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“The best way to
predict the future is to
create it.” – Peter Drucker
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INTRODUCTION Warning: Reading the following ideas and information will likely push your buttons. It will probably make you uncomfortable, possibly even angry. However I challenge you to read it to the end, and be brutally honest with yourself. This was something I had to do for my own life, and my own businesses. And truthfully, I did not like the answers. That did not change the objective reality. Just like a drug addict though, the first step is to see and admit there is a problem, only then can a path to recovery be started. Why is this important? The science is now undeniable (and has been for some time)… Whilst there are scientists who are sceptical of climate change, they are almost all funded by corporations to publish bogus information to attempt to discredit reputable science. (Just the same as tobacco companies have done in the past). Although the exact data may not always be agreed upon by everyone, the urgency and inevitability of the situation is. Yet as a species we are doing very little about it which isn’t surprising. On the whole we are often unable to overcome our individual bad habits, even when we may be aware of severe negative consequences, even probable death (think every smoker)! We are masters of self-justification. We can always find a logical explanation (read excuse) as to why we do what we do. Especially when it comes to our own actions or inactions. Over-eating, being lazy or making poor social or moral decisions – this is particularly true when it comes to making money. Take a moment and ask yourself, what is your primary motivation for the way you currently make money? Is it primarily to make money, or is it to impact society in a positive way? Here is the hard truth… If the way you make money does not work towards finding better solutions to the world’s problems, then you are essentially sitting For more information and to help join the revolution visit http://socialpreneur.tv
back expecting others to solve global problems, while you contribute to its destruction. Some basic numbers to put things in perspective…
One tree provides enough oxygen for 18 people, and is one of our best defences against CO2 build up. Yet we have destroyed approximately 80% of the world’s forests already. In the US it is closer to 96%. Have we learned? Apparently not. We continue to cut down another 1-2 acres of forest every second. It is estimated that around 50% of global hospital admissions stem from unclean drinking water. Only 8% of the world’s clean water is used for domestic use. 22% is used by industry and 70% agriculture, the vast majority of which is used for the production of meat which is used to feed a minority of the world’s population.
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Over 2 million people die each year due to air pollution – almost all of which is produced by industries trying to fulfil consumer demands. (Yes, everything you buy contributes to this.) We are losing an average of 110 animal and insect species every day due to deforestation. By 2050 it is estimated that we will have lost between 15 and 37% of all animal species on the planet. Yet we are cutting down over 100 million trees every year just to create junk mail alone. Since the industrial revolution in the 1700’s we have increased CO2 levels by 34%. We are currently adding an additional 1000 tons per second, and at this rate by the end of this century (within many people’s lifetimes) it is estimated this will result in a 5.8 degree rise in global temperature. We are currently all part of the problem – it’s almost impossible not to be with current modern day lifestyles. This is why we can’t expect a tiny part of the population to fix everything for the rest of us. Humans are experts in placing blame or responsibility on others. We look to others to find solutions for us, and look at our neighbours and peers for examples on how to think and act – rather than doing what we know is right. Governments are driven by a balance of social pressure and large business demands, and in many cases, plain personal greed. Consumers are usually motivated by a balance of their existing education, social pressure, available choice and the desires created by advertising and the media. This means it is up to entrepreneurs and businesses to find solutions and create sustainable choices. And to use marketing to educate consumers and create demand for more sustainable options. Every business owner has the power to make more difference than any individual, and has the power to take instant action without needing for the slow wheels of political bureaucracy to turn. As Elon Musk points out, “I don’t want to be the man (or woman) who has to answer their grandchild’s question… “Did you not know that the earth was in danger? Were you not aware that your business and life contributed to its problems? If so why did you do nothing about it?”
