Category: Global

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Cool Cooling

The human body has a pretty cool cooling mechanism to protect our functions. This ranges from the brain to our toes. Even we are usually not to keen on sweat, it still is our best way to achieve cooling for our bodies. Physical, for some also mental exercise can heat us up quite a bit. Water on our skin allows to extract most of the heat from our bodies due to the evaporation effect. This is our natural survival mechanism during heat waves or exhaustive exercise. Not all people sweat easily nor similarly in all areas of their bodies, but externally applied water for evaporation reasons does the same trick. Fever reduction through a humid cloth is another well known example of a proven “medical” cooling device. In architecture or home cooling we might exploit the evaporation cooling mechanism to create ambient temperatures in our home, office or home office. Multiple layers of humid structures or a special dice shape can create vast cooling surfaces even in tiny spaces (Stavric 2026). Cool cooling solutions can assist us in many ways without negative impact on global warming.

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Stinging issues

Sometimes a topic can make it into the headlines only if it is a stinging issue. The fact that certain mosquitoes travel and survive further north due to global warming is indeed such a stinging issue. As the living conditions for mosquitoes depend on warm weather conditions particularly during (tropical) nights as well as water availability for breeding purposes, the spread of mosquitoes can already be observed studying the spread of dengue fever, malaria and chikungunya in some southern European and American countries. Climate change, especially the warming parts of it,  shall bring home a number of stinging issues and consequences to people who didn’t seem to know or care about the spread of spread of infectious diseases.  

Green land in summer between Priesterweg and Südkreuz Berlin 2026

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Fighting fires

In our homes and offices we are used to have electric, digital and chemical devices to assist us in fighting fires. Fires can have multiple origins ranging from faulty technical devices to human errors, behavior and volition. Some countries have terrible experiences with city fires engrained into their history. The scale of wild fires in forests in Europe, the USA, Australia or Canada have reached a new dimension. With global warming fires known in southern parts of Europe reach further north and become more intense. The fire near Fontainebleau (Forêt de Sénart, France) in 2018 destroyed 9000 hectares forest. In 2026 the fires near Bordeaux burned 10 times the size (Link). There were about 8 years to get prepared between the 2 large scale incidents. The technocrats’ answer usually is just limited to the immediate surroundings of the fire. Instead larger scale actions have to be prepared and enacted to prevent the next incidents. The technocrat’s answer is more technology like aircrafts and yet bigger aircrafts(still largely insufficient in 2026-7). Satellite and drone surveillance with infrared cameras additionally can go a long way, but the human factor remains a hard to fight beast in all such technical fire fighting scenarios. This setup seems to be somehow like a constant to take into account in all technological propositions.  

Cercis siliquastrum Jardin des plantes Paris, planted 1785.

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Preventable Asthma Burden

The global burden of disease data, analyses and projections allow us to identify more clearly the parameters to influence and prevent rising global burdens of disease. Among the so-called non-communicable (i. e. not infectious) diseases Asthma plays an important role.  Heat waves (wild fires) and air pollution (road transport, heating emissions) are major contributors to the burden of disease. In addition to the health related suffering of a population, the economic losses for groups of countries have been estimated by a recent study (Chen et al. 2026).  For the UK another study showed that 2/3 of asthma attributed deaths were preventable. This raises our awareness to the fact that adequate health care systems and the distribution as well application of asthma medications can help a great deal to lower also the economic impacts due to uncontrolled asthma. The labour-induced costs (lost years of production) are likely to be higher in the low-income countries, whereas capital-induced costs (in form of opportunity costs of health expenditure) accrue more in the higher- income countries. With the successive heat waves in 2026 and continued global warming, the estimated global burden of asthma is most likely a lower bound estimate of the economic impact. A focus on asthma prevention becomes a pressing concern today to prepare for the future.

