Comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty (1996)
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, Aka, CTBT, bans all nuclear detonations in all environments for both military and civilian purposes. The original negotiations for the CTBT took place between 1994 and 1996. Countries that took place in these negations and possessed nuclear reactors or research reactors at the time are referred to as annex 2 countries.
As of September 2011, 156 countries have signed and ratified the treaty, 27 have signed the treaty but as of yet have not ratified it, this includes China, Israel and the United States to name a few.
Unfortunately some of the most unpredictable and hostile countries have not signed nor ratified the agreement, for example Pakistan and India, who in recent years have been at the brink of plunging each other into Armageddon. Also of concern is that North Korea has not signed the CTBT either and at this time seems unlikely to.
Opponents of the treaty say that it is unverifiable and that other countries could easily cheat. Also there is the concern that enforcing the CTBT would be near impossible.
Proponents state that it is actually relatively easy to enforce the CTBT and cite the 2009 North Korea underground nuclear test as an example. The 2009 detonation was detected by seismographs and its source location was pinpointed by GPS satellites. Proponents also state that if all signed countries would finally ratify there agreement then the treaty will finally go into effect which will create an international norm and may finally push non signed countries like North Korea into joining.
The environmental benefits to stopping all nuclear testing is vast, the fallout from airborne nuclear tests can travel on air currents for thousands of miles. The groundwater under the test grounds in Nevada will likely be contaminated for several thousand years.
A prime example of the devastating environmental damage from nuclear testing can be seen from the case of the bikini atoll. Between 1948 and 1956 the United States conducted 23 nuclear tests. Before the testing began the inhabitants had been moved to another island for safety. On march 1st 1956 the United States conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb codenamed Castle Bravo, it turned out to be much more powerful than expected and was the largest nuclear device set off by the united States, it cause widespread radioactive contamination. Among the people contaminated was the crew of a Japanese shipping vessel, the ensuing scandal in Japan was massive and led to the inspiration for the movie Godzilla. The majority of bikinians that were moved to kili as part of the temporary residence are still there and are compensated by the US government. In 1968 the US government said that there home island was again inhabitable but had to remove them again in 1978 after a French team found that there was a very dangerous level of strontium-90 in their bodies. It was common for women to have mis-carriages, still births and birth defects as a result of the nuclear testing. The United States has provided 150 million as a settlement for the damages caused by the nuclear testing program.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
grassland corridor
The two habitat areas in question that soon will need a corridor is a large grassland area that supports five herds of antelopes. Each herd has approximately 30 to forty antelope (Bovidae antilopinae). The grassland is soon going to be split in the middle by a new freeway system running through virtually the center of this thirty thousand acre grassland. In addition to the antelope there is a group of wolves (canus lupus lupus) and annual herd of cattle (Bos primigenius).
There are ten long established watering holes on the preserve. After the freeway construction six of these will be on the north side and four on the south. All three of these species rely on the watering holes year round. The availability of the water is not a concern, the concern is that if there is no corridor to join the two areas then the grassland will very likely be too small to support the herds of antelope and cattle which in turn will likely lead to a reduction in the number of native wolves in the area.
A proposed solution is the building of a large overpass over a shallow ravine approximately 3000 feet wide. At this time this appears to be the best solution as the ravine already has two existing animal trails in it from the herds moving from one watering area in the south to the north, it is assumed that the wolves follow the migration of the antelope herds. Building the overpass should allow safe passage for all animals and it is wide enough so that the animals should not feel entrapped by the corridor. In addition no street lights are planned anywhere on this highway but a clause is added that prevents it in the future in an area one mile before and after the corridor bridge. No building is permitted within 3 miles of the corridor bridge as well. The houses that are on the southern edge of the preserve already have a no street light policy in effect and is a policy that will be continued in part due to the observatory several miles away.
The only current concern in the corridor area is illegal ohv use and entry, which will hopefully be stopped by regular patrols once a week and blocking of current entry areas.
There are ten long established watering holes on the preserve. After the freeway construction six of these will be on the north side and four on the south. All three of these species rely on the watering holes year round. The availability of the water is not a concern, the concern is that if there is no corridor to join the two areas then the grassland will very likely be too small to support the herds of antelope and cattle which in turn will likely lead to a reduction in the number of native wolves in the area.
A proposed solution is the building of a large overpass over a shallow ravine approximately 3000 feet wide. At this time this appears to be the best solution as the ravine already has two existing animal trails in it from the herds moving from one watering area in the south to the north, it is assumed that the wolves follow the migration of the antelope herds. Building the overpass should allow safe passage for all animals and it is wide enough so that the animals should not feel entrapped by the corridor. In addition no street lights are planned anywhere on this highway but a clause is added that prevents it in the future in an area one mile before and after the corridor bridge. No building is permitted within 3 miles of the corridor bridge as well. The houses that are on the southern edge of the preserve already have a no street light policy in effect and is a policy that will be continued in part due to the observatory several miles away.
The only current concern in the corridor area is illegal ohv use and entry, which will hopefully be stopped by regular patrols once a week and blocking of current entry areas.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Krakatau
The Largest nuclear device ever detonated was a 50 megaton hydrogen bomb. This bomb was so powerful that it was 1400 times more powerful then both of the bombs we dropped on Hiroshima combined. The tsar bomba was also 10 times more powerful than all the explosives used during the entire ww2 campaign. However the Tsar Bomba was only ¼ as powerful as one of the largest explosion in modern history, that title goes to the 1883 volcanic eruption of Krakatau in the Indonesian islands and a few other volcanic eruptions, all of which occurred within the Indonesian ring of fire.
