Category Archives: science

For the Sake of Righteousness

science, social commentary

DSC07016For the Sake of Righteousness

Last week was spent in the sunny (and hot) Bahamas. Among other activities such as swimming with sting rays and snorkeling my granddaughter and I climbed the steps if the Sun Temple in Costa Maya. In ancient times the top platform was used to perform acts of human sacrifice in hope of influencing the gods to provide an abundant harvest. It was an honor to be chosen for this sacrifice and parents offered up their daughters DSC07035willingly. Those who complied were the self-righteous ones.

Their actions are not very different from those of radical Islamists today. Suicide bombers also have religious convictions that they are willing to die for. Their certainty about the way things should be is imbedded in their psyche and their faith is so solid as to not be easily shaken. In many Middle Eastern countries the families of suicide bombers are given a monetary reward for their loss and parents are resteemed for having produced such a religious child.

Christianity is no stranger to this phenomenon. Crusaders marched, maimed and killed for their faith and were respected if they died in the fight. Those who today stalk abortion clinics and are ready to eliminate anyone not sharing their certainty also consider them self to be among the righteous. They are willing to spend a life in prison or even on death row in order to stand up for their beliefs.

Political movements too are rife with followers who substitute a love for humanity for a utopian ideal. They trust their intuition implicitly and have little understanding of the words of Anatole France who said that, “even a little dog is the center of his own universe.” As an anthropology student I learned that cultures throughout time have their own beliefs, political systems and religious teachings. Many are faith based and people attach themselves to it with iron bonds. Trained at an early age by parents and leaders their societies mores are imbedded in their heads. Who is to say which one is right?

When my father had a conviction and wanted us to adhere to his teachings he blasted, “its my way or the highway.” We kids conformed if we didn’t want to get in trouble. We remained silent.

Fear to speak out and express uncertainty or a desire to do things differently is frowned upon in most cultures because people are more comfortable with the status quo. Most prefer to live in a dependable world. Just think of how difficult it is for seniors to adapt to heavy metal, pink hair and tattoos.

Just as was Socrates, I am wary of the unexplored life. I find it difficult to understand why people are so quick to come to conclusions based on feelings and faith and why scientific exploration is not embraced more rigorously. As the earth changes over time so does our knowledge. New information needs to be incorporated in a minute by minute ritual. It took an awfully long time for Europeans to accept that the world is round and men like Galileo suffered because of narrow thinking.

When it comes to righteousness I would rather err on the side of humanity and maintain the belief that people are doing their best to understand and live within the boundaries of their lives. In my belief system there is no room for torture or killing. An enemy today, as we see with Germany and Japan, may be a friend tomorrow.

The challenge for the righteous person is to be understanding and caring. This is sometimes more difficult than killing. I advise those of you who have not already done so to watch Michael Moore’s latest movie, Who do we invade next. He presents a number of solutions developed around the world for improving a sense of self- worth and allowing for a more harmonious existence.

What Saith the Soothsayer?

Art, science, social commentary

Heaven-and-BeyondHeaven and Beyond by Marilynne Eichinger

What Saith the Soothsayer?
“If humanity is to survive long-term, it must find a way to get off planet Earth-and fast. In fact, human beings may have less than 200 years to figure out how to escape our planet,” claims famed physicist Stephen Hawking. “Otherwise our species could be at risk for extinction.”

Wow! Those words are are strong and make me wonder how to embrace ideas such as a mass exodus of earthlings from our planet to one in outer space. Though not my immediate concern, I do wonder about my great-grandchildren. What will their lives be like if they continue to live on land that is being increasingly degraded, or will they be first in line to board a space ship?