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Road injuries

Road injuries are a serious matter. The lives lost and people suffering from lasting injuries continue to be a major health hazard on a global scale despite significant reductions over the last 3 decades, mainly in wealthier countries . The Global Burden of Disease study (Ng et al. 2026) shows that between the ages of 10-39 fatal road injuries are the main cause of death for young men. The study has no data to speak to causal effects, but the basic statistics show a clear pattern according to gender. Several factors need further exploration:
1. Men are known to have a much larger share of the total amount of road traffic in most countries, which leads to a higher risk exposure.
2. Men seem to take higher risks when driving, which puts them at higher overall risks as well.
3. Responsibilities for road incidents are not investigated, which leaves other causes or contributions to road injuries (like alcohol or drug abuse) unaccounted. (Source: Ng et al 2026. Global, regional, and national burden of road injuries 1990–2023, p.7)

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UN General Secretary

The questioning of candidates for the position of UN general secretary in 2026-7 has revealed  a fundamental difference in the understanding of the role to be played by any General Secretary. Do you want a SG to be more of a General or more like a Secretary? In other words, do you abide by the idea to have a person in leadership position to rely and lead in a strictly hierarchical manner or do you choose a person that understands leadership as a service to the constituent bodies or membership organizations. There seems to be a predilection for the former rather than the latter leadership profile. However, 21st century has a chance to break with the erroneous paths, choices and missed opportunities. … “when will we ever learn”.

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Gone birding

Birding is fascinating science and hobby. The recent advances in bird song recognition allow to compare the sometimes complex melodies across species. The support by many citizen scientists who collect data on sound, images and environment, made it possible to identify 8 major types of sound snippets. These constitute the basis from which to study or imitate the major bird songs, if you like. The scientific paper by Bacquele et al. (2026) shows that in dense forests the songs are more complex, whereas in open space simple tunes allow to travel far across space. Mating potentials seem to play an interesting role as well. But birding does not stop there. The Brancusi exhibits in the „Neue Nationalgalerie“ in Berlin deal also with the fascination about birds by the artist (image below). We also find depictions of the „bird-man“ in mythology more than 3000 years before our time and ever since. Flying probably brings together our science and dreams about birds and mankind. Science fiction is full of examples of that kind.

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Fuel fertilizer food

The state of world affairs can be summarized in relation to these 3 factors. Fuel, fertilizer and food are the subjects of the hotly debated or even contested resources. From a United Nations perspective the progress in human and economic development hinges on these 3 key issues. The logical order of the Fuel, fertilizer food triad starts with the costs of fuels or energy more generally and leads to the production and distribution of fertilizer across energythe world. This chain of supply determines the quantity of food available to feed the world. Russia‘s war on Ukraine territory has made this logical sequence obvious again. Millions of people were suffering due to the fuel, fertilizer and food shortages due to excessive price hikes. If we add speculatove rent seeking to this we have a scenario where the global South is suffering due to political contests and wars in the North including the Middle East. The current governance structure of the United Nations is largely unable to address this triad adequately. Fair processes of decision-making, control and implementation are crucial in this respect to ensure that all regions independent of economic spending power at sufficiently represented at the international negotiations about fundamental resources. Minimum levels of provision are necessary, even if not sufficient, conditions for our humanitarian responsibilities.  

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Water pleasures

Maybe some of us associate water pleasures with the splendid fountains in the castle of Versailles (France). Our daily concerns, however, are much more about making cities more resilient and able to cope with water scarcity. According to a study by Krueger et al. (2025) the user perspective and behavioral challenges that go along with saving water by end users has been neglected for years. Water management in cities is part of the infrastructure package that has to be managed efficiently. Aging water distribution infrastructure is just as much a problem on the supply side of water as consumption has its (increasing) price on the users side. Rainwater capture, re-use and recycling are promising alternatives to simply providing more water. Pollution is, of course, another hazard that needs our attention. In the meantime we may think of water pleasures for all including the animal world.