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Can you honestly say you don’t know there is a problem? What is your excuse for not doing more to help? Whatever excuses you currently make, does nothing to protect your children’s or grandchildren’s future tomorrow. For the most part our parents and grandparents could claim ignorance for the damage they did and the decisions they made. We cannot. The reality is there are only three reasons for not taking more action. Either we are too lazy, we are too greedy or we are afraid of change. This is a harsh statement to make, but if we take the time to selfreflect these can be the only real reasons. The internet is full of ideas and information. And the business world is packed with entrepreneurial opportunity. ________________________________________________________
“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” —Charles Darwin ________________________________________________________
While walking to work or carpooling, fixing leaky taps, turning off your lights and taking shorter showers are all good things to do, they will not make an iota of difference if we do not address the bigger issues. The bottom line is that these actions are way too little, way too late. (You should still follow this typical advice of course – yet we need to think a lot bigger to reach a sufficiently sized solution for the scale of the problem.) They are a small step in the right direction, but here are some suggestions that can help make a much bigger difference.
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SOLUTION 1 ________________________________________________________
“We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.” —Dave Ramsey ________________________________________________________ Avoid buying anything you don’t actually need. Sounds obvious but if you are like me then this will take some serious conscious effort. The truth is we consume far more than we need. In 2012 the US alone produced over 10.3 million tons of electronic equipment waste. In developed countries we now own twice as much stuff as our grandparents did 50 years ago (while carrying an average of almost $16,000 in credit card debt). Almost every product we buy is made from multiple different materials. Each must be sourced, transported, stored and processed. This all requires energy. Then the product itself is assembled, requiring more energy, and again goes through a transportation and storage process, all of which requires yet even more energy. This is known as embodied energy of a product or service. At each stage the carbon footprint grows as world resources rapidly decrease. It has been estimated that a single memory chip requires more energy to produce than an entire laptop will need over 3 years of usage. Now consider the amount of embodied energy that is in all the goods you may typically buy within one month, then a year, and then over a lifetime. Remembering to turn off your computer when not in use will help a bit. Not buying more than we need will help a LOT. By cutting down on unnecessary purchases we help save the environment and save cash too.
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SOLUTION 2 _______________________________________________________
“It makes a big difference to recycle. It makes a big difference to use recycled products. It makes a big difference to reuse things, to not use the paper cup - and each time you do, that's a victory.” —Emily Deschanel ________________________________________________________ If you do need to buy something, see if you can buy it second hand. There are a lot of perfectly good items that can be bought for a fraction of their new cost. Not only is this saving money, it is also saving the environment by preventing wasting unnecessary energy and other limited resources. Even recycling requires energy and is a long way from a 100% green solution. (Sure it is usually better than not recycling, but this should not be confused with being ‘good for the environment’. It is just ‘better for’.) Second hand goods on the other hand only cost the energy and resources required to transport them from the original owner to the new owner. This means that you are effectively recycling virtually 100% of that products embodied energy, and requiring almost no additional depletion of natural resources. Consider the amount of embodied energy and raw material within a TV, washing machine or a car. Instead of buying into the mind-set of ‘new is better’, start to consider the impact this simple strategy has financially and environmentally. As a business owner this actually helps you scale faster too. Any business needs money to scale, so the more you save by buying second hand the more you have to reinvest into growing your business. I am not suggesting you buy junk. Consider that not everything you buy needs to be brand new.