The first signs of a major event happening on Krakatau occurred 3 months before the main explosion. Steam started erupting from perbuatan, which is the islands northern most of its three cones. Steam and ash had begun to erupt regularly on May 20th 1883. The ash column from this early event extended to a height of twenty thousand feet and the eruptions where heard one hundred miles away in Jakarta. All activity had died down by the end of May. Activity on the island later resumed on June 16th 1883 when large explosions were heard and a thick black cloud covered the island for five days. On august 11th H.J.G. Ferzenaar investigated the island and had noted 3 large ash columns and at least eleven others. He also noted that all vegetation had been destroyed and there was a layer of ash just under two feet thick covering the island. On august 26th at 1 pm the volcano went into its paroxysmal phase and by 2 pm observers could see and ash column 17 miles high. During this early phase eruptions where continuous and explosions could be heard every ten minutes. On august 27th four large explosions occurred at 5:30, 6:40, 10:02 and the final largest explosion at 10:41. The explosions where so powerful they were heard 2200 miles away in Perth Australia and people on the island of Rodrigues three thousand miles away thought they were under fire from ship cannons nearby. Each massive explosion also produced colossal tsunami’s which where well over 100 feet high. The town of Merak was completely destroyed by a tsunami 151 feet high.
The pressure wave generated by the final explosion from Krakatau radiated from the island at 675 mph and was recorded on barographs all over the world, and continued to be read on barographs five days after the final explosion. The final explosion was so strong that the shock wave circled the earth seven times. The combination of ash and pyroclastic flows killed all 3000 people on the island of sebesi 8 miles away. Pyroclastic flows also killed about 1000 people on the coast of Sumatra 25 miles to the north. The official death toll by the Dutch authorities was 39,417. However some people estimated the total death toll to be 120,000 or more. Some of islands where never re inhabited and reverted back to jungle, such as Java and it is now the Ujong Kulong national park.
The explosion of Krakatau had made the island almost completely disappear, only southern half of the island and a small northern rocky islet remained. What is biologically interesting is that virtually all life forms on the island where exterminated, but this also bring up what is known as “The Krakatau Problem” since there was virtually nothing known about the flora and fauna before the 1883 eruption nobody can be completely sure that the island was completely wiped clean. However when researchers first visited the island after the 1883 explosion the only thing they found was a single spider living in a crevice on the south side of the island. Later in October of 1884 Rogier Verbeeks had found the east side of the island rapidly being re-colonized by grass shoots and shrubs, likely carried in by the waves or birds droppings. Many of the small islands around Krakatau have completely reverted back to jungle, although the area around the volcanoes is extremely fragile and being continually destroyed and re-colonized due to the highly active nature of this volcano.
In the years following the Krakatau explosion the earth’s temperature dropped by 1.2 degrees Celsius and continued to remain chaotic and did not return to normal until 1888. Also because of the large amount of sulfur dioxide gas in the eruption it was said to have produced amazing red sunrises and sunsets. These Blood red sunsets continued across the world until the sulfur dioxide suspended in the atmosphere eventually fell as acid rain, unfortunately nobody studied this to see if there were any effects on the environment. Interestingly it has been suggested that Edvard munches famous painting “the scream” painted in 1893 is an accurate depiction of the sky over Norway at the time; this is disputed by the art community of course because they say he was a expressive painter rather than a descriptive painter.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Cyclohexane
Cyclohexane is a High volume compound that is found in many industries and used in a variety of different ways. The chemicals numerous uses are listed below:
• Aerosol paint concentrates
• Automobile body polish and cleaners
• General performance sealants (PVAC, butyl, vinyl, etc.)
• Laundry starch preparations
• Lubricating greases
• Lubricating oils
• Miscellaneous paint-related products
• Other automotive chemicals
• Other industrial chemical specialty products
• Other specialty cleaning and sanitation products
• Paint and varnish removers
• Paint thinners
• Pharmaceutical preparations
• Solvent thinned interior clear finishes
• Solvent thinned interior stains
• Synthetic resin and rubber adhesives
• Toilet soap excl medicated soaps (liquid)
As you can see from the list above the chemical is utilized in ways that it is being released, or potentially being released into the environment. It can be released directly into the air in aerosol paints or directly onto the ground in insecticides or even into your home from the varnish on your furniture.
Cyclohexane is suspected to be a neurotoxin; however it is not recognized as a neurotoxin. According to the E.P.A cyclohexane is not likely to cause environmental harm at levels normally found in the environment. The E.P.A says that the effects from cyclohexane largely depend on levels you are exposed to and the duration of exposure. Breathing large amounts of cyclohexane can range from headaches to convulsions, as well as, adversely affect the central nervous system. If liquid cyclohexane comes into contact with your eyes it is an irritant that is difficult to wash out. The long term effects are unknown in these areas: the effects of inhaling the chemical in small quantities for a long period of time; is it a cancer causing agent; and can it cause reproductive problems.
Currently cyclohexane is regulated by four federal agencies: OSHA, Hazardous Substances, Registered Pesticides (federal insecticide, fungicide, and rodentcide act), Toxic Release Inventory Chemicals and California’s Air Contaminants Act.
Texas has by far the largest release of cyclohexane into the environment with 1.4 million pounds reported and Louisiana comes in second place with a half a million pounds. Arizona, thankfully, is fourth from last with eight hundred and seventy two pounds.
Seven out of the eight tests for ecological and health effects have been completed. The test that has not been completed is the carcinogenity test. After looking at the HPV tracker tool it does not appear as though there is going to be any more testing on this chemical. This is unfortunate because a carcinogen test is crucial in understanding the hazards of a chemical.
• Aerosol paint concentrates
• Automobile body polish and cleaners
• General performance sealants (PVAC, butyl, vinyl, etc.)