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All the lonely people

This line of a song by “The Beatles” dates back to 1966. “Ah, look at all the lonely people” is a kind of puzzled outcry to reckon with the loneliness even in busy and charitable places. 60 years later in 2026 we have whole ministries in some countries to deal with loneliness. It is not a niche problem. Tackling the problem needs to go beyond raising awareness. Loneliness occurs at all stages of the life course: children, adolescents, young adult, migrants, employees, single parents, care giving people, even within couples, seniors and very old persons. It is not restricted to urban or rural areas, but changes from one to another phase in a person’s life course carry the risk to encounter loneliness. It may well be only a temporary phase before new relationships can be established or previous contacts revived. There is a role to reach out to people who might be lonely for all of us. Public policies should be scrutinised on all levels whether they manage to break barriers or raise new ones for persons to feel lonely. In Berlin, the local level in each district is taking measures to facilitate informal meeting points open to all ages and walks of life. The “Wüstenrot foundation” sponsors many initiatives where public policies are short of funds. Projects enhance networks of people and organisations eager to assist “all these lonely people”, wherever they all come from.  (Image: Conference on loneliness at Berlin city hall Schöneberg 2026)

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Soccer business

The FIFA has turned soccer into a juicy business activity. Of course, it has been like this for some decades now. After all professional athletes, coaches, managers and medical teams all around the games have their own high fees. With huge funds involved and millions of supporters the does not lack public support. The national leagues have been topped up with several international competitions which with less clear remuneration structures, but abundant national pride involved. The betting industry is worth billions in soccer alone. This invites all sorts of influences and corruption. As the football judiciary is not independent as a other judicial institutions, interference is apparently more easy with some return-favors between FIFA and host countries. More spectators and more TV-time supercharge profits. In countries that exit early, like Germany, the merchandising products will be forced to sell with substantial discounts. 

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Beware Albedo

At times of high radiation from the sun, we suffer from high “albedo” values surrounding us. Albedo is scaled between 0 (black) and 100 (white) and is a measure of the reflection of light. Dark surfaces have a low Albedo, which means they absorb a lot of light and store this energy in form of heating. On the contrary, white surfaces or reflector materials like mirrors absorb very little of light as they reflect the light and, therefore store very little of it as heat.
In housing or urban planning this is an important indicator to take into consideration when planning for summer heat reduction, for example. Inner cities with dense construction, lots of windows, which in most cases absorb rather than reflect sun light, Light absorption and storage during the day will contribute to heat urban environments and inner cities during summer nights. This might be comfortable during winter, but in hot summer days the high reflection value creates additional discomfort.
Greening of cities is a powerful answer as vegetation absorbs the sunlight, but does not store it in form of heat. The glaciers and huge snow fields have shielded us from the earth heating up too fast in the past. Unfortunately, the lack of knowledge about “albedo” has lead us to undervalue these shielding effects. Light absorption by the earth is an additional driver of climate change in form of global warming. (Image: Brussels, Forest, Park Duden Community Gardening 2026-5)

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Climateflation

Central banks have started to deal with the impact of climate change or inflation, short “climateflation”. New and additional inflationary pressures originate in climate change and global warming and they necessitate a closer scrutiny. Heat waves, like 2026-6 in Europe, or earlier ones have created an upward pressure on prices. Loss of agricultural production can be severe due to weather extremes which occur more often and with greater intensity. Such extended hot and dry climates reduce the production of crops and spikes in prices that only reluctantly return to average levels shall cause price inflation (climateflation). These are the short term impacts.
The medium run impacts alter price relations and valuations of in sectors like housing and infrastructure. Badly isolated stocks of housing, schools or hospitals depreciate valuations and the heavy investments needed for isolation of roofs, walls and widows as well as heat pumps to produce cooling shall be in very high demand, which makes price increases more likely across the construction sector. As we expect new devices to be “AI-intelligent”, “mem-flation” will be pushed up as well. These factors can give a push to some economies which are producers of the products in high demand and able to expand production rapidly as well. Just importing higher numbers of air-conditioning systems from other countries shall worsen trade balances.
The major challenge, however, remains our inaction to stop global warming to avoid additional economic and human losses related to climateflation.