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SOLUTION 3 ________________________________________________________
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." —Albert Einstein ________________________________________________________
Eat less dairy and meat. A lot less. You may not like this one because this topic usually gets people emotional. To put it bluntly, nature does not give a flying monkey about your right to eat meat, your culture or your personal food preferences. The science and numbers on this are very clear. There is simply not enough land to produce dairy and meat for everyone at the typical rate of western consumption. Throughout history the vast majority of meat eating cultures have actually eaten very little animal protein. From both a health and environmental perspective eating less meat for most people is perhaps one of the best things they can do for themselves and for society. The myth, and it is just a myth, that meat is an essential source of protein, was started by the meat and dairy industry in the US. The truth is there is plenty of protein in plants, and at about the perfect ratio for human needs. I am not saying you must go vegan (not that it would hurt you if you did). But on the other end of the scale cutting back meat 1 day a week (the ‘meatless Monday’ approach) is really not going to save the world either. Some basic numbers…
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91% of the deforestation in the Amazon is due to land clearance to make way for animal agriculture. 51% of greenhouse gases are produced by the meat and dairy industry (only 13% by transport). Making the choice to not eat a single burger will save the same amount of water as choosing not to shower for 2 months. When added up a vegan uses 1/11th the amount of oil, 1/13th the amount of water, 1/18th the amount of land and has a carbon foot print 50% lower than a typical meat eater. Driving a hybrid car is a nice gesture, but it will not save the planet. Not even close. It may help establish your ‘green image’, but certainly not a green reality. Eating a lot less meat and dairy on the other hand can make a serious difference. It may well extend your life expectancy too. (You can research the graphs correlating different cancers to the consumption of meat and dairy to see what I mean.) Our perception of what is a ‘normal’ or ‘healthy’ amount of meat or dairy to eat is extremely distorted. Never in history have we consumed so much. And never in history have we had the increases in atmospheric CO2 and methane levels, or anywhere close to such high cancer and heart disease rates. When you cook, start reducing the amount of meat by chopping it into much smaller pieces and using less of it. Reduce it more and more over time until you are eating a fraction of what you are eating today. As an entrepreneur you could look to help make more vegan friendly food choices available and help raise awareness and educate people. If you have a canteen in your business, make more of the options
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vegan, and reduce the amount of meat or dairy used in your food choices.
SOLUTION 4 ________________________________________________________
“I think we should stop drinking bottled water. There's no need to be drinking it if you're living in western communities.” —Cate Blanchett ________________________________________________________ Drink tap water. Yup research after research has shown there is basically no benefit to bottled water, no matter how good the marketing. However, every litre bottle of water requires 1/3 a litre of oil and 3 litres of water to produce (through the production of the plastic bottle itself, bottling the water and transporting it). This means each year a total of 1,287,000 litres of gasoline is used to produce bottled water. And the crazy part, 40% of bottled water comes from the tap, and in tests 22% showed chemicals at above recommended safety levels. (Bottled water is not required to meet any minimum government safety requirements for sale.) On average only 1 in 5 bottles are then recycled, which means that 1.36 billion kilos of plastic are added to landfill sites every year. The cost of bottled water financially can be as much as 10,000 times that of tap water. That has to make it one of the worst value purchases possible. Invest in a filter if you need to, and get a reusable water bottle to carry with you. If you are in a restaurant or café then ask for tap water. This is one of those strategies that is just too easy. Buying bottled water in anything but an emergency is just wasting money and contributing to environmental collapse.
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SOLUTION 5 ________________________________________________________
“It is slightly chilling to realize there are rational, functional people up there employed to spot, nurture, and exploit those down here among us who are irrational and can barely cope. If you want to know how stupid you’re perceived to be by the people up there, count the unsolicited junk mail you receive. If you get a lot, you’re perceived to be alluringly stupid.” —Jon Ronson
________________________________________________________ Stop junk mail. In most countries simply putting a sign on your mail box to say ‘No Junk Mail’ is all it takes to stop immense wastage. The amount of trees, chemical bleaches and dyes required to make junk mail each year is simply criminal.
Approximately 100 million trees and 28 billion gallons of water each year are needed just to produce junk mail in the US alone. That’s For more information and to help join the revolution visit http://socialpreneur.tv
enough every day to heat 25,000 homes and produces more greenhouse gas than 2.8 million cars. And if they end up in a landfill site rather than being recycled, they then produce methane (which is approximately 72x more harmful to the environment than CO2). There are two other knock on advantages to stopping junk mail… Firstly you reduce your chances of buying stuff you never really wanted or needed (see suggestion 1 of this report). Secondly you save your time – the average person spends 70 hours per year managing junk mail. In addition to the ‘no junk mail’ sign remove yourself from any nonessential mailings, catalogues, printed phone directories or any other form of obsolete printed material (such as printed bank statements or airline tickets). As an extension to this idea avoid taking brochures or flyers unless you really want or need them. Taking the promo flyer being handed to you in a shopping mall just to be socially nice is not doing the world any favours. If you are in a waiting room and you read a brochure that catches your interest, put it back once you finish with it. We are surrounded by opportunity to reduce this insane wastage. If you are a business owner that indulges in this practice, then get up to speed with more modern advertising techniques that don’t cost the earth. Each mailing does make a difference.
