Student's Profile

Name

Barbara F. Haller

Institution

Uni Zürich

Town, Country

Zürich,Switzerland

Profile

Going through life with open eyes, one is confronted with resources-related issues anywhere and anytime. Especially at work, whenever I get myself a cup of coffee, I have to pass the glass tubes containing tennis balls symbolizing the current monthly use of paper and fuel. But also the entertainment industry has started promoting environmental awareness in general, and resources in particular. There is one song “On n’a qu’une terre” by Swiss Rapper Stress which truly sums up and stresses also my point of view – after all, “we’ve only got one world”. Hereafter some translated excerpts from the song:

A destroyed nature, a world made of CO2.
Is this really the future
We want to create for them (our children)?
Big discussions are good.
But acts are what counts
It is today that we have to make a difference,
Because we can.

Don’t tell me you don’t see it, you don’t feel it.
This change. Don’t lie to me.

Everybody is outraged, but nobody seems in a hurry.

Three years ago, I had the possibility to work on the topic of oil during a Summer Academy of the Swiss Study Foundation. That being my only serious experience of working on the topic of resources, I knew I wanted to get a deeper and broader knowledge of the whole resources situation. This especially so as the Academy was rather disappointing, the result being: “There is nothing we can do to change the situation”.

My expectations for the World Resources Forum are on one hand raising the worldwide awareness for as well as knowledge of resources-related issues and on the other hand seriously attempting to find economically reasonable solutions for the current situation. To take up Stress’ lyrics again “We’ve only got one world” – “It is today that we have to make a difference”.

History

Member for

27 weeks 5 days