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Gardening culture

There is a specific set of skills attached to gardening culture. You do not have to travel continents to experience the pleasure of gardening from more than just your own culture. Beyond the tradition of the French garden “à la Le Nôtre”, the English garden including the short precisely trimmed lawn and blooming arrangements, the Japanese gardens have a wholistic approach, which pay attention to broader human experiences of nature. A garden is a kind of sanctuary. It resembles more an internal journey rather than a showing off to others. Walls serve to enhance privacy to be able to open-up again later to others rather than a symbol of distinction and exclusion from the less privileged. Small places suffice to give room to a Bonsai experience. The very busy seaside resorts and port of Ostend on the Belgian coast has reserved a small spot for inner peace in its Japanese garden. (Image: Japanese garden “Shin Kai Tei” in Ostend created by Takahashi Sawano) 

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China Job Quality

In a small study of 771 Chinese adults, Dong, Wu, Ni & Lu (2021) have reported on the impact of long working hours on job satisfaction. If you work few hours, job satisfaction increases as you work more hours. However, working many hours already, additional work, 40+ per week, does no longer increase work satisfaction in China. In order to preserve the recommended or communist work ethos of a “996 work schedule” (from 9 a.m to 9 p.m, 6 days a week) the authors recommend that managers support more autonomy for workers to fix their schedules as this could increase their job satisfaction. Autonomy to schedule your work and more autonomy in decision-making moderate the impact of long work hours on job satisfaction. Eventually the Chinese comrades might get satisfaction in other areas but work as well.
(Book Exhibits on Karl Marx, Museum Trier Germany Books 2023)

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Autonomous regions

In political science, autonomous regions have a hybrid legal form. Autonomous regions are a part of nation state, but have rights of own administration beyond what other regions have. The status quo of an autonomous region is more defined by the historical evolution than current political controversies. The hybrid state as being part of a larger nation on the one hand, but giving the impression of enjoying more autonomous decision making. The actual test of autonomy is in day-to-day decisions, particularly those that have cultural or financial implications. In order to preserve an own language and folk traditions the status as autonomous region is quite helpful. Whereas an own television channel or decisions about school curricula were essential for autonomous regions, the access to the internet and, for example, AI-assisted translations have made the preservation of cultural autonomy a bit easier in the 21st century. In view of a pervasive globalization we witness at the same time an increasing local attachment of people. The “glocalism”, which combines global humanitarian values with a locally routed personal identity. This mechanism seems to be on the rise and continues to pose a threat to an outdated vision of a nation state. Beyond hybrid cars and hybrid war, we live more and more in hybrid nation states.

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Democracy or Democrisis

Measured on a global scale, democracy is in retreat. The report by the “Varieties of Democracy Institute” indicates that there are fewer people on the globe who enjoy the freedom and benefits of democracy overall. This is measured in domains like freedom of expression and the democratic quality of elections. The prevalence of democratic decision-making in opposition to autocratic ruling is closely related to the possibility to freely elect a new government in regular time intervals. The V-Dem Report 2026 indicates that 18 countries are on a favourable democratic development trajectory, whereas democracy is on the retreat in 44 countries. The freedom of expression suffered most (44 countries) and the quality of elections suffered in 22 countries. The positive developments (11 for freedom of expression, 7 for quality of elections) were outnumbered by negative ones. The cases of big countries with negative trends towards or tightening of autocratic ruling deteriorates the overall number of countries and specifically the number of people living in democracies in 2025 on the globe.
For all those living in lively democracies this should be a warning message (South Korea), that democracy is not a given. The enemies of democracy are working continuously from external territories to undermine a country’s democratic structures and decision-making. It is urgent to raise the quotas and limits by which fundamental democratic rules can be abandoned before it is too late. Let’s prepare a “defensive democracy doctrine” in Europe and the EU to signal more forcefully our willingness to stand up for freedom and democracy as fundamental values of humanity rather than an “Animal Farm“.