• Laundry starch preparations
• Lubricating greases
• Lubricating oils
• Miscellaneous paint-related products
• Other automotive chemicals
• Other industrial chemical specialty products
• Other specialty cleaning and sanitation products
• Paint and varnish removers
• Paint thinners
• Pharmaceutical preparations
• Solvent thinned interior clear finishes
• Solvent thinned interior stains
• Synthetic resin and rubber adhesives
• Toilet soap excl medicated soaps (liquid)
As you can see from the list above the chemical is utilized in ways that it is being released, or potentially being released into the environment. It can be released directly into the air in aerosol paints or directly onto the ground in insecticides or even into your home from the varnish on your furniture.
Cyclohexane is suspected to be a neurotoxin; however it is not recognized as a neurotoxin. According to the E.P.A cyclohexane is not likely to cause environmental harm at levels normally found in the environment. The E.P.A says that the effects from cyclohexane largely depend on levels you are exposed to and the duration of exposure. Breathing large amounts of cyclohexane can range from headaches to convulsions, as well as, adversely affect the central nervous system. If liquid cyclohexane comes into contact with your eyes it is an irritant that is difficult to wash out. The long term effects are unknown in these areas: the effects of inhaling the chemical in small quantities for a long period of time; is it a cancer causing agent; and can it cause reproductive problems.
Currently cyclohexane is regulated by four federal agencies: OSHA, Hazardous Substances, Registered Pesticides (federal insecticide, fungicide, and rodentcide act), Toxic Release Inventory Chemicals and California’s Air Contaminants Act.
Texas has by far the largest release of cyclohexane into the environment with 1.4 million pounds reported and Louisiana comes in second place with a half a million pounds. Arizona, thankfully, is fourth from last with eight hundred and seventy two pounds.
Seven out of the eight tests for ecological and health effects have been completed. The test that has not been completed is the carcinogenity test. After looking at the HPV tracker tool it does not appear as though there is going to be any more testing on this chemical. This is unfortunate because a carcinogen test is crucial in understanding the hazards of a chemical.
Friday, April 29, 2011
I wanted to talk about modern propaganda for my final blog post, todays propaganda isn't like it was in the fourtys. todays propaganda outlet is the media. Almost all of our media outlets are guilty of this but the worst offender is fox news which is nothing more than a propaganda outlet for the Republican party, for some clear examples have a look at my blog post "lies and deception in our media" that I posted in febuary, for now here are some modern re-itterations of some propaganda posters and below is a letter written by the founder and ceo of the TIDES foundation, he wrote the letter to fox news and other advertisers on Fox.
Tides Foundation CEO Drummond Pike's full letter to Fox News advertisers:
Dear Fox Advertiser,
I am writing to ask your company to take a simple step that may well save lives in the future. And it is not unimportant that taking this action will remove your company and its products from any connection to what could very likely be an unpleasant tragedy, should things remain as they are today. On behalf of my organization, and many others like it, I ask that you cease advertising on the Fox News Channel.
This is neither a hollow request, nor one rhetorically made. There is an urgency to it born of our own direct experience as the target of a would-be assassin inspired by Fox's Glenn Beck Show.
On July 19th of this year, I arrived at our San Francisco office to learn that a misguided person carrying numerous guns and body armor had been on his way to start a "revolution" by murdering my colleagues and me. The Oakland Police Department called to tell us that, following a 12 minute shootout with the California Highway Patrol, law enforcement officials arrested an assailant who had targeted the Tides Foundation, an organization which I founded and currently serve as CEO, and the ACLU for violence. To say we were "shocked" does not adequately describe our reaction. Imagine, for a moment, that you were us and, had it not been for a sharp eyed highway patrolman, a heavily armed man in full body armor would have made it to your office with the intent to kill you and your colleagues. His motive? Apparently, it was because the charitable, nonpartisan programs we run are deemed part of a conspiracy to undermine America and the capitalist system, which is hogwash.
Although not a political organization, the Tides Foundation has been a frequent target of misinformation, propaganda, and outright lies by Fox News' Glenn Beck. Since his arrival at Fox in early 2009, Beck has repeatedly vilified Tides, suggesting we are intent on "creat[ing] a mass organization to seize power." He accuses the foundation of indoctrination and says we are "involved in some of the nastiest of the nasty." Beck tells viewers that Tides has "funneled" money to "some of the most extreme groups on the left" and that our mission is to "warp your children's brains and make sure they know how evil capitalism is." In total, prior to the attempted rampage, Beck had attacked the Tides Foundation 29 times. On September 28th, more than a month after the shooting, Beck reiterated his focus on the Tides Foundation, warning, "I'm coming for you." In jailhouse interviews, the gunman confessed he views Beck as a "schoolteacher" who "blew my mind." My would-be killer admitted that Beck "give[s] you every ounce of evidence you could possibly need" to commit violence.
Beck is a self-described "Progressive Hunter" who relies on violent rhetoric. Do you really think that the millions of Americans who describe themselves as "progressive" need to be "hunted down"? If so, to what end?
For hours every day on radio and television, Beck pits American against American, telling his audience that our country is under attack by a demonic Nazi-like regime seeking to destroy all that is great about America while insisting it's up to his viewers to resist and revolt. He warned his audience that "these are the most dangerous two years of our republic. Because in the end, in revolutions, the real dangerous killers show up." Beck even compared our government to vampires while instructing his viewers to "drive a stake through the heart of the bloodsuckers" and pretended to poison Speaker Pelosi on television. A few months later, Gregory Giusti was was arrested for repeatedly threatening House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- including threatening to destroy her home -- because he was upset over health care reform. The man's mother told a local news station he listens to those with "really radical ideas," adding, "I'd say Fox News or all of those that are really radical."
