EDITORIAL LETTER

However, I would like to take this opportunity to comment on the apparent rise, without a cap, in crude oil prices, a situation that, it continues, will cause a collapse in the world economy, affecting even the CVAC/R industry.

The situation is quite worrying, given that for several months crude oil has been rising, and the long-awaited decline of which international analysts speak as the solution to the economic crisis nothing that occurs. The most serious thing about the matter is the high dependence that the current economy has on this raw material, and although some governments, such as the American one, talk about fuel substitution, investments in ecological alternatives, the truth is that this is still simply a dream.

If this situation continues, we will see increases in the prices of many basic necessities, which is already being seen in the increases in fuels, a fact that in turn will accelerate the rise in the prices of products for the final consumer, since it is demonstrated that manufacturers charge these surcharges to consumers.

Without the spirit of making unofficial criticisms, I think this is the time to make decisions. The planet and the economic systems in which more than six billion people live cannot continue to depend on the wealth of a few; Beyond the fact that my approach will receive any qualifier, I think that the current energy system, where a single alternative monopolizes the market, is very harmful to the interests of all.

The paradox of the current situation is that looking at it with the magnifying glass of logic, everything that happens is the fault of the market itself, which, despite an era of numerous technological advances, could never find an energy substitute for crude oil and its derivatives.

I also believe that this is the moment when the planet needs researchers and scientists to develop real alternatives, far from the demagogic utopias of some presidents. We have to find a way to find life beyond oil.

Until next time.

On this occasion I want to talk about a practice that is quite observed in the field of CVAC-R and that is highly harmful to the interests of all: empiricism. This phenomenon refers fundamentally to the realization of any activity or practice without the adequate preparation for it, based solely on the bases.

In our industries, empiricism is observed in many of the processes that are carried out daily such as the installation of an air conditioner, the maintenance of a refrigeration system, the refrigerant loads in the various processes and more.

I want to emphasize that I am not against a person making the decision to learn to exercise any work, but what I do find delicate is that this work is exercised without having the minimum technical requirements and worse, with the indifference of the case of those who only care about charging a service, regardless of whether it is right or wrong.

I know that in Latin America training is expensive, but today we have a valuable tool at hand: the Internet. Everything is there, and it is enough to approach an Internet café (where computers are rented by the hour) and look to have access to more information, which will surely result in greater skill when it comes to doing the work.

Let's think, the benefits are many. On the one hand, there will be more satisfied customers and users and this will increase their business horizon. On the other hand, the planet will thank you, because in many cases it will not be depositing high amounts of refrigerants into the atmosphere, and energy consumption will be lower. Finally there is the biggest reward: the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing a good job and that you are getting paid fairly for your work.

Until next time.

Julián Arcila Restrepo, Editor
[email protected]

Undoubtedly, such announcements are quite positive and hopeful, but we must work so that these initiatives do not remain simply as media and advertising effects, or become approaches to political campaigns.

It is important to clarify that this medium coincides with those that tend to reduce emissions of compounds that are harmful to the ozone layer, and that it also accompanies those who seek the implementation of green technologies in the most polluting cities; However, it calls for such initiatives to be landed through programs that contemplate measures for the short and medium term, since the planet does not support "long-term" emission reduction plans, while pollution advances, a scenario that would be seen with the most recent proposal on environmental matters made by the President of the United States.

In this regard, we welcome the announcement of the implementation of shock measures in six cities on the continent (New York, Chicago, Toronto, Houston, Mexico City and São Paulo) to become green cities. These actions propose the reduction of vehicular traffic, the conversion of heating, cooling and lighting power systems and the dosage of electricity consumption in domestic installations.

We also welcome any attempt by the other cities of the continent to take similar actions, as any of the capital cities in the region faces similar problems that are reflected in large clouds of smog and noise pollution. Even each citizen can make their contribution to make the plan to decontaminate the planet a reality, joining the initiatives proposed by these cities.

That is why the important thing is to move from rhetoric to action, plan immediate actions and start as soon as possible the measures for the construction of a green planet.

Julian Arcila Restrepo
Editor