There are two potential manmade catastrophes of major concern to humanity. The first is climate change and the second, nuclear or biological warfare. (Genetically engineered monocultures are not far behind.) Every day newscasters present stories about pollution and its related sister, global warming. Pictures of rising coastal waters overspilling land in countries like Bangladesh and of polar bears fighting for their lives in search of ice bergs, give graphic examples of species in trouble. How can we continue to exponentially populate the earth, over-fish the waters, and build oasis houses in the desert? According to the United Nations, 7.3 billion people presently inhabit earth and that number is expected to be 11 billion by the end of the century, adding to the depletion of fresh water supplies and oil resources. This mega-population will also accelerate food scarcity and disease outbreaks caused by dense living-quarters. Earth’s inhabitants presently dump 713 million tons of waste annually and destroy habitat for many thousands of species, cutting 18 million acres of forests each year in competition for land. Clean, fresh water, a major cause of conflict in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, is now part of the political wrangling in our own Southwestern states. There is no doubt that natural resources are running out at a much faster rate than they can be replaced.

What about nuclear war? Why aren’t citizens clamoring for more treaties like the one proposed with Iran? And why is it so difficult to reach an agreement about weaponry within our own boundaries? According to the Brookings Institute there are approximately 22,600 stockpiled nuclear weapons around the planet (10,600 in the U.S.). Why do we have them? Isn’t it time for an accord to end proliferation of weapons of mass destruction? Aren’t alternative ways available to coexist other than with the threat of military intervention? Why not make efforts to defuse, rather than arm waring factions?

History shows that when societies develop and stockpile weaponry, war is not far behind. In 1961 President Dwight Eisenhower gave the nation a warning that he labeled “a threat to democratic government.” He described the military-industrial complex as a union of defense contracts and the armed forces that had created a large arms industry. These ammunitions providers need war in order to thrive, and congress seems perfectly happy to feed their needs.
When there is no fighting, plenty of politicians are willing to step forward to devise a threat. The war in Iraq presents a clear example of how a cause for war can be invented for economic reasons. It is time to stop poking our noses into foreign conflicts as though we were God, creating enemies where none had previously existed?

Over the past fifty years you might wonder if there were any forecasters giving notice of the consequences of these political and economic actions. The answer is yes, soothsayers exist in every age. The destruction of our planet, and atomic weaponry that were part of yesterday’s predictions, now ring true. As early as 1940, well before we were part of WWII and the Manhattan project, in Solutions Unsatisfactory, Robert Heinlein postulated a world affected by Atomic weaponry would be one assured of destruction. And then came Hiroshima. The same year George Orwell wrote 1984, warning us of the surveillance state. And then came NSA and the Patriot Act. Shortly after, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World predicted genetic engineered human beings. And then came test tube babies and cloned sheep. Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner in 1969 predicted a country plagued with school shootings and terrorist attacks. And then came Colombine and the Twin Towers. William Gibson wrote Newuromacncer, describing what it would be like to live in a scarcity-driven future. Cities like Detroit were depicted as wastelands. And then came Detroit.

Today’s soothsayers are similarly posing questions about where to go from here and how to get there? Will the strain on earth’s resources make people more willing to live in space, and will scientific advancements allow for space-time travel? Scientists and science fiction writers ask us to put aside preconceived notions and embrace a flexible pantheon of ideas to help prepare us for what may eventually become reality. In a book by Philadelphia physicist, Paul Halpern, entitled Cosmic Wormholes, he discusses how to build and use a cosmic wormhole as a interstellar shortcut. Unless astro-physicists come up with ways of traveling to other galaxies at the speed of light, it is going to be difficult to transport a mass population to a livable environment. Yet scientists, such as Harold “Sonny” White of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, are claiming that a ring shaped warp drive device that propels a football-shaped starship even faster than light may be more feasible than previously thought.

Science Fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson won a 2012 Nebula for Best Novel in his latest book 2312. In it he solves solar system problems by adapting asteroids for the task of housing people. He creates gravity by hollowing out the orbiting space rocks so that they cam be set on their axis to spin. He fills various asteroids with plants and animals from different parts of Earth, making a variety of pleasant environments. His early publication, Red Mars, was a foreshadowing of NASA’s goal of sending six astronauts to live on the planet. Kathleen Ann Goodman, published This Shared Dream in 2011. In it, Alima, a bio-architect, grows from a nanotech seed an engineered habitat for 250,000 people. Huge rotating space stations like the one shown in 2001: A Space Odyssey might be a solution closer to home. The station even houses a Hilton hotel for those using it as a transfer stop from Earth to deep space.