When I started the Tides organizations 35 years ago, I did so in the very American belief that ordinary citizens had a role to play in our democratic process. It was, I thought, the responsibility of everyone to become engaged in our civic life, and for years we've worked with thousands of Americans to do just that. And, while we support progressive values and goals, we respect the rights and voices of those with whom we disagree on issues. Never in our history have we tolerated employees or grantees that support those who would do harm to others. By supporting Fox News Channel, you and your company are risking your reputation and good standing because they are doing just this.
As you may know, a coordinated advertiser boycott by Media Matters and Color of Change, an online civil rights group, has caused Glenn Beck's Fox News show to lose over 100 sponsors. Despite the campaign's success, Fox insists it has had no impact on the channel's profitability because the overall demand for advertisements on Fox has remained stable. Companies are still paying to advertise on Fox News, but their ads are simply moved to a different time of day. Thus, businesses that pay to broadcast commercials on Fox News are subsidizing Glenn Beck's television show by continuing to pump money into the network. It has become clear that the only way to stop supporting Beck is to stop supporting Fox News.
I respectfully request that you bring this matter of your company's sponsorship of hate speech leading to violence to the attention of your fellow directors as soon as possible. I believe no responsible company should advertise on Fox News due to its recent and on-going deplorable conduct.
While we may agree to disagree about the role our citizens and our government should play in promoting social justice and the common good, there should be no disagreement about what constitutes integrity and professionalism and responsibility in discourse - even when allowing for and encouraging contending diverse opinions intelligently argued. This is not a partisan issue. It's an American issue. No one, left, right or center, wants to see another Oklahoma City.
The next "assassin" may succeed, and if so, there will be blood on many hands. The choice is yours. Please join my call to do the right thing in this regard and put Fox News at arm's length from your company by halting your advertising with them.
Sincerely,
Drummond Pike
CEO and Founder, Tides
Tides Foundation CEO Drummond Pike's full letter to Fox News advertisers:
Dear Fox Advertiser,
I am writing to ask your company to take a simple step that may well save lives in the future. And it is not unimportant that taking this action will remove your company and its products from any connection to what could very likely be an unpleasant tragedy, should things remain as they are today. On behalf of my organization, and many others like it, I ask that you cease advertising on the Fox News Channel.
This is neither a hollow request, nor one rhetorically made. There is an urgency to it born of our own direct experience as the target of a would-be assassin inspired by Fox's Glenn Beck Show.
On July 19th of this year, I arrived at our San Francisco office to learn that a misguided person carrying numerous guns and body armor had been on his way to start a "revolution" by murdering my colleagues and me. The Oakland Police Department called to tell us that, following a 12 minute shootout with the California Highway Patrol, law enforcement officials arrested an assailant who had targeted the Tides Foundation, an organization which I founded and currently serve as CEO, and the ACLU for violence. To say we were "shocked" does not adequately describe our reaction. Imagine, for a moment, that you were us and, had it not been for a sharp eyed highway patrolman, a heavily armed man in full body armor would have made it to your office with the intent to kill you and your colleagues. His motive? Apparently, it was because the charitable, nonpartisan programs we run are deemed part of a conspiracy to undermine America and the capitalist system, which is hogwash.
Although not a political organization, the Tides Foundation has been a frequent target of misinformation, propaganda, and outright lies by Fox News' Glenn Beck. Since his arrival at Fox in early 2009, Beck has repeatedly vilified Tides, suggesting we are intent on "creat[ing] a mass organization to seize power." He accuses the foundation of indoctrination and says we are "involved in some of the nastiest of the nasty." Beck tells viewers that Tides has "funneled" money to "some of the most extreme groups on the left" and that our mission is to "warp your children's brains and make sure they know how evil capitalism is." In total, prior to the attempted rampage, Beck had attacked the Tides Foundation 29 times. On September 28th, more than a month after the shooting, Beck reiterated his focus on the Tides Foundation, warning, "I'm coming for you." In jailhouse interviews, the gunman confessed he views Beck as a "schoolteacher" who "blew my mind." My would-be killer admitted that Beck "give[s] you every ounce of evidence you could possibly need" to commit violence.
Beck is a self-described "Progressive Hunter" who relies on violent rhetoric. Do you really think that the millions of Americans who describe themselves as "progressive" need to be "hunted down"? If so, to what end?
For hours every day on radio and television, Beck pits American against American, telling his audience that our country is under attack by a demonic Nazi-like regime seeking to destroy all that is great about America while insisting it's up to his viewers to resist and revolt. He warned his audience that "these are the most dangerous two years of our republic. Because in the end, in revolutions, the real dangerous killers show up." Beck even compared our government to vampires while instructing his viewers to "drive a stake through the heart of the bloodsuckers" and pretended to poison Speaker Pelosi on television. A few months later, Gregory Giusti was was arrested for repeatedly threatening House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- including threatening to destroy her home -- because he was upset over health care reform. The man's mother told a local news station he listens to those with "really radical ideas," adding, "I'd say Fox News or all of those that are really radical."
When I started the Tides organizations 35 years ago, I did so in the very American belief that ordinary citizens had a role to play in our democratic process. It was, I thought, the responsibility of everyone to become engaged in our civic life, and for years we've worked with thousands of Americans to do just that. And, while we support progressive values and goals, we respect the rights and voices of those with whom we disagree on issues. Never in our history have we tolerated employees or grantees that support those who would do harm to others. By supporting Fox News Channel, you and your company are risking your reputation and good standing because they are doing just this.
As you may know, a coordinated advertiser boycott by Media Matters and Color of Change, an online civil rights group, has caused Glenn Beck's Fox News show to lose over 100 sponsors. Despite the campaign's success, Fox insists it has had no impact on the channel's profitability because the overall demand for advertisements on Fox has remained stable. Companies are still paying to advertise on Fox News, but their ads are simply moved to a different time of day. Thus, businesses that pay to broadcast commercials on Fox News are subsidizing Glenn Beck's television show by continuing to pump money into the network. It has become clear that the only way to stop supporting Beck is to stop supporting Fox News.
