Text 1: The seed of the energy crisis lies in tomatoes
Economists miss the fact that gas prices affect everything, not just fuel bills
Main topic
When we think of natural gas and energy we don’t directly think about
tomatoes
Tomatoes are grown in greenhouses, they use a lot of natural gas and
energy to harvest tomatoes
o Temperature in the greenhouses are 20C
o Hydroponic substrate is used
o Boilers to keep the greenhouses warm are fuelled by natural gas
o Methane is used to separate nitrogen from the air
o Roots are drenched with water and nitrogen rich fertiliser
Tomatoes are fossil fuel products
Economists measure inflation with the basket of goods, where they collect
and aggregate their prices into the official inflation rate
o A little part of it is categorised as ‘energy’
o They only look at the electricity bills and petrol prices, but not at the
energy used for domestic products such as tomatoes (where the
inflation rate is much higher then the normal electricity bills and
petrol prices)
They forget that energy is not a subcategory of inflation, but it’s
everywhere (food prices, product prices, service prices)
They also wrongly assume that when prices go up, people can
just buy a substitute
You can’t really substitute energy
Former prime minister Liz Truss wanted to fix the prices
o But to fix the prices in an energy crisis will come with an unknown
price
o Also depends on the actions of Putin, because we are dependent on
the energy and gas of Russia (and our prices could go up if Putin
decides to cut the supply off)
o Other problems with Truss’s intervention
Assumption all will be over in a couple of years
Looking at forthcoming global gas projects the lack of
gas in European markets (because of Russia) will take a
lot of time to refill
The chance that the expensive government subsidy will
threaten the solvency of UK
Maybe we just need to use less energy?
Greenhouses are empty because farmers can’t pay the
bills
Truss’s measures could help but the boilers back on,
but could we not pay people to use less energy and not
to burn gas
o Besides using less energy and gas by replacing gas boilers with heat
pumps, we also should find a way to make fertilisers without natural
gas
We need to become less dependent on fossil fuels
,Own opinion
Agree with the topic of the author, I think we are very dependent on
energy and gas, the smallest thing can happen and our prices go rocket
high. We also need to think about climate change. We need to find better
and durable ways to keep on living without destroying our planet and using
so much fossil fuels
Words/meaning
Utterly = completely
Entangled = to cause something to become caught in something such as a
net or ropes
Committed = loyal and willing to give your time and energy to something
that you believe in
To cap = set a maximum limit or restriction on something
Indulge = to allow yourself or another person to have something
enjoyable, especially more than is good for you
Glistening = to shine by reflecting light from a wet or smooth surface
Domestic crop = crops (fruits, vegetables,…) that is cultivated by farmers
within that country
Cavernous = something with a large open space inside of it
Sprouting = something begins to grow
Hydroponic substrate = a material used to support plant roots while they
grow in a nutrient-rich water solution instead of traditional soil
Fertiliser = a natural or chemical substance that is spread on the land or
given to plants, to make plants grow well
Nitrogen-rich = nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth
Enrich = improve the quality of something by adding something else
Artificially = in a way that uses an industrial process or substance, rather
than being natural
Advanced = well developed and modern
The upshot = something that happens as a result of other actions, events,
or decisions
Hence = plant
Clip = fast speed
To yield = produce
To be more forensic = have a more detailed approach to something
Budge = move
Fix out = to separate out of
Flue = sort of pipe
Account for = to form the total of something
Totted up = to add up amounts of something
Pondering = think carefully about something
Bug = mistake or problem
Blithely = happily and without feeling or showing any worry, especially
when there is a reason to be worried
Presumes = to believe something to be true because it is very likely,
although you are not certain
Cliff-edge = a point where a situation changes very suddenly and
completely in a damaging way, or where something suddenly becomes
much worse
, Splurge = to spend a lot of money on buying goods, especially expensive
goods
Not have the foggiest = to not know or understand something at all
To confect = to create something, especially in a way that seems artificial
or false
Forthcoming = happening soon
Solvency = ability to pay all the money that is owned
Wee = little
Prudent = careful and avoiding risks
Smack = hit someone forcefully with the palm of the hand
Vaunted = praised often in a way that is considered to be more than
acceptable or reasonable
Disentangle = to separate things that have become joined or confused
Mere = used to emphasize that something is not large or important
Text 2: Have south Africans lost the ability to be
offended or must we be intolerant for intolerance?
