Hard Truths to Muddle Through Tough Times

Here are today's quotes. Once again, there seems to be an underlying theme of impending doom. Perhaps that's a bit of an extreme take—or perhaps not.

Yaounde, Cameroon - no real connection to the content here. I just liked the photo and wanted to share.

1. Keith Payne, The Broken Ladder
   "When people escape an impoverished background, they, too, are gone forever in a sense. Even if they return, they think differently, speak differently, and even eat differently. A family member once told me she didn’t want to set up education funds for her children because people came back from college as atheists. And what good is increased earnings potential when compared to eternal damnation?"
   Goodreads

2. Stuart Brown, M.D. & Christopher Vaughan, Play
   "When we stop playing, we stop developing, and when that happens, the laws of entropy take over—things fall apart. Ultimately, we share the fate of the sea squirt and become vegetative, staying in one spot, not fully interacting with the world, more plant than animal. When we stop playing, we start dying."
   Goodreads

3. Li Yuan, China’s Police Are Preying on Small Firms in Search of Cash
   "The money grabs are a sign of just how financially desperate local governments are. The country’s housing market has unraveled. Income from land sales, which used to make up about a third of local government revenue, fell by nearly one-third last year from the peak in 2021, according to the finance ministry."
   The New York Times

4. Washington Post, What Canada’s Carbon Pricing Ruling Says About the Global Struggle Against Climate Change
   "Climate action is rife with problems—from free riders to dissenting ideology, to science denialism, to domineering capital interests, and beyond." (i.e., it is a wicked problem)
   Washington Post

5. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Strongmen
   "On one issue, the strongman has been consistent: his drive to control and exploit everyone and everything for personal gain."
   Goodreads

Climate Action: Indicators of Progress

Bouygues Construction has partnered with Ecocem to use its low-carbon ‘ACT’ cement, which reduces CO2 emissions by 70%. After rigorous testing at facilities in France and a full-scale mock-up, Bouygues will evaluate the cement's performance under typical site conditions. Ecocem’s ACT technology, launched in 2022, replaces 70% of traditional clinker with alternative materials, marking a significant step in construction sector decarbonization. Ecocem is expanding its production capacity, with a U.S. factory planned.

Bouygues agrees to use low-carbon cement brand after testing it

Global Construction Review