I respectfully request that you bring this matter of your company's sponsorship of hate speech leading to violence to the attention of your fellow directors as soon as possible. I believe no responsible company should advertise on Fox News due to its recent and on-going deplorable conduct.
While we may agree to disagree about the role our citizens and our government should play in promoting social justice and the common good, there should be no disagreement about what constitutes integrity and professionalism and responsibility in discourse - even when allowing for and encouraging contending diverse opinions intelligently argued. This is not a partisan issue. It's an American issue. No one, left, right or center, wants to see another Oklahoma City.
The next "assassin" may succeed, and if so, there will be blood on many hands. The choice is yours. Please join my call to do the right thing in this regard and put Fox News at arm's length from your company by halting your advertising with them.
Sincerely,
Drummond Pike
CEO and Founder, Tides
Friday, April 15, 2011
Homeopathy, the biggest scam in natural medicine
Homeopathy aka, the biggest scam in “natural” remedies
Homeopathy the notion that symptoms of disease can be cured by extremely small amounts of substances that produce similar symptoms in healthy people when administered in large amounts. Homeopathy was started in the late 1700’s by the German doctor Samuel Hahnemann, he was very disturbed by the common practice in those days of bloodletting, or leaching, which appeared to do more harm than good. He thought that the bloodletting was to “balance” the body of disturbances. It was after these experiences that he developed his “law of similars” which as stated above is if a healthy person takes a large quantity of a substance and it produces an effect similar to that of a symptom of some illness then if you gave a incredibly small amount of that same substance to a ill person then it would cure them of their illness. His thought was that a disease was just a disturbance in the body’s ability to heal itself and it would only need a little stimulation to jump start the healing process. The funniest part of homeopathy is part of its basis which is Hahnemann’s “law of infinitesimals” in which he theorized that the smaller and more dilute the dose the more powerful the effect, which is of course just the opposite of what the dose-response relationship that pharmacologists demonstrate on a daily basis. Hahnemann thought that when you dilute a solution of let’s say morning glory extract into 100 parts of water and then shake it up and add 1/10th of that to another 100 parts of water that you somehow in the shaking of the solution (known as sucussed) that you “energized” the essence of the ingredients and retain all of the benefits of the original strength solution.
Let’s look at some numbers. On homeopathic products that you buy at new frontiers you will often see something on the list of ingredients that says something like HPUS 5x dilution of clemantis vitalba, but what does a 5x dilution really mean. Homeopathic products are made from minerals, botanical substances, and several other sources. If the original substance is soluble, one part is diluted with either nine or ninety-nine parts of distilled water and/or alcohol and shaken vigorously (succussed); if insoluble, it is finely ground and pulverized in similar proportions with powdered lactose (milk sugar). One part of the diluted medicine is then further diluted, and the process is repeated until the desired concentration is reached. Dilutions of 1 to 10 are designated by the Roman numeral X (1X = 1/10, 3X = 1/1,000, 6X = 1/1,000,000). Similarly, dilutions of 1 to 100 are designated by the Roman numeral C (1C = 1/100, 3C = 1/1,000,000, and so on). Most remedies today range from 6X to 30X, but products of 30C or more are marketed.
A 30X dilution means that the original substance has been diluted 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times. Assuming that a cubic centimeter of water contains 15 drops, this number is greater than the number of drops of water that would fill a container more than 50 times the size of the Earth. Imagine placing a drop of red dye into such a container so that it disperses evenly. Homeopathy's "law of infinitesimals" is the equivalent of saying that any drop of water subsequently removed from that container will possess an essence of redness. Robert L. Park, Ph.D., a prominent physicist who is executive director of The American Physical Society, has noted that since the least amount of a substance in a solution is one molecule, a 30C solution would have to have at least one molecule of the original substance dissolved in a minimum of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules of water. This would require a container more than 30,000,000,000 times the size of the Earth. Furthermore the laws of chemistry do actually show that there is a point in dilution where the original substance is no longer present, this limit is known as Avogadro’s number and in homeopathic terms it is equivalent to 24x or 12c, at this level of dilution the odds of there being one molecule of the original substance is a 50/50 shot and more dilute than 24x it is virtually impossible for there to be anything other than water and alcohol and contaminants introduced during the shaking and transferring of the solution.
Here is an example of pure greed and ignorance. Oscillococcinum, a 200C (or 400x) product "for the relief of colds and flu-like symptoms," involves "dilutions" that are even more ridiculous than what you normally see at new frontiers. Its "active ingredient" is prepared by incubating small amounts of a freshly killed duck's liver and heart for 40 days. The resultant solution is then filtered, freeze-dried, rehydrated, repeatedly diluted, and impregnated into sugar granules. If a single molecule of the duck's heart or liver were to survive the dilution, its concentration would be 1 in 100200. This huge number, which has 400 zeroes, is vastly greater than the estimated number of molecules in the universe (about one googol, which is a 1 followed by 100 zeroes). In its February 17, 1997, issue, U.S. News & World Report noted that only one duck per year is needed to manufacture the product, which had total sales of $20 million in 1996. The magazine dubbed that unlucky bird "the $20-million duck."
Finally the last problem with homeopathic is their status as a drug. This situation is the result of two circumstances. First, the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which was shepherded through Congress by a homeopathic physician who was a senator, recognizes as drugs all substances included in the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States (hence the HPUS symbol on all homeopathic packages). Second, the FDA has not held homeopathic products to the same standards as other drugs. Today they are marketed in health-food stores, in pharmacies, in practitioner offices, by multilevel distributors, through the mail, and on the Internet.