Main topic
Words undoubtedly matter
o Horrors of 20th century show how language can have it’s
consequences
Discrimination, abuse, racism, genocide,…
o Where do we draw the line between free speech and hate speech
Our constitution prohibits hate speech
o Section 16 (B): speech that incites imminent violence
o Section 16 (c) : hate speech, which constitutes incitement to do
harm
‘harm’
o Important element of what constitutes hate speech
Harm: any emotional, psychological, physical, social or
economic harm
Other words: what is said needs to result in some kind of
harm
Under law: harm must be tangibly demonstrated
Free speech is a fundamental right
o If we don’t allow people the freedom to think and express
themselves, we deny them a fundamental right as human beings
Free speech allows different opinions and creativity
Moves away from homogenising culture, celebrating
differences
There is no right to be offended
o Karl popper wrote the paradox of intolerance (read in book)
Unlimited tolerance must lead to disappearance of tolerance
Unlimited tolerance to those who are intolerant
Protect society against the onslaught of intolerant, then
tolerant will be destroyed
It’s not that we should suppress the utterance of intolerant
philosophies
, But counter them with rational arguments, keep in
check by public opinion
Supress intolerance (if necessary by force)
How do we weigh competing rights in contemporary South Africa
o In open and free society the views of one person will offend others
o Challenge to weigh up the competing interests of society and
individuals
o We face critical challenges, linked with our violent history of
injustice and oppression
Legacies of apartheid, colonialism and slavery stay in our
society
Systematic and structural exclusion, racialised poverty,
inequality, …
o Historical legacies that remain and support
notions of hate and violence
Race, class and gender keep dividing our country in
significant ways
Part of the problem
o People with racist and misogynist views stay
under the banner of ‘free speech’
Example: the raped women, where jokes
are made
Opinion Author
o In our context, that people wo practise hate speech need to be held
to account for there actions
History demands that we need to become intolerant for
intolerance
Even with harm
If we don’t, we allow structures and systems that keep
injustice in tact
And those who where oppressed will remain victims of
harmful groupings in society
o There will come a time where we live more cohesively, where the
wounds of the past have been addressed
Things that where once decided don’t need to stay the same
forever
Own opinion
I agree with the author
o I think hate speech and free speech are really hard to draw a line
between, and it’s always debatable
o but I think we indeed need to punish the ones who practice hate
speech
it should not be tolerated in our free society
it doesn’t help anyone, and it always will refer to our harmful
history
we also shouldn’t try and hide, and avoid the conversation of
our past
Economists miss the fact that gas prices affect everything, not just fuel bills
Main topic
When we think of natural gas and energy we don’t directly think about
tomatoes
Tomatoes are grown in greenhouses, they use a lot of natural gas and
energy to harvest tomatoes
o Temperature in the greenhouses are 20C
o Hydroponic substrate is used
o Boilers to keep the greenhouses warm are fuelled by natural gas
o Methane is used to separate nitrogen from the air
o Roots are drenched with water and nitrogen rich fertiliser
Tomatoes are fossil fuel products
Economists measure inflation with the basket of goods, where they collect
and aggregate their prices into the official inflation rate
o A little part of it is categorised as ‘energy’
o They only look at the electricity bills and petrol prices, but not at the
energy used for domestic products such as tomatoes (where the
inflation rate is much higher then the normal electricity bills and
petrol prices)
They forget that energy is not a subcategory of inflation, but it’s
everywhere (food prices, product prices, service prices)
They also wrongly assume that when prices go up, people can
just buy a substitute
You can’t really substitute energy
Former prime minister Liz Truss wanted to fix the prices
o But to fix the prices in an energy crisis will come with an unknown
price
o Also depends on the actions of Putin, because we are dependent on
the energy and gas of Russia (and our prices could go up if Putin
decides to cut the supply off)
o Other problems with Truss’s intervention
Assumption all will be over in a couple of years
Looking at forthcoming global gas projects the lack of
gas in European markets (because of Russia) will take a
lot of time to refill
The chance that the expensive government subsidy will
threaten the solvency of UK
Maybe we just need to use less energy?