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SOLUTION 6 ________________________________________________________
“Going local does not mean walling off the outside world. It means nurturing locally owned businesses which use local resources sustainably, employ workers at decent wages and serve primarily local customers. It means becoming more self sufficient and less dependent on imports. Control moves from the boardrooms of distant companies and back into the community.” —thinkshopbuylocal.com ________________________________________________________
Buy local. Not only does this help support the local economy but it also reduces wasted energy transporting and storing goods. In addition it helps cut down on wastage from produce that has gone off or become damaged in transit. It also reduces the need for chemicals used to preserve fresh produce for long transit. (As an extension to this avoid processed foods wherever possible. Processing food typically destroys nutrition and requires far more energy, chemicals and packaging in its production.) It has been calculated that the 15 largest container ships combined emit the same amount of Sulphur Oxides (poisonous gases linked to cancer and asthma) as every car on the planet combined. These large tankers measure fuel consumption in terms of tons per hour, not miles per gallon. What’s worse is that the fuel they use is extremely low grade and produces huge amounts of air pollution. As a business owner look for ways to avoid building businesses that rely on shipping, either for transporting your goods globally or on imported materials. Unless the positive impact that your product or service delivers can offset the environmental cost of long distance transportation, then the world simply does not need your business. Be a business owner that creates a better solution as well as a profit. Instead of just accepting the current paradigm, aspire to be better.
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SOLUTION 7 ________________________________________________________
“A pound invested in energy efficiency buys seven times more energy solution than a pound invested in nuclear power.” —Zac Goldsmith ________________________________________________________ Adopt an efficiency mind-set. This applies to all areas of your business (and your life), and is more a way of thinking than any specific action step. Constantly be looking for ways to improve efficiency. As J. R. D. Tata said “Productivity and efficiency can be achieved only step by step with sustained hard work, relentless attention to details and insistence on the highest standards of quality and performance.” Every business will be different, however here are a few ideas to get you started…
When you replace bulbs then replace them with LED bulbs. These are about 10% more efficient than a compact florescent, and 5 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs. They also last 2-3 times as long as a standard energy saving bulb and 15-20 times longer than a standard incandescent. That’s some serious savings both
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environmentally and financially when you scale that to every bulb in use today. Look for ways to go digital. From internal and customer communication to marketing or product delivery. More can more can now be done digitally. This not only saves paper and time, but also the energy required for storage and transportation. You can also look for ways to make more of your meetings web based instead of in person, which reduces time and transportation. This is not always the best option of course, but often it works just as well. It may be possible to allow staff to work from home and avoid pollution and time wastage from commuting. By making more of your products and services available online you not only increase your customer reach but also reduce their time and environmental impact from their having to travel to you. Use better software and systems to reduce the amount of staff or energy required to get any desired result. This increases profit margins as well as minimizing environmental impact. Use products that have been designed for better energy efficiency. From air conditioning and fridges to computers and cars, some products have just been designed to reduce power usage better than their competition. By consciously choosing these products you reduce monthly operating costs and help reduce your businesses’ energy footprint. You also subtly send a message to the energy inefficient products to make more of an effort. Educate your team to be more energy conscious. From turning off lights when not needed, or not over heating/cooling office space, to not leaving computers on standby or leaving monitors on when not being used. The little things add up fast. In a 2001 a study estimated that between 3% and 13% (depending on the country) of all domestic power usage was being wasted on appliances in standby mode. This meant that if everyone unplugged things instead of leaving them in standby we could close 24 coal driven power stations. A step in the right direction to be sure.
