LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." – Ralph Waldo Emerson



Covid-19 and the job market

As governments around the world seek to save lives by slowing down the spread of the coronavirus, they have to take dramatic measures, with big implications for economic activity. Many nations around the globe declared a lockdown in March, 2020, to control the Covid-19 pandemic. This seems to have helped rein in the public-health crisis but is taking its toll on the economy, and many people have been laid off. It’s clear that the entire situation is not getting back to normal anytime soon. We don’t know when exactly the job market would start flourishing again and when would we be provided with the kind of opportunities we are looking for. What do you do in the meantime? You hustle. This is about your hustle to get things done. This is about how to use your time to figure out how to get back into the work world. This can be easier said than done. But if you don’t have that proverbial nest egg or family financial support to help you ride out this storm, you can’t afford to be picky right now. Apply for anything and everything that might put you back in the seat of earning a living is your best strategy to finding work as quickly as possible. It means you have to use all available resources. If you look around, you’ll see that while many industries have come to a crashing halt there are others that are booming. Try your luck in those areas. None of this means it’s easy. But it also means you have options. They may not be as good of options as you had a month ago or as some of your friends have, but you have them. And remember, all this is temporary.

Shahrukh Shah,
Karachi.

Affordable and clean energy: Why does it matter?

Our everyday lives depend on reliable and affordable energy services to function smoothly and to develop equitably. A well-established energy system supports all sectors: from businesses, medicine and education to agriculture, infrastructure, communications and high-technology. Conversely, lack of access to energy supplies and transformation systems is a constraint to human and economic development. For many decades, fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas have been major sources of electricity production, but burning carbon fuels produces large amounts of greenhouse gases which cause climate change and have harmful impacts on people’s well-being and the environment. This affects everyone, not just a few. Moreover, global electricity use is rising rapidly. In a nutshell, without a stable electricity supply, countries will not be able to power their economies. Just under one billion people of the world’s population do not have access to electricity. Without electricity, women and girls have to spend hours fetching water, clinics cannot store vaccines for children, many school children cannot do homework at night, and people cannot run competitive businesses. What can we do to fix these issues? Countries can accelerate the transition to an affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy system by investing in renewable energy resources, prioritising energy efficient practices, and adopting clean energy technologies and infrastructure. Businesses can maintain and protect ecosystems to be able to use and further develop hydropower sources of electricity and bioenergy, and commit to sourcing 100 per cent of operational electricity needs from renewable sources. Investors can invest more in sustainable energy services, bringing new technologies to the market quickly from a diverse supplier base. You can save electricity by plugging appliances into a power strip and turning them off completely when not in use, including your computer. You can also bike, walk or take public transport to reduce carbon emissions.

Tahira Hussain,
Lahore.



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