Greenhouses are empty because farmers can’t pay the
bills
Truss’s measures could help but the boilers back on,
but could we not pay people to use less energy and not
to burn gas
o Besides using less energy and gas by replacing gas boilers with heat
pumps, we also should find a way to make fertilisers without natural
gas
We need to become less dependent on fossil fuels
,Own opinion
Agree with the topic of the author, I think we are very dependent on
energy and gas, the smallest thing can happen and our prices go rocket
high. We also need to think about climate change. We need to find better
and durable ways to keep on living without destroying our planet and using
so much fossil fuels
Words/meaning
Utterly = completely
Entangled = to cause something to become caught in something such as a
net or ropes
Committed = loyal and willing to give your time and energy to something
that you believe in
To cap = set a maximum limit or restriction on something
Indulge = to allow yourself or another person to have something
enjoyable, especially more than is good for you
Glistening = to shine by reflecting light from a wet or smooth surface
Domestic crop = crops (fruits, vegetables,…) that is cultivated by farmers
within that country
Cavernous = something with a large open space inside of it
Sprouting = something begins to grow
Hydroponic substrate = a material used to support plant roots while they
grow in a nutrient-rich water solution instead of traditional soil
Fertiliser = a natural or chemical substance that is spread on the land or
given to plants, to make plants grow well
Nitrogen-rich = nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth
Enrich = improve the quality of something by adding something else
Artificially = in a way that uses an industrial process or substance, rather
than being natural
Advanced = well developed and modern
The upshot = something that happens as a result of other actions, events,
or decisions
Hence = plant
Clip = fast speed
To yield = produce
To be more forensic = have a more detailed approach to something
Budge = move
Fix out = to separate out of
Flue = sort of pipe
Account for = to form the total of something
Totted up = to add up amounts of something
Pondering = think carefully about something
Bug = mistake or problem
Blithely = happily and without feeling or showing any worry, especially
when there is a reason to be worried
Presumes = to believe something to be true because it is very likely,
although you are not certain
Cliff-edge = a point where a situation changes very suddenly and
completely in a damaging way, or where something suddenly becomes
much worse
, Splurge = to spend a lot of money on buying goods, especially expensive
goods
Not have the foggiest = to not know or understand something at all
To confect = to create something, especially in a way that seems artificial
or false
Forthcoming = happening soon
Solvency = ability to pay all the money that is owned
Wee = little
Prudent = careful and avoiding risks
Smack = hit someone forcefully with the palm of the hand
Vaunted = praised often in a way that is considered to be more than
acceptable or reasonable
Disentangle = to separate things that have become joined or confused
Mere = used to emphasize that something is not large or important
Text 2: Have south Africans lost the ability to be
offended or must we be intolerant for intolerance?
Main topic
Words undoubtedly matter
o Horrors of 20th century show how language can have it’s
consequences
Discrimination, abuse, racism, genocide,…
o Where do we draw the line between free speech and hate speech
Our constitution prohibits hate speech
o Section 16 (B): speech that incites imminent violence
o Section 16 (c) : hate speech, which constitutes incitement to do
harm
‘harm’
o Important element of what constitutes hate speech
Harm: any emotional, psychological, physical, social or
economic harm
Other words: what is said needs to result in some kind of
harm
Under law: harm must be tangibly demonstrated
Free speech is a fundamental right
o If we don’t allow people the freedom to think and express
themselves, we deny them a fundamental right as human beings
Free speech allows different opinions and creativity
Moves away from homogenising culture, celebrating
differences
There is no right to be offended
o Karl popper wrote the paradox of intolerance (read in book)
Unlimited tolerance must lead to disappearance of tolerance
Unlimited tolerance to those who are intolerant
Protect society against the onslaught of intolerant, then
tolerant will be destroyed
It’s not that we should suppress the utterance of intolerant
philosophies
, But counter them with rational arguments, keep in
check by public opinion
Supress intolerance (if necessary by force)
How do we weigh competing rights in contemporary South Africa
o In open and free society the views of one person will offend others
o Challenge to weigh up the competing interests of society and
individuals
o We face critical challenges, linked with our violent history of
injustice and oppression
Legacies of apartheid, colonialism and slavery stay in our
society
Systematic and structural exclusion, racialised poverty,
inequality, …
o Historical legacies that remain and support
notions of hate and violence
Race, class and gender keep dividing our country in
significant ways
Part of the problem
o People with racist and misogynist views stay
under the banner of ‘free speech’
Example: the raped women, where jokes
are made
Opinion Author
o In our context, that people wo practise hate speech need to be held
to account for there actions
History demands that we need to become intolerant for
intolerance
Even with harm
If we don’t, we allow structures and systems that keep
injustice in tact
And those who where oppressed will remain victims of
harmful groupings in society
o There will come a time where we live more cohesively, where the
wounds of the past have been addressed
Things that where once decided don’t need to stay the same
forever
Own opinion
I agree with the author
o I think hate speech and free speech are really hard to draw a line
between, and it’s always debatable
o but I think we indeed need to punish the ones who practice hate
speech
it should not be tolerated in our free society
it doesn’t help anyone, and it always will refer to our harmful
history
we also shouldn’t try and hide, and avoid the conversation of
our past