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SOLUTION 8 ________________________________________________________
"I look at the range of materials out there, I cannot find one to match hemp. I can't find one that has such a low embodied energy, that locks carbon in, and that has such a low environmental impact" —Kevin McCloud ________________________________________________________
Use hempcrete for building. Okay, so this is one of those ideas that is not going to apply to everyone, or be super easy or low cost. However it is one that at a society level can have a profound impact. Hempcrete is an alternative to traditional concrete that is made from hemp fibre and lime. Its estimated life expectancy is 600-800 years, and it can capture around 108kg of CO2/cm3. In 2006 approximately 7.5 billion cubic meters of concrete was used. If this were hempcrete it would have resulted in 810 billion kg of CO2 being removed from the atmosphere. And that is just from 1 years’ worth! Additionally it takes far less CO2 to produce, regulates humidity, is flame and pest retardant, mould resistant, nontoxic and provides extremely good insulation. Both the direct and the knock on benefits to using hempcrete cannot be over-stated. From our health to the planet’s health hempcrete is one of those solutions that has so many benefits it makes one wonder why every building is not made from it. While there can be a small expense upfront building with hempcrete, this is soon offset with the health and energy saving benefits. As entrepreneurs we should be looking at ways to use hempcrete if we are creating new buildings, or building businesses that help in hempcrete’s use or production.
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SOLUTION 9 ________________________________________________________
“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” —Henry Ford ________________________________________________________ Build better businesses. Build and support businesses that are providing solutions to the world’s environmental and social issues. There are so many ways to make money. Entrepreneurs can build any type of business they choose. Unfortunately most are lazy and simply focus on profit as their primary metric. I am not suggesting we remove profit from the equation, just make social purpose the primary objective for a business’s existence. There are plenty of sustainable and socially orientated businesses making a profit. If you are building or modifying a business why not make sustainability a key focus? There are multiple issues facing society today. Global warming, proper education, quality food, health issues, poverty, housing shortages, natural disasters, war, pollution and energy shortage just to name a few. Each one is ripe with business possibility. Find better solutions to the problems we face, then turn those solutions into viable businesses that in return support the teams and communities that build and use those solutions. In addition to this you create a greater sense of purpose, passion and sense of achievement for your business, your team and your life. Doing anything less is quite simply selfish. Years back building social and environmental businesses was an ‘enlightened’ choice. These days it is imperative that all businesses think this way. If not, social and environmental collapse is virtually guaranteed. For those of us over 35 the chances are personally we will not see too much impact, but our children and grandchildren will certainly suffer from the choices we make today. For anyone under 35 building profit only centred businesses is not only self-centred, it is foolish too. For more information and to help join the revolution visit http://socialpreneur.tv
Based on current predictions most in this age group are likely to experience many of the effects from environmental devastation before the end of their life. If every business started making the right choices today we could make incredible changes. Today every business cannot be 100% sustainable because each relies on the products and services of other businesses. But if every entrepreneur creates a product or service that is sustainable then they could link together, eventually replacing the current network of solutions that we currently depend on – and make a truly sustainable future. Nothing is black and white. There are no clear lines or perfect solutions. However to help you rate your own product or business model, check the levels below. (There are many other variables to consider but it gives a foundational guide to work from.) Level 1: Negative value. These are the con-artists and thieves. They prey on others and simply take what they want or trick people into giving it to them without delivering anything in return. Level 2: Extreme negative social impact. These can be illegal or legal organizations that produce a product that harms their users or society. This includes drug cartels, and tobacco companies. Their products are in demand, but the effects on society are highly detrimental. Level 3: Negative social impact. These businesses produce products that have a negative impact on society, but usually to a lesser extent to Level 2. They are often masked with some level of pleasure association, businesses such as sugar and candy companies, soft drink manufacturers etc. In reality often the net result of social detriment is actually greater than level 2 businesses due to their scale and level of social acceptance. Level 4: No real benefit. This would include businesses that produce the kind of products we don’t really need or are marginally useful at best. While their products may not be doing any real harm they do require embodied energy to produce, so their overall impact is quite negative. Level 5: Me too businesses. These are businesses that produce products that we need, or that help their customers, but are doing nothing to improve on existing options. They compete by trying to
