Why limit it to America. Why not begin the first Global Revolution?
The actor Bob Basso is no doubt filled with passion, though I feel his interpretation of Thomas Paine is misguided. If he had actually read the works of Paine he might have stumbled across these CORE ENLIGHTENMENT BELIEFS outlined in The Rights of Man. Basso's anti-immigrant slant on Paine's character is highly contrary to Paine's belief that THE STATE HAS A DUTY TO HELP THE NEEDIEST OF ITS PEOPLE.
For a man that once said "My country is the world and my religion is to do good" I find it hard to believe Paine would have agreed with all the points made here by Basso. In my mind the revolution Thomas Paine might align himself with in 2009 would be the movement for GLOBAL DEMOCRACY.
Basso's Barking rhetoric in the video above echos the Ron Paul supporters that rallied around the free market philosophy so ardently for the past two years. This form of arch libertarianism leaves out many other key aspects of the bill of rights that all Americans need to reacquaint themselves with. Basso also seems to be unhappy with President Obama. I wonder if he knows how much academic respect Obama has for Paine. Having quoted Thomas Paine in is inaugural address I think Obama might actually listen to the more enlightened aspects of this rant, especially the call for service and sacrifice!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Second American Revolution
Taking Earth's Temperature
source NOAA
Whenever evidence is presented for global climate change on a millennial time scale the method of choice seems to be polar ice. By measuring carbon dioxide in the tiny gas bubble captured in ice core strata from Antarctica researchers can generate graphs depicting earth's annual inhalation/exhalation of carbon dioxide for thousands of years. Al Gore famously displayed these results in an Inconvenient Truth while riding a hydraulic scissor lift next to his presentation showing how dramatically the green house gas levels have increased in recent years. The beauty of the scientific method lies in how knowledge emerges. Knowledge is further validated or overturned when new evidence is presented. In the case of global climate change I suggest listening to scientists over George Will.
Researchers at the University of Arizona at Tucson recently published a paper brilliantly exhibiting an alternate method for measuring global temperature trends in the journal Nature Geoscience.
By using a freshwater lake on an island in the Galápagos as a natural laboratory these researchers where able to use the paleogeologic record to measure sea surface temperature trends. For thousands of years the lake had been collecting data in the deposits near the shore all the while waiting to be unearthed by some curious researchers.
The littoral zone in a fresh water lake consists of the shallow waters lining the perimeter. Unique microscopic communities live in this zone and differ from communities living in the deeper open water. When the clouds over the lake deliver more precipitation the lake gets deeper and the littoral zone shifts towards the shore. Think about looking down at a circular lake from above. If the littoral zone was colored it would look like the iris of a giant eye looking up at you. Warmer sea surface temperatures cause more rain and therefore the "iris" dilates while dryer times cause apparent constriction. As the creatures living in each zone die, dropping their remains to the lake bottom, they leave a series of horizontally stacked snapshots depicting the shifting littoral boundary. By taking cylindrical core samples from a lake depth in a fluctuating zone boundary and dating the strata the researchers were able to graph this dilation/contraction for two millenia.
Their results show that there has been UNPRECEDENTED warming of the sea surface temperature in the equatorial pacific ocean for the past 50 years. This provides the world a way to observe global climate change at the equator as well as the poles and further validates the idea that the globe, on average, is warming.
I recently heard a story in which a "human induced global warming" skeptic changed his mind as he watched for himself the shifting ecosystems near the arctic circle. I may be naive in thinking that piling on evidence in a case as monumentally important as climate change will redirect anyone's opinion, but I hope that logic works to persuade some global leaders before we have upwards of a billion climate refugees knocking on our doors.
Conroy, J., Restrepo, A., Overpeck, J., Steinitz-Kannan, M., Cole, J., Bush, M., & Colinvaux, P. (2008). Unprecedented recent warming of surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean Nature Geoscience, 2 (1), 46-50 DOI: 10.1038/ngeo390
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Global Currency = Global Democracy
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have rejected the proposal for a global currency by Chinese central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan. However this idea is gaining global support.
This is a big idea with big implications for the emergence of a global democracy. Increased economic integration is the first step in earth's coming of age.
It is selfish and provincial to reject this proposal flat out. In an era where individual decisions affect everyone more and more it would serve us to contemplate the immortal words of Thomas Paine.
"My country is the world and my religion is to do good."