Given current technology and mindset, the billions of dollars needed to make habitats that hold large populations does not seem plausible to me — even one thousand years in the future. Yet, if life on earth gets too difficult, there are bound to be a small number of futurists who will be able to live out their dreams on a real space habitat. It is too bad that I won’t be able to come back from the dead to find out . . . or maybe I will, through advancements in cryogenics.

More realistically, the solution I wish for is that will change their mindset by acting immediately to limit population growth, halt deforestation, reduce trash, ban construction in watershed areas, and tackle pollution. These topics form the political issues of the day, and solving them can make a difference to the lives of our immediate descendants. We can have an impact, because each of us has the means of making a difference through personal conservation, and by electing environmentally savvy, committed legislators.

I do worry about our planet’s future even though I will be long gone. Life already seems more difficult for my children and grandchildren than it was for my generation. My California children are concerned about not having enough water for agricultural and recreational uses. They worry about how they are going to wash their cars. I was raised to believe that my role on earth was to leave it a better place than it was when I was born, but now, I am not sure that I and my peers have done that. I plan to do better, and I count on you think that way as well. Together we can be powerful agents for change.

If you find this is a subject worthy of discussion please comment below:

Art is always for sale. For information go to eichingerfineart.com or email me at marilynne@eichingerfineart.com.

Interested in learning more ?  References follow:

follow:http://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/consequences_of_depletion_of_natural_resources- About depletion of natural resources.

http://bigthink.com/dangerous-ideas/5-stephen-hawkings-warning-abandon-earth-or-face-extinction – Stephen Hawking’s ideas about expansion into space.

http://www.tested.com/tech/concepts/460223-futurists-were-right-10-predictions-made-sci-fi-writers-came-true/item/antidepressants/ and http://mashable.com/2014/07/23/sci-fi-books-the-future/ For Futurist Predictions that have come true.
http://www.livescience.com/41316-11-billion-people-earth.html- What Life would be like with 11 billion people.

http://www.brookings.edu/about/projects/archive/nucweapons/50 – Nuclear weapons

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942244/ikes-warning-of-military-expansion-50-years-later- Eisenhower’s warning about the military-industrial complex.

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/12428/title/Cosmic-Wormholes–Where-Science-Meets-Science-Fiction/ – About wormholes and space travel. Book written by Paul Halpern a teacher of mathematics and physics at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-06/dispatches-future- Predictions of the future from contemporary Science Fiction writers.

http://www.space.com/17628-warp-drive-possible-interstellar-spaceflight.html – Present scientific work with the concept of warp drive.

Humming in the Background

Art, For Parents, science, social commentary

city-scaper

Changing City Scape- by Marilynne 

As wooded areas become high rise condominiums, noise levels and pollution escalate. Garbage, mail trucks and automobiles flow through residential areas from before dawn ‘till late at night. Music blasts from open windows, while rooftop parties contribute to the the din of carousing revelers.

Humming in the Background

In my house there is a running debate about background sounds. Thinker craves music or TV voices humming softly, filling the room’s silence, while Forceful prefers to live in a home devoid of extraneous noise. It is not that he does not like music, but when he listens to it he gives it complete attention. “If it is not quiet then I can not hear myself think,” he complains.

Geeker wants loud Metallica music playing throughout the house, claiming it is a necessary background sound for doing homework. Forceful, as you might imagine, threatens to move out if the noise stays booming . . . a problem easily solved with ear buds. So now Geeker wears them at what is probably ear damaging decibels.

Thinker is an artist and always paints with the radio on, tuning out her immediate surroundings, oblivious to the rest of the house with its extraneous noises. Forceful is also an artist but works without electronically produced sound. He is very sensitive to what is going on in the neighborhood…dogs barking, birds chirping, cars rolling by, people walking and talking, etc. He is always berating Thinker for not hearing things. Thinker thinks that Forceful is much too tuned into neighborhood happenings and gossip. “So what if the garbage truck goes by? Ignore it.” she advises.