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reduce costs or improve marketing, but the end result is that consumers just have more choice with no actual benefit being delivered over the existing choice they had before. This type of business also essentially takes business away from existing competitors. Whilst they may profit, it is at the expense of someone who is already delivering that product or service. The only exception when this may be acceptable is when existing solutions cannot meet demand. Level 6: Incremental improvements. At this level businesses are trying to make better solutions for consumers. Rather than simply copying someone else they are making a real effort to make a product or service that is better than existing solutions. This has to be a real improvement, not just a perceived improvement for the benefit of marketing or self-justification to the business owner. Level 7: Eco improvements. At this stage the business is starting to think sustainably. They are consciously reducing the embodied energy of their products, using more sustainable materials and making an effort to work with other sustainably minded suppliers. Level 8: Sustainable solutions. These are businesses that have the primary goal of creating a product or service that provides a service that creates solutions towards a sustainable society. Think Tesla for sustainable transport, solar power companies for sustainable power or hempcrete for sustainable building. Level 9: At level 9 products are actually aimed at reversing the devastation we have already caused. This would include products or services that cleaned up the air, water and land or focused on replacing forests and natural habitats. Level 10: These are companies that provide sustainable solutions and do so with zero negative impact on the environment and do so in a way that supports society. As of now I am not aware of any business that is achieving this level – because all businesses need to operate using other tools or services that have embodied energy or require unsustainable resources to create them. However it is an ideal to aim for and work towards. As entrepreneurs and business owners we should be looking to operate at level 7 or above. Anything less is working in the old paradigm. And the old paradigm works at the level of operation that got us into the mess we are in today. Realistically most businesses For more information and to help join the revolution visit http://socialpreneur.tv
could not plausibly reach level 9 or 10 quite yet, but eventually it will be possible. However there is no reason we cannot all be working with a level 7, 8 or 9 mind-set. Indeed if we don’t then the future is bleak. Remember every business makes a difference. It is up to you what type of difference your business makes.
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SOLUTION 1 0 ________________________________________________________
“A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.” —Plato ________________________________________________________ Share the information and encourage others to do the right thing. As Stanislaw Jerzy Lec once said “No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible”. Too often we believe the responsibility lies with governments or large corporations such as Apple, Google or Toyota. The reality is we are ALL responsible. Yes, even you. The changes the world needs can only come about as a result of better decision-making by us as a collective species. A lone individual or large company cannot manage this alone. The more people who have this information, the more social support there is to do the right thing. By sharing this information you may be the wind that blows the seed to spread. The knock on effects of this are immeasurable. Send this document to everyone you can. Share it on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, in forums, with family, friends and colleagues in every way you can. Create your own information, and share relevant links and resources. And most importantly, lead through example. Your planet needs you, and it needs you today. If not, there may be no tomorrow. Click here to share this report on Twitter now Click here to share this report on Facebook now Click here to share this report on LinkedIn now
Don’t forget to also attach it as a pdf and mail it to your email contacts.
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WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO? ________________________________________________________
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” —John Quincy Adams
________________________________________________________ Join the growing community of entrepreneurs making the effort to do the right thing. Head over to www.socialpreneur.tv and signup today for ongoing ideas, updates and case studies. Get free access to interviews on building the right type of business – and how to champion ethical, social, financial and environmental challenges. Keen to contribute? We’d would love to hear from you. The more we share the bigger collective difference we can make. Let’s just hope it is enough of a difference, and in time…
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