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Security and Popularity

With webpages it is a bit like in the world of glamour. The more popular a webpage becomes, the more you have to invest in security features.
In a parallel webpage project, the choice has been to go for a popular name for the webpage and blog activities. After a year of sporadic blogging the site has become a regular target for hacking attempts by means of login attempts. This has led the administrator to previously allow only one single login attempt before banning login attempts from the same IP-address for several days. This does no longer allow a misspelling of the tricky password on your own behalf or the password-manager, if you happen to use one.
Security becomes a “sine qua non” condition for web-users as well as web-developers. We usually take only sufficiently care of this point, when it is “almost” to late. With 16.000+ login attempts over the time of about 1 year and 6 running locked-out IP-addresses, I almost gave up already on another domain with a more popular name. External backups become another necessity to prepare for the eventual failure to access own content and data bases.
Actually, I feel rather safe going out at night as a man in Europe, but the dangers of the global access to a web-page feels much less safe most of the time.

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Gone reading

From time to time we should reflect on our scope of reading experiences. Over time, a certain bias for probably predominantly Western European or western parts of the world is likely. Therefore, it is an interesting experience to consciously choose authors from a broader geographical background.  The reading, which originates or takes its motivation from an exhibition, is a good start to broaden reading, particularly if images enliven the reading experience. The art work by Yinka Shonibare CBE on display in Berlin at the Palais Populaire manages to make this point in a colorful, compelling fashion.
It is difficult to assess what we have missed so far without having embarked on a longer reading journey. (Image: extract from Yinka Shonibare CBE, 2022, “The African Library Collection (Poets)”

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Given then Chosen

Family is first given and only later in life family becomes a matter of choice. This is a rather sequential perspective on family matters. A lot of ethnological as well as sociological research shows that the shadow of the given family can reach long into an individual’s later life. It is essential to be or become aware of the mutability of what constitutes a family. The ethnological variability across the globe of the norms and legislation that govern families is amazingly broad. The interference of religious beliefs and practices have always attempted to gain access to the nucleus of family life as an attempt to influence the “given part” of family.
It is a much more complex issue to understand and research the “chosen part” of partnership trajectories in a broader sense and from a life course perspective (Fasang et al. 2024). The social background and upbringing in a broad sense have a lasting impact on most people. However, there are enormous degrees of freedom to later on choose your friends, family or families. Societies across continents have chosen and invented particular rites of transitions between families and how to bridge networks. It is amazing that we tend to devote so little thought to this nucleus of our societies. 

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Mobile Web Search

The smartphone is ruling the internet. This is probably a well-known wisdom in 2026. Just looking at the basic statistics of which browser people use to contact this webpage, it is evident that Chrome is vastly dominating search on the internet. Even the mobile version of Safari outnumbers the desktop browser access. Information gathering, viewing and reading have all moved from the desktop to the handheld smartphone, and maybe our glasses or wristwatches in the near future. For those still programming or designing webpages, the choice of “mobile access and functionality first” is an obvious choice for business, and even more so, for leisure purposes, like it or not.
Some parts of this evolution of search behavior are quite obvious, as we are more erring around cities like Paris, Berlin or Brussels than searching in front of our desktops or notebooks.

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Autonomous Robot

We have been used to computers beating the average chess player and even the best players. In 2026-4 the journal “Nature” published the documentation of an autonomous robot (Ace) winning the occasional game against top-level Japanese table tennis players. Peter Dürr et al. (2026) described the robotics challenge as constructing a robot that can match the human capability and reaction time of “fast, precise and adversarial interactions near obstacles”. The high speed perception of movement is coupled with event-based vision and builds on AI-algorithms like reinforcement learning. The step ahead is remarkable.
About 50 years ago, as coach in table tennis we used a machine or robot throwing balls towards us which moved from left to right in timed routine, for example. These simple robots we used to train humans. Now the robot is reactive and even interactive, learning from strategies and tactical moves. Technology can outperform us in most singular tasks in 2026. The combination of several of these skills is still quite unique to humans, but the clock is ticking for human singularity in technical matters. What was considered a “false good idea” in the Paris exhibition “Flops” at the Musée Arts et Metiers (see image below), might be an interesting response to challenge the new generation of autonomous robots.

