Metrology. Science of measurement. Metre Convention in 1875 – International System of Units. Metrology guarantees that measurements are accurate and reliable, which is crucial for various fields like science, engineering, and trade. Metrology establishes internationally-recognized standards for measurement, facilitating global trade and collaboration. Accurate measurements are essential for various applications, including medical devices, food safety, and environmental monitoring, which ultimately improve the quality of life. Can we measure? If we cannot measure it, we may not achieve it.
Bees. Winged insects, closely related to wasps and ants. Known for their roles in pollination, and producing honey. Over 20,000 known species of bees. In seven recognized biological families –honey bees, bumblebees, stingless bees, mason bees, carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, and sweat bees. Bee pollination is important both ecologically and commercially. Human beekeeping or apiculture provides livelihoods too. Bees may be solitary or may live in various types of communities. True honey bees are highly eusocial – their colonies are established by swarms, consisting of a queen and several thousand workers. Extinction of bees would lead to severe ecological and economic consequences – decline in global food production, food shortages, higher prices, and a decline in the quality and variety of available fruits and vegetables; affected plant and animal biodiversity; potentially triggering a cascade of extinctions. The loss of bees would disrupt the delicate balance of ecosystems, as they play a crucial role in pollination and nutrient cycling. The extinction of bees could trigger a chain reaction, leading to the decline or extinction of other species that rely on them directly or indirectly. Can we care for the bees?
Tea. Cha, Chai. An aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of tea – Camellia sinensis var. sinensis or var. assamica an evergreen shrub, native to East Asia – North-East India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, East China et al. After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. Tea is the most popular manufactured drink consumed in the world, equalling all others – including coffee, soft drinks, and alcohol – combined. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine/thiamine content. Herbal tea refers to drinks not made from Camellia sinensis.
India is the world’s largest tea-drinking nation. Its tea culture is strong. Tea is the most popular hot beverage in the country. It is consumed daily in almost all houses, offered to guests, consumed in high amounts in domestic and official surroundings, and is made with the addition of milk with or without spices, and usually sweetened. It is sometimes served with biscuits to be dipped in the tea and eaten before consuming the tea. More often than not, it is drunk in “doses” of small cups rather than one large cup. Yet India’s per capita consumption is about 750 grams per person per year.
Biodiversity. Variability of life on Earth. Genetic; Species; Morphological, Functional; Ecosystem; and Phylogenetic. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Earth. It is greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator. Thus, localities at lower latitudes have more species than localities at higher latitudes. Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than one-fifth of Earth’s terrestrial area and contain about 50% of the world’s species.
Since life began on Earth, six major mass extinctions and several minor events have led to large and sudden drops in biodiversity. Human activities have led to an ongoing biodiversity loss and an accompanying loss of genetic diversity. Sixth mass extinction – anthropogenic extinction. It is estimated that 5 to 50 billion species have existed on the planet. Today, there are approximately 8.7 million terrestrial species and 2.2 million oceanic species – 220,000 vascular plants; 0.7-1 million marine species; 10–30 million insects (only 0.9 million we know today); 5–10 million bacteria; 1.5-3 million fungi (some 0.075 million species of fungi have been characterized so far); and 1 million mites. The number of microbial species is not reliably known. 58% is the drop in biodiversity since 1970. This loss of biodiversity results in the loss of natural capital that supplies ecosystem goods and services. The rate of extinctions is increasing. This process destroys the resilience and adaptability of life on Earth.
The age of Earth is about 4.54 billion years. The earliest evidence of life dates at least from 3.7 billion years ago. Greater than 99% of the planet’s species went extinct prior to the evolution of humans. Estimates on the number of Earth’s current species range from 10 million to 14 million, of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86% have not yet been described. The vast majority of Earth’s species are microbial. Microbial life is metabolically and environmentally more diverse than multicellular life.
Conservation action, strategies, and plans can influence the drivers of the current biodiversity crisis at local, regional, and to global scales. Protected areas have been set up all over the world with the specific aim of protecting and conserving plants and animals. The target of protecting 30% of the area of the planet by the year 2030 (30 by 30) was adopted by almost 200 countries in the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference. It may have to be taken to 50% by 2050. Can we plan and deliver drop in biodiversity reduction, reversal?
Krishnamurti: If we are not really free, we cannot blossom, we cannot be good, there can be no beauty. If the bird is not free, it cannot fly. If the seed is not free to blossom, to push out of the earth, it cannot live. Everything must have freedom, including man. Human beings are frightened of freedom and do not want it. Birds, rivers, trees, all demand freedom, and we must demand it too, not in half measures but completely. Freedom, liberty, the independence to express what one thinks, to do what one wants to do is one of the most important things in life. To be really free from anger, jealousy, brutality, cruelty, to be really free within oneself is one of the most difficult and dangerous things. Can we be free, can we have freedom, can we have agency?
When we encounter ‘energy’, we and our bodies, hearts, and minds, respond in ways we do not even know how to control. Without a touch or a word. Our bodies answer. Open up; soften; become more alive; more sensitive, sensual; more moist; a warm current unfurls in our bodies slowly; feel safe, restful; receive the transfer of the energy. We offer ourselves in toto, for becoming one. We breathe deep; our tensions melt; our joys rise, wild, sacred. We flow free untamed. Body, heart, and mind in unison, we dance, sing, whisper, feel, and touch. We let go.
Can we be ready for this encounter? Can we let go? Happy is the one who is nothing. Can we be, can we have nothing? Can we be happy?
Yes, we can. If we coexist, flowing. Getting cleansed and ready. In N? ksepanayoga for 7L.