Homeopathy the notion that symptoms of disease can be cured by extremely small amounts of substances that produce similar symptoms in healthy people when administered in large amounts. Homeopathy was started in the late 1700’s by the German doctor Samuel Hahnemann, he was very disturbed by the common practice in those days of bloodletting, or leaching, which appeared to do more harm than good. He thought that the bloodletting was to “balance” the body of disturbances. It was after these experiences that he developed his “law of similars” which as stated above is if a healthy person takes a large quantity of a substance and it produces an effect similar to that of a symptom of some illness then if you gave a incredibly small amount of that same substance to a ill person then it would cure them of their illness. His thought was that a disease was just a disturbance in the body’s ability to heal itself and it would only need a little stimulation to jump start the healing process. The funniest part of homeopathy is part of its basis which is Hahnemann’s “law of infinitesimals” in which he theorized that the smaller and more dilute the dose the more powerful the effect, which is of course just the opposite of what the dose-response relationship that pharmacologists demonstrate on a daily basis. Hahnemann thought that when you dilute a solution of let’s say morning glory extract into 100 parts of water and then shake it up and add 1/10th of that to another 100 parts of water that you somehow in the shaking of the solution (known as sucussed) that you “energized” the essence of the ingredients and retain all of the benefits of the original strength solution.
Let’s look at some numbers. On homeopathic products that you buy at new frontiers you will often see something on the list of ingredients that says something like HPUS 5x dilution of clemantis vitalba, but what does a 5x dilution really mean. Homeopathic products are made from minerals, botanical substances, and several other sources. If the original substance is soluble, one part is diluted with either nine or ninety-nine parts of distilled water and/or alcohol and shaken vigorously (succussed); if insoluble, it is finely ground and pulverized in similar proportions with powdered lactose (milk sugar). One part of the diluted medicine is then further diluted, and the process is repeated until the desired concentration is reached. Dilutions of 1 to 10 are designated by the Roman numeral X (1X = 1/10, 3X = 1/1,000, 6X = 1/1,000,000). Similarly, dilutions of 1 to 100 are designated by the Roman numeral C (1C = 1/100, 3C = 1/1,000,000, and so on). Most remedies today range from 6X to 30X, but products of 30C or more are marketed.
A 30X dilution means that the original substance has been diluted 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times. Assuming that a cubic centimeter of water contains 15 drops, this number is greater than the number of drops of water that would fill a container more than 50 times the size of the Earth. Imagine placing a drop of red dye into such a container so that it disperses evenly. Homeopathy's "law of infinitesimals" is the equivalent of saying that any drop of water subsequently removed from that container will possess an essence of redness. Robert L. Park, Ph.D., a prominent physicist who is executive director of The American Physical Society, has noted that since the least amount of a substance in a solution is one molecule, a 30C solution would have to have at least one molecule of the original substance dissolved in a minimum of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules of water. This would require a container more than 30,000,000,000 times the size of the Earth. Furthermore the laws of chemistry do actually show that there is a point in dilution where the original substance is no longer present, this limit is known as Avogadro’s number and in homeopathic terms it is equivalent to 24x or 12c, at this level of dilution the odds of there being one molecule of the original substance is a 50/50 shot and more dilute than 24x it is virtually impossible for there to be anything other than water and alcohol and contaminants introduced during the shaking and transferring of the solution.
Here is an example of pure greed and ignorance. Oscillococcinum, a 200C (or 400x) product "for the relief of colds and flu-like symptoms," involves "dilutions" that are even more ridiculous than what you normally see at new frontiers. Its "active ingredient" is prepared by incubating small amounts of a freshly killed duck's liver and heart for 40 days. The resultant solution is then filtered, freeze-dried, rehydrated, repeatedly diluted, and impregnated into sugar granules. If a single molecule of the duck's heart or liver were to survive the dilution, its concentration would be 1 in 100200. This huge number, which has 400 zeroes, is vastly greater than the estimated number of molecules in the universe (about one googol, which is a 1 followed by 100 zeroes). In its February 17, 1997, issue, U.S. News & World Report noted that only one duck per year is needed to manufacture the product, which had total sales of $20 million in 1996. The magazine dubbed that unlucky bird "the $20-million duck."
Finally the last problem with homeopathic is their status as a drug. This situation is the result of two circumstances. First, the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which was shepherded through Congress by a homeopathic physician who was a senator, recognizes as drugs all substances included in the Homeopathic Pharmacopeia of the United States (hence the HPUS symbol on all homeopathic packages). Second, the FDA has not held homeopathic products to the same standards as other drugs. Today they are marketed in health-food stores, in pharmacies, in practitioner offices, by multilevel distributors, through the mail, and on the Internet.
chemical
the video and lyrics below are from rapper Apathy, he makes a good point about all the chemicals that are added to literally everything we consume.