Sunday Celebration - Guerrilla Theater
Many of you have seen this viral video in which the acting troupe Improv Everywhere stages a large scale theatrical "display" at grand central station by coordinating a motion freeze for five minutes.
Recently a new group of Guerrillas have been spotted at central station in Antwerp, Belgium.
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Blog and Zahavi's Handicap Principle
Are there handicaps in the realm of evolving memes? What are they? Is the brain itself a handicap? Look at the amount of glucose it requires. One "fun fact" that has haunted me for years is this: the human body uses the equivalent of 160 grams of table sugar each day to maintain regular operation. Of this total the brain alone uses 130 grams. The brain bathes in metabolic energy. Why does the brain get all this attention if all we really need to do to pass on our genes is find a mate? Is the brain the human equivalent of the peacock's tail?
PZ Myers writing about his expectations for the state of Florida brought Amatz Zahavi's handicap principle back to my frontal lobes. The first commenter on PZ's post predicted he would be attacked as sexist. Is the ability to sustain personal attacks part of the new phenomena of memetic evolution?
Last night I watched a repeat broadcast of the PBS production entitled Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial. As I listened to the great-great grandson of Charles Darwin - Matthew Chapman - speak about the creationist fiasco in Dover, PA, Christopher Hitchens immediately came running into my mind. During a recent pow-wow with the Four Horsemen Hitchens makes an argument that the others don't seem to agree with. He announces that he hopes the crazies on the other side of the God vs. Nature debate never go away completely, simply because he likes the exercise of debate. It is interesting that Richard Dawkins seems the most disturbed by this proposal. It is almost as if Hitchens is talking about the very thing none of them can acknowledge. Their fame and why they are famous. The fact that their presence there on camera, in best selling books, and in the social ooze of the internet is due to the conflict itself. The same wave of controversy Matthew Chapman is riding centuries after Darwin's birth.
All this led me to thinking about Zahavi's principle in the context of memetic evolution and Darwin's family. Charles Darwin left a legacy when he published Origin. He not only reaped the rewards of the multi-platinum sales of his book but also left a nice fiscally padded red carpet into the future for his family to survive and thrive. While blogs are still in their adolescent phase when taken from the average global citizen's perspective, their role as incubators for cultural memes is becoming ever apparent. With the publication costs at essentially nil what is the rate limiting step to blogging and conquering blogdom?
-TIME-
And if we are all supposed to be working feverishly to maintain those research grants, or keep the boss happy then how does PZ have the time to blog?
How do I, and how are you reading this?
But we are.
Regardless if it is for sexual or intellectual selection "the Blog" represents a new handicap for cultural memeticists to muse over.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Dr. Muney and Health Insurance?
A New York doctor's “plan” to offer his services to the uninsured has come under fire from the New York State Insurance Department. Dr. John Muney offers his services for a flat rate of $79 per month with unlimited office visits, each at a $10 “co-pay.” The state of New York will maintain that this is too much like health insurance because it covers “unplanned” procedures. This situation offers plenty of material for debating the interpretation of the laws regarding health insurance. Read more on the story and the interesting debate that follows in the comments at this link.
What is more important than interpreting laws? There at times, in my opinion this is one of them, when it is more important to debate the nature and purpose of laws, as well as their mere interpretation. Here a doctor has arrived at a feasible model to offer his services to a specific population of the uninsured and our laws stand to try and stop him!? To blame insurance companies or bureaucracy is too easy and doesn’t help anything. We must understand that our government, OUR LAWS, represent us, they are an extension of us!
The national healthcare debate will heat up again in the near future when our current bout with cyclic economic strife moves into the rear view mirror yet again. Put simply, healthcare is not a simple issue. Transcending the limitations of bipartisan thought, moving thought beyond obsolete party lines, is essential to progression. My views, the views of many, can not be summed up with obsolete partisan politics. The complex issues/aspects of healthcare will have to be the subject of future posts. Here I want to echo, within the pages of Tom Paine's Ghost, the importance for all of us to give the issue of healthcare due thought from all perspectives.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
ABOUND SOLAR - Part of Obama's Plan
The president of Abound Solar met with president Obama this week.
“The president’s commitment to help us build a clean energy economy further validates the work our employees do every day to harness the power of the sun, and provide its energy in abundance in the form of low-cost solar panels.”
- Pascal Noronha - Abound Solar president
A company to keep an eye on, we have and will continue reporting on the emergence of Abound Solar. Read previous posts here and here.