Sleep-time presents other issues. Thinker’s daughter, Dreamer, turns on a fan or some artificially produced soothing sound to help her fall asleep. She also trained her children to go to bed listing to white noise. Thinker prefers to fall asleep hearing background voices that are so quiet that the words are indistinguishable. The TV or radio tuned quietly does not disturb her as long as the words don’t make sense. She has tried concert music but that keeps her awake because she pays too much attention to what is playing. Forceful, of course, wants silence so he can hear the owls and coyotes howling.

Audiologists have been complaining for some time that children are listening to music that is too loud. A generation of young adults is now dealing with severe tinnitus, vertigo and hearing loss. Did you know that wearing headphones over 2 hours a day can damage hearing according to recent study by the “Centers for Disease Control.” Loud music also has other ramifications? Because of loud music youth are less tuned into each other and the world around them. They are non-communicative at concerts and become isolated when tuned into their ear plugs. Now that cell phone texting has taken the place of telephone calls, life is more complicated, for children listen to music while sending messages at the same time. Trying to get the attention of someone who is listening to music on their ear phones or gazing at their smart phone is not easy.

I became curious about what decibels I hear in a typical walk-about-day. According to Marshall Chasen at the Center for Human Performance and Health, a normal conversation taking place between 3-5 feet is at 60-70 dB, piano practice is the same. The dial tone of a telephone is at 80 dB, a power saw at 110 dB. Pain begins at 125 dB which is at the level of a pneumatic riveter. A violin has a very high decibel rating at 84-95 dB. Symphonic music peaks at 120 dB but it does not usually last very long at that volume so the public is safe. However, musicians in the orchestra often experience hearing loss due to extended hours of playing. Amplified rock music at 4-6 ft is 120 dB and goes to a peak of 150 dB, a damaging number.

The environmental protection agency recommends that neighborhoods be no louder than 55 dB during waking hours. Prolonged exposure of 85 dB and higher will result in hearing loss so protection is advised. At 90 dB (example-lawn mower, router, snowmobile or hair dryer) you are taking a risk if listening to the sound for more than two hours, so ear plugs are advised. Rock concerts? According to the center for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure for more than 30 seconds can cause loss.

Chronic hearing loss is irreversible. Researchers recommend that noise canceling headphones be used instead of buds and that headphones not be used for more than one hour a day at levels below the 60% of maximum volume. This does create a problem for image conscious teens who find headphones a bit more costly, large and cumbersome.

You might be interested to know that nearly 13 percent of children have noise-induced hearing loss? To deal with this poor statistic some establishments are making changes to the noise level inside their pubs and restaurants. One recent response to painful and prolonged decibel defying sounds shows employers of dance halls handing out sound reducing headphones to staff. There are even concert venues that distribute ear plugs or, for a rental fee, ear buds that bring music directly to you, eliminating background sounds and enabling the concert to be heard at a lower decibel rate. However, beware! Because ear buds are placed directly into the ear they can boost the sound signal as much as six to nine decibels.

This summer when the concert series gets in full swing, be sure to pack your ear plugs. It only takes one hour of listening to a concert that is over 105 DB to damage your ears. Even MTV is telling people to “Turn it Down!” With a bit of foresight you can enjoy your summer and your favorite band and still be able to hear the birds in the forest the next day.

Please let me know your experience with hearing loss by responding to this blog.

Art work is always for sale at eichingerfineart.com.

If you want more information about the decibel level of both occupational and non-occupational sounds go to www.http://e-a-r.com/pdf/jhearingcons/noie_Naf.xls.

Epigenetics: Why Care?

Art, science, social commentary, , , ,

NurturingNurturing 

Our environment does make a difference to the genetic makeup of the next generation.

Epigenetics: Why Care?