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Switch off

We have many associations with the imperative “switch off”. Depending on your background or state of mind, you might associate “to switch off” with a mental state, i.e. to calm down. Instead of buzzing about, juggling with multiple projects or deadlines at the same time, the reduction on a few major preoccupations can be achieved through a switch-off. In electrical engineering the switch, as switch-off or switch-on, is a key component of electrical circuits. In programming languages a key element is the switch implemented as an “if-condition” in form of “do if X=True”, in its easiest form.
Let us develop a social science corollary of a theoretical concept of “switch-off”. At times of energy shortages the switch-off option becomes an often overlooked or discarded option. Switch-off an engine to lower overall consumption of energy is a very powerful mechanisms. We do this manually by switching off lights, or as programmed or AI-assisted versions in modern homes. States might impose the switch-off of street lights or loud music after certain hours. In an energy crisis the switch-off option needs to be moved to center stage again as any MegaWattHour not consumed does not have to be (1) produced, (2) moved to local provision and (3) distributed. Additionally there is (4) less waste that has to be taken care of. Hence, the switch-off option is a fourfold win-win-win-win-situation. Who cares about this option as all 4 kinds of savings do not increase a standard measure of GDP in an economy? Broader social science perspectives may offer precious indications that “less can be more“.

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Critique of Maps

From a sociological perspective on maps we learn for example, that maps are also instruments to reflect property rights. This can be past claims of imperialism or recent claims of independence. A depiction as a map has historical and societal implications. Superposition of maps according to political, cultural or linguistic communities often reveal contested areas of domination and liberation movements. The specialized field of the history of maps can sharpen the senses for a critical view of maps in the 21st century. (Image:  Brankiza Zilovic, Nusquama 1984 exhibition “Cartes imaginaires’ BNF Paris).

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Fact and Fiction on Maps

As a matter of fact, for centuries maps have played in both registers, fact and faction. In geography we expect maps to represent geographical facts, and yet based on a historical perspective on the subject, we realize that early cartographers had to brush over, at their time unknown, territories. What did many of them do? They imagined what could be the case.
In the early days of “creating a map” the artists had to rely on some sort of fiction or were intentionally creating a fictive image of the unknown world. Out of this “science and fiction” approach, a whole discipline of literature has evolved, science-fiction. The imagery of Manga-mania in the 2020s owes a lot to this drawing and mapping of fiction in form of stories.
Maps tell lots of stories. They are powerful in their neurological function, similar to mind maps that are a tool to structure our thoughts or story lines. The gesture to point at an area on a map of the Arctic, Greenland for example, can send shivers across the globe. Maps make stories and stories may lead (eventually) to shifts of attribution on maps. In the same vein: the mapping of power also reflects the power of maps, be they based on facts or fiction.
(Image: Exhibition: Cartes imaginaires, BNF Paris 2026-4-8, Gerardus Mercator, Map of North Pole 1595)

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Electricity generation

On a global scale, electricity generation based on wind and solar has been growing quite fast since the year 2010-2024. Wind and solar have outpaced nuclear energy production as well as the stagnant sector of water based energy production. The Global Electricity Review by EMBER provides the statistical evidence for this evolution in 2025.
The interesting evolution arises mainly because countries with a lower level of GDP have invested heavily in solar and wind energy as this form of decentralized energy production does not need heavy investments in network infrastructure. Countries with larger population growth can keep up with electricity generation according to local needs. Local production and consumption become a key in strategies of local development. The finding that households in low-income countries use on average only 1 kWh per day is an amount that 2 small solar panels can already cater for (example image below).
Countries next to the equator have relatively constant days of 12 hours daylight across a whole year. The feasibility of no-carbon sustainable energy production is driving global growth in this sector.