Source - Denver Business Journal
Monday, March 23, 2009
Dr. Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin spoke tonight about animals and autism. She spoke about animals we love and animals we eat. She outlined in very literal terms the science behind animal emotion; what gives animals fear, rage, anxiety, and joy. She details the research involved in illuminating the emotions of animals in a highly accessible manner in her book Animals Make us Human. As she spoke I could not help but be completely entranced by her electricity.Dr. Grandin is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and she has Asperger's syndrome - a disorder that falls along the autism spectrum. She describes her brain as a corporate office building with Ethernet cords linking all the workers on the lower floors while upper managament is lucky if they get a dial-up connection. She smiles at the audience while her eyes maintain an intense stare. Her energy is contagious. She has been in the national spotlight before and her star will continue to rise this year with the release of a feature biographical film produced by HBO in which she is portrayed by Claire Danes.
Professor Grandin is connected on a personal and professional level to some of the most challenging dilemmas facing society. Advocating early intervention and positive mentoring for children diagnosed with autism she stands as an example of a strong will overcoming hurdles. Her success as a best selling author gives hope to those afflicted with autism while her understanding of animals gives the world a better understanding of how to manage the growing meat industry while maintaining a consciousness of animal treatment.
She is mentioned in two books that have influenced my life; The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and Autism's False Prophets by Paul Offit. Tonight she was asked her opinion of Offit's book and her answer was surprising. In Autism's False Prophets she is extolled as a champion for her role within the scientific establishment advocating early education and stimulation of children diagnosed with autism. She seemed shocked to learn that she was mentioned in the book and said she thinks the data indicating no correlation between vaccination and autism need to be scrutinized more thoroughly. She mentioned the error bars on a graph depicting the rise in autism presented at a recent seminar she attended at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine to be so large that they rendered the conclusions confusing. She basically said that more studies need to be done and the data needs to be interpreted by objective scientists not doctors or mothers filled with emotion. Throughout her talk she was filled with the qualities of a true scientist; a seeking drive to discover along with the
skeptical eye on both sides of the issues before her.When asked about the legitimacy of industrial sized feed lots her answer was very practical. She said that large feedlots can either be managed well, in which case they are perfectly legitimate, or managed poorly in which case it is the personnel that need tweaking not the system. She did acknowledge that (especially in pig farming) biological systems are being pushed to extremes causing undue animal suffering. She has worked to minimize this suffering throughout her career and is credited with designing machinery that touches half of all beef sold in the United States. During her design process she visualizes step by step the individual cow as it moves through a system. Her photographic memory gives her this unique ability.
I specifically asked her opinion on the role nutrition plays in animal behavior. Her response was equally as practical as her previous. She thinks nutrition plays a secondary role to the primary emotional effectors such as the social and physical environments. She specifically mentioned how well cattle do in the mild dry farms in Arizona because they do not have to cope with mud and over-heating they face in other parts of the country. Later she came back to the point about nutrition and mentioned that feeding a cow a lot of grain is like raising a kid on a diet of soda, cake, and candy. Of course the cow likes to eat the rich grain and is probably pleased, but the problem arises when the human manager tries to feed the animals too much grain. This causes lesions in the liver and obviously brings suffering to the animal. Her very practical remedy is not to shun the entire system, but to reform it; make sure the ratio of sweets to fiber is such that growth is maximized but balanced with health. She advocates providing oversight so that the greed of the meat grower does not ruin the system by poisoning the animals.
The last point I will make was the first point Dr. Grandin made. She began her talk on the topic of animal emotions but quickly pointed out that half the people in the room would think the idea that animals have emotion at all is "B.S." She quickly began fighting these instant conclusions by talking about the specific structures in the brain where each core emotion is regulated and how these apply to animals and humans alike. Then she made a particularly pertinent point to the new emergent media in which you are reading this text. She proposed that the problem with scientific disciplines is a lack of cross-talk. The complete lack of communication between the realms of science is the reason neuroscience took 30 years to be applied to the study of animal emotion. When she made this point I thought of the new age of internet communication, twitter, facebook, etc. etc. and visions of open online laboratories swirled in my head. A world where an experiment in Shanghai could inspire the next day's experiments in Chicago simultaneously to their recording. A world where an autistic professor could transfer her excitement for knowledge through my fingers to your mind.
