heard predators, laid fewer eggs, incubated them less well, fewer hatched,
and fed their offspring less, hence fewer survived! With the net result they
produced 40% fewer offspring than parents that heard non-predators. Scared
prey eat less, because you cannot have your head up looking for predators and
your head down looking for food at the same time.
Fear drives economics and
education! Today the whole world is running after that fear! I am really
worried to see a few students studying abroad are fleeing back to Home land.
Why? There is some sense of security in their homeland. It is natural and
emotional. Today I saw a group of students holding our Indian Tri color flag
while crossing the Poland border! I heard a few saying how the National flag
was saved?
Country is not a
geographical border. It is a community with certain culture, ethos and values. In the last
1000 years there were many invasions across the world. Geographical borders are
changing but the cultural roots are intact, otherwise these wars would have not
erupted.
Similarly, Fear is
an economic cancer. Fear defines the Great Depression and the Great
Recession! “A recession is likely to start at some point this year!!
(bloombergquint.com). Again IT hiring impacts if it becomes true! Chip
Companies Predict Limited Supply Chain Disruption as Russia Invades
Ukraine! Ukraine supplies more than 90% of U.S. semiconductor-grade neon,
critical for lasers used in chip making. The gas, a byproduct of Russian steel
manufacturing, according to market research firm Techcet, is purified in Ukraine.
Thirty-five percent of U.S. palladium, used in sensors and memory, among other
applications, is sourced from Russia (news18.com)
Scientifically it is proved
that Local (within 100 kilometers of where you live), seasonal food
eaten fresh and cooked at home, is always the best option. Local foods
tend to taste fresher, have more nutrients, and use less
packaging. Supporting local food businesses leads to strong local
economies.
What should be the
strategy? Try Pakka Local, if it doesn’t work Go
Glocal (Global+Local)! Still not convinced, Set Global!!
If there are mistakes in my
personal views, my sincere apologies!
Ravi Saripalle