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Antichambrer

In political circles it has been a common practice to “antichambrer”. It traditionally meant that topics are discussed in smaller circles before they are presented to the ruling royals or aristocrats. In modern democracies this role of more or less open “antichambre” (lobbying) is probably best translated as a form of consulting, which builds on personal contacts and small group discussions.
Scientists play a specific role in this political endeavor as they have to offer theories, hypotheses and evidence to support lines of argumentation to convince decision makers. Spin doctors, who know how to turn (around) an argument are, of course, present as well. All this represents the political, religious and business arena. All this happens in splendid locations that are part of the game of convincing, just as much as diplomacy.
The theater play “L’antichambre” by Jean-Claude Brisville, (produced by Alpha Théâtre in Paris 2026) sets the play in a historical 18th century scenario to unfold the intricacies of “antichambrer”, less in the political arena, but in view of the personal turbulence in may engender. (Image: Château Chantilly Antichambre)

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Totalitarian Totality

In political science we study totalitarian regimes across history in order to better understand how the decline into authoritarian and then totalitarian regimes occurred. But it is not only a matter of historical interest. Authoritarian regimes can get worse, like the Nazi-terror demonstrated and it propagated and applied “total war”. Across the world it is necessary to keep monitoring the war like situations of hybrid war and whether we might have to face again totalitarian regimes entering into all encompassing terror and war. It is the people, no matter from which country, who will suffer the most. The installation by Monia Ben Hamouda in the art gallery ChertLuedde allows us to think beyond or what remains “After totality” (image below from 2026-3-24). Maybe the challenge to make people think beyond the totality is the only way to prevent it from happening or totality being repeated. The experience of the installation is impressive and encourages us to question every attempt of totality especially of totalitarian regimes. 

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Disaster tourism

My personal background gave me lots of personal experience with almost annual next to a small river bed. Since I left the region for studies, the flooding has increased and several times have reached the scale of disasters. Therefore, I am very sensitive and have mixed feeling to the issue of disaster tourism. Such tourism is a nuisance at the time of the disaster, but cash through tourism helps the hard hit region and residents to overcome the losses faster. Would I travel to Tschernobyl or Fukushima for that reason? Probably not, but the intentional war disasters and crimes caused by Nazi-terror.  The Korean novelist Yun Ko-eun did not shun away from writing about a guide who takes tourists to places of environmental disasters until being sent involuntarily to such a site herself. This is not about the “K-Chicken belt”, a series of places with famous chicken dishes, nor about the potential consequences of repeated K-pop events of the famous BTS-boy group in Seoul in 2026. So glad to see that Korean youth has a chance to thrive under democratic rule. (Image: Exhibition in Korean cultural center Brussels 2026-3) 

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Quantum battery

The first prototype of a Quantum battery has been successfully tested. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation CSIRO with corresponding author James Q. Quach published the paper on the “quantum battery tuned for strong light–matter coupling” (Kieran Hymas et al. 2026) open access. Although there have been close to 20 papers on the theory behind quantum charging already, the demonstration as a proof of concept (in business terminology) has been missing so far. The superextensive charging with photons builds upon “a laser pump pulse with bandwidth ~31 nm and resonant with the LP branch induces excitations in the quantum battery” (Kieran Hymas et al. 2026 p.3). Since batteries need not only be charged, but also discharged in a safe and fast way, the prototype demonstrated also this additional functionality.
This is a huge step towards the feasibility of the “All electric society” as the efficient storage which includes fast charging and discharging beyond storage have been a bottleneck in the wider adoption of the “All electric society”.
(Image: old fashioned NiMH battery charging at home)