Creep with me, as I crawl through your bloodstream
Dirty as the bathroom in New York club scenes
A chemical river that flows through veins of drug fiends
Ob-scene, un-clean, love between teens
It's chemical, phlegm that I spit, adrenaline kicks
Flow through your body, make it stressful as shit
What they inject in meat, and the food you eat
Nowadays make you lazy and wanna go to sleep
Chemicals seep in dirt, work deep in earth
Spin babies in the womb feet first at birth
Leaves embryonic fluid polluted and kids stupid
Fruit juice diluted, your drinkin water putrid
The chemicals, heroin, built to be American
Pussies puke blood, baby mamas miscarriage-in
Additives, preservatives, add to my nervousness
Bad when it surfaces, the madness is murderous
It's probably the reason I'm havin panic attacks
Can't manage to relax, got me brandishin gats
Paranoid thinkin everybody's plannin a trap
It's just a chemical inside me I managed to tap
And now there's fiends smokin it, this weed's soaked in it
It's more than just trees with a little coke in it
A Pandora's Box, stop, don't open it
The euphoric feelin revealin the opiate
Back when I was little and they had me on Ritalin
I was chillin, literally, zombie-type feelin
Addicted to caffeine like some sort of crack fiend
Let it pulse through my veins like powerful vaccines
You're dependent - toothpaste, soap, deodorant
A chemical addiction without even knowin it
You listenin right now? Your body is holdin it
A chemical dependency, no way to get over it
Anthrax, death threats, X enhance sex
Steroids effects pecs, abs and biceps
Advil relieves pain, trees deceive brains
Just add a little chemical, you start to see thangs
Water filled with fluoride'll fix up your teeth
Hormones are gettin pumped in pigs, chicken and beef
Alcohol slurs words, Mydol controls birds
Xanax calms your nerves if your brain's disturbed
Vitamin C for health to take care of yourself
And you can even cure AIDS if you got enough wealth
Food coloring tricks you, glucose addicts you
All the dirty shit in food is why your clothes don't fit you
Red Bull pumps your energy, weed fucks with memory
Coke mixed with Hennessy turns friends to enemies
Pills to stop pregnancies, slow the flow steadily
Incredible, we're based on a chemical dependency
Creep with me, as I crawl through your bloodstream
Dirty as the bathroom in New York club scenes
A chemical river that flows through veins of drug fiends
Ob-scene, un-clean, love between teens
It's chemical, phlegm that I spit, adrenaline kicks
Flow through your body, make it stressful as shit
What they inject in meat, and the food you eat
Nowadays make you lazy and wanna go to sleep
Chemicals seep in dirt, work deep in earth
Spin babies in the womb feet first at birth
Leaves embryonic fluid polluted and kids stupid
Fruit juice diluted, your drinkin water putrid
The chemicals, heroin, built to be American
Pussies puke blood, baby mamas miscarriage-in
Additives, preservatives, add to my nervousness
Bad when it surfaces, the madness is murderous
It's probably the reason I'm havin panic attacks
Can't manage to relax, got me brandishin gats
Paranoid thinkin everybody's plannin a trap
It's just a chemical inside me I managed to tap
And now there's fiends smokin it, this weed's soaked in it
It's more than just trees with a little coke in it
A Pandora's Box, stop, don't open it
The euphoric feelin revealin the opiate
Back when I was little and they had me on Ritalin
I was chillin, literally, zombie-type feelin
Addicted to caffeine like some sort of crack fiend
Let it pulse through my veins like powerful vaccines
You're dependent - toothpaste, soap, deodorant
A chemical addiction without even knowin it
You listenin right now? Your body is holdin it
A chemical dependency, no way to get over it
Anthrax, death threats, X enhance sex
Steroids effects pecs, abs and biceps
Advil relieves pain, trees deceive brains
Just add a little chemical, you start to see thangs
Water filled with fluoride'll fix up your teeth
Hormones are gettin pumped in pigs, chicken and beef
Alcohol slurs words, Mydol controls birds
Xanax calms your nerves if your brain's disturbed
Vitamin C for health to take care of yourself
And you can even cure AIDS if you got enough wealth
Food coloring tricks you, glucose addicts you
All the dirty shit in food is why your clothes don't fit you
Red Bull pumps your energy, weed fucks with memory
Coke mixed with Hennessy turns friends to enemies
Pills to stop pregnancies, slow the flow steadily
Incredible, we're based on a chemical dependency
Saturday, March 12, 2011
conspiracies
Why do some people believe a conspiracy even if it is completely absurd?
Firstly conspiracies do actually play an important role in society, it gives people a means to think outside the box. However with any hypothesis you need to look at ALL the evidence and that is where theorist usually fall short. theorist are not trying to find a conclusion to a hypothesis, they are only trying to prove what they want so badly to be true no matter how absurd it is or how much evidence there is contrary to there own belief. Interestingly there is a common economic and social pattern to who believes in conspiracy theories. Firstly the poor have a higher tendancy to believe in conspiracies, one theory as to why is that the many poor people are more likely to place blame on "the man" for socio-economic situation rather than take responsibility for there own actions. this can likely be attributed to there general feeling of dis-empowerment and dis-association with society.
Another theory as to how conspiracies develop is the notion of "major event, major cause" below is a excerpt from an experiment carried out in 2002.
"So what kind of thought processes contribute to belief in conspiracy theories? A study I carried out in 2002 explored a way of thinking sometimes called "major event - major cause" reasoning. Essentially, people often assume that an event with substantial, significant or wide-ranging consequences is likely to have been caused by something substantial, significant or wide-ranging.
I gave volunteers variations of a newspaper story describing an assassination attempt on a fictitious president. Those who were given the version where the president died were significantly more likely to attribute the event to a conspiracy than those who read the one where the president survived, even though all other aspects of the story were equivalent.
To appreciate why this form of reasoning is seductive, consider the alternative: major events having minor or mundane causes - for example, the assassination of a president by a single, possibly mentally unstable, gunman, or the death of a princess because of a drunk driver. This presents us with a rather chaotic and unpredictable relationship between cause and effect. Instability makes most of us uncomfortable; we prefer to imagine we live in a predictable, safe world, so in a strange way, some conspiracy theories offer us accounts of events that allow us to retain a sense of safety and predictability."
We also have to be aware of the fact that even anti theorist are susceptible to bias as well if for no other reason than to try to win an argument with a theorist and become biased towards the evidence.
I could go on and on and make this quite lengthy but ill end it here and leave you with this video from Michael Shermer from Skeptic magazine.
works cited from http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/2007/07/why_do_people_believe_in_consp.php
Firstly conspiracies do actually play an important role in society, it gives people a means to think outside the box. However with any hypothesis you need to look at ALL the evidence and that is where theorist usually fall short. theorist are not trying to find a conclusion to a hypothesis, they are only trying to prove what they want so badly to be true no matter how absurd it is or how much evidence there is contrary to there own belief. Interestingly there is a common economic and social pattern to who believes in conspiracy theories. Firstly the poor have a higher tendancy to believe in conspiracies, one theory as to why is that the many poor people are more likely to place blame on "the man" for socio-economic situation rather than take responsibility for there own actions. this can likely be attributed to there general feeling of dis-empowerment and dis-association with society.