When my husband was asked why he found me attractive, his reply always was,
“ Because she has good genes.” To my ears it was not a very romantic answer, but he sincerely meant what he said. He told me that when he had decided to get married he started looking for a woman with characteristics that he hoped would carry on to the next generation. I suppose something carried on because several months ago my granddaughter circulated a picture of three generations of women in our family. It showed us all sporting big smiles topped with cascading dark curly hair. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind, we looked like family. I was never sure if it was the curly hair or something else that my husband found attractive.

Geneticists have been working for years to determine the statistical likelihood of your child turning out one way or another. The first words spoken by those visiting new parents are often, “Who does she look like?” The answer, “Oh, Aunt Bessie or Uncle Gary . . . just look at the resemblance!” Modified food, animal husbandry and plant biology have been in the news as targets of complex genetic research. Since the completion of the human genome study we are starting to learn a great deal more about our own condition.

Do you remember Mendel’s peas? When I was in school, genetics was a matter of identifying what would happen to the next generation after cross fertilizing peas. Now students learn of how their cells carry instructions formed on a double helix which hold nucleotide bases. They study that their DNA sequencing gives order to these bases passing on directions that affect growth and death. If you think this information is a lot to comprehend, just consider that there are 3 billion bases and over 20,000 genes making proteins that trigger the biological functions we call life.

So what is epigenetics? Remember the old question of what was more important, your environment or genetic makeup? My friends and I used to spend hours debating the issue, especially when we knew someone who had strange behaviors. “Were they born that way or was it the way they were raised?” we would ask. Well it turns out, the two are related and that certain environmental happenings can cause genes to be turned off and on. They can become dormant or active depending on where you live, what you eat, your sleep patterns, exercise regime, and even your friendships. It is these every day occurrences over time that turn the genetic toggle switch. Even diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer can be genes that have switched away from what was once a healthy state to something with more dire consequences. What is happening is that without changing DNA sequencing, chemical modifications leave marks on segments of the DNA or related proteins that control the off/on switch.

It is epigenetics that makes us unique, because it is the different combination of genes that are turned off and on that makes us enjoy spicy food, have a quiet contemplative or bubbly personality, or even be attracted to curly haired women. And it is this uniqueness of inherited genes, modified by environment, that scientists now believe can be carried on to the next generation. You might think that mapping every single cause and effect of every possible combination could help keep the good and get rid of the bad genes, to slow aging or stop obesity, but it is an impossible task as we know it today. No orchestra leader has stepped forward with a way to conduct this rich genetic music. Methods of control remain for science fiction writers to contemplate.

Why do we care? In an article written for Public Health Ethics, Michele Loi writes from Portugal that, “ Recent epidemiological reports of associations between socioeconomic status and epigenetic markers that predict vulnerability to diseases are bringing to light substantial biological effects of social inequalities.” She goes on to say that there are moral consequences of these findings due to inequality in health care. In my mind epigeneticist have issued a challenge to socially minded people and policy makers.

We now know that the epigenome is highly sensitive and responsive to environmental influences, including toxic exposures, dietary factors, and behavioral impacts. For example, stress and heart disease, intellectual disabilities, immune and psychiatric disorders are all potentially affected by epigenetic changes. Epigenetic effects are especially sensitive during fetal development and in newborn infants. A pregnant woman living in poverty without proper nutrition or medical care, could permanently affect the genetic makeup of her child. Smog, water quality and over populated crime ridden cities can carry forward epigenetic scars that have huge consequences for the rest of society.

The chain of connection between the social and natural or biological world is important to consider as we work to build the type of society we want. By not paying attention to early childhood development, environmental and health issues of all citizens we are accepting great risks to the human population as a whole.

Art work is always for sale. For information go to eichingerfineart.com

I enjoy your comments. Please respond to this blog below.

For a greater understanding of epigenetic and social consequences go to the following sites:

http://www.whatisepigenetics.com/fundamentals/

http://phe.oxfordjournals.org/content/6/2/142.full

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3034450/