Another theory as to how conspiracies develop is the notion of "major event, major cause" below is a excerpt from an experiment carried out in 2002.
"So what kind of thought processes contribute to belief in conspiracy theories? A study I carried out in 2002 explored a way of thinking sometimes called "major event - major cause" reasoning. Essentially, people often assume that an event with substantial, significant or wide-ranging consequences is likely to have been caused by something substantial, significant or wide-ranging.
I gave volunteers variations of a newspaper story describing an assassination attempt on a fictitious president. Those who were given the version where the president died were significantly more likely to attribute the event to a conspiracy than those who read the one where the president survived, even though all other aspects of the story were equivalent.
To appreciate why this form of reasoning is seductive, consider the alternative: major events having minor or mundane causes - for example, the assassination of a president by a single, possibly mentally unstable, gunman, or the death of a princess because of a drunk driver. This presents us with a rather chaotic and unpredictable relationship between cause and effect. Instability makes most of us uncomfortable; we prefer to imagine we live in a predictable, safe world, so in a strange way, some conspiracy theories offer us accounts of events that allow us to retain a sense of safety and predictability."
We also have to be aware of the fact that even anti theorist are susceptible to bias as well if for no other reason than to try to win an argument with a theorist and become biased towards the evidence.
I could go on and on and make this quite lengthy but ill end it here and leave you with this video from Michael Shermer from Skeptic magazine.
works cited from http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/2007/07/why_do_people_believe_in_consp.php
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The lies and deception of news media in the United States, AKA fox news
First I would like to start off with very poignant and funny fox news clip from comedy centrals The daily show,
I am writing this first blog assignment about the lies and deception and one sidedness to our modern news media and in particular fox news as they are undeniably leading the race to the bottom.
Firstly everyone would have to admit and agree that fox news is heavily republican slanted, I mean look at how they actually sponsor Sarah Palin and build a studio in her house, is that an example of "fair and Balanced"? I think not. Secondly lets look at who owns fox new, Rupert murdoch. Murdoch has long been known as a strong republican, he even went as far as donating 1 million to the republican governors fund, which drew a large amount of critisism as it clearly shows a news organization as favouring a political party.
Third just take a little time to examine what they comment on and the amount of lies they tell, the video shown above is just one of many examples.
Next here is an excerpt talking about some of the other affiliations key people at fox news have.
"Fox daytime anchor David Asman is formerly of the right-wing Wall Street Journal editorial page and the conservative Manhattan Institute. The host of Fox News Sunday is Tony Snow, a conservative columnist and former chief speechwriter for the first Bush administration. Eric Breindel, previously the editorial-page editor of the right-wing New York Post, was senior vice president of Fox's parent company, News Corporation, until his death in 1998; Fox News Channel's senior vice president is John Moody, a long-time journalist known for his staunch conservative views.
Fox's managing editor is Brit Hume, a veteran TV journalist and contributor to the conservative American Spectator and Weekly Standard magazines. Its top-rated talkshow is hosted by Bill O'Reilly, a columnist for the conservative WorldNetDaily.com and a registered Republican (that is, until a week before the Washington Post published an article revealing his party registration--12/13/00).
I could continue this post on and on forever so I am going to end it here. A good write up about the workings that go on at fox news and a lot of the facts about how they conduct there business can be found here http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1067
I am writing this first blog assignment about the lies and deception and one sidedness to our modern news media and in particular fox news as they are undeniably leading the race to the bottom.
Firstly everyone would have to admit and agree that fox news is heavily republican slanted, I mean look at how they actually sponsor Sarah Palin and build a studio in her house, is that an example of "fair and Balanced"? I think not. Secondly lets look at who owns fox new, Rupert murdoch. Murdoch has long been known as a strong republican, he even went as far as donating 1 million to the republican governors fund, which drew a large amount of critisism as it clearly shows a news organization as favouring a political party.
Third just take a little time to examine what they comment on and the amount of lies they tell, the video shown above is just one of many examples.
Next here is an excerpt talking about some of the other affiliations key people at fox news have.
"Fox daytime anchor David Asman is formerly of the right-wing Wall Street Journal editorial page and the conservative Manhattan Institute. The host of Fox News Sunday is Tony Snow, a conservative columnist and former chief speechwriter for the first Bush administration. Eric Breindel, previously the editorial-page editor of the right-wing New York Post, was senior vice president of Fox's parent company, News Corporation, until his death in 1998; Fox News Channel's senior vice president is John Moody, a long-time journalist known for his staunch conservative views.
Fox's managing editor is Brit Hume, a veteran TV journalist and contributor to the conservative American Spectator and Weekly Standard magazines. Its top-rated talkshow is hosted by Bill O'Reilly, a columnist for the conservative WorldNetDaily.com and a registered Republican (that is, until a week before the Washington Post published an article revealing his party registration--12/13/00).
I could continue this post on and on forever so I am going to end it here. A good write up about the workings that go on at fox news and a lot of the facts about how they conduct there business can be found here http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1067
Saturday, February 5, 2011
very old isle of mann kart video
this is a very old video of a formula 250e race from about 1990, its in the rain and there on slicks so corner speeds are a little slow
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
wheel of life bouldering
just so you know this is considered the toughest bouldering problem in the world, I do rock climbing myself though as climbing is more about how to conserve your energy.
Friday, January 21, 2011
just started this thing
this is totally new to me, I also just started a facebook page last month to, although i dont use it really.
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