Summary of Lucas's talk on the Scientific Approach to Knowledge 20_10_07
Author: Lucas Dengel
"Concepts and practices of environmental health. What is health? What is the environment? The definition of health according to the World Health Organization is a state of complete physical, mental and emotional well-being, accepted for a few decades, and there has been a lobby more recently to include spiritual well-being. The definition of environment I find more challenging. The biosphere – living organisms - reaches some 12 kilometres below sea level and 8 kilometres above sea level. One could rather say it is the lower portion of the atmosphere, the troposphere, which is our environment, it is ten to twenty kilometers above sea level, where the winds turn – this is very much our environment. It contains75% of the mass and almost all of the water.
Consider the statements of the first astronauts that went to the moon, and everyone since – the first cycle around the earth they say there’s my country, the second day, there’s my continent, and then after that there’s my planet. This is a realization which everybody goes through. The moment you are out there you are on another level of consciousness. Since we have Google Earth we can all be astronauts. So what is our environment? What about interactions outside the atmosphere? …The moon is a big satellite for the earth, you might call it a double planet. We all know about the sea tides which are the effect of the moon. …There are about 600 organisms in the oceans whose reproductive cycles are tuned to the moon cycles. The stems of trees expand and contract with the daily tides. Forest stewards all over the world know that timber cut at full moon tends to be more susceptible to bugs. That’s not all. The planets too have influences on earth. Some pines and spruces develop seeds or cones every thirty years which is the cycle of Saturn around the sun. …Mercury is the third planet from the sun and goes around in 114 days. From the point of view of the earth, three cycles of Mercury describe the shape of most monocot seeds.
What is environmental health? It includes public health. …historical examples of the development of vaccinations against small pox…1848 first public health act in London…1848-54 global cholera pandemic…the impact of the first Liverpool sewage system was doubling of life expectancy. By doubling life expectancy we double the population. …Smoke from fires, indoor air pollution causes more ill health and death than outdoor pollution, it cuts life expectancy by many year in developing countries (Kuilapalayam). The biggest air pollutants are particulates. Delhi had a big problem with diesel pollution and has improved enormously in a few years by switching to LPG. …Statistically we are less sick today, the only cancer that has increased is lung cancer, and tobacco is the culprit. It’s the dosage – anything can be a poison if taken in large enough dosages.
Our organism is based on recycled
elements –CHNOPS- the basic nutrients of life forms recycled by
microorganisms. All life is recycling. We are all recycled. Take out
the microorganisms and we come to a standstill. They are crucial to
the maintenance of life. The vast majority are harmless or beneficial
to us. Beautiful skin is due to microbes - 1010 microbes
in our skin. …EM technology – environmental health: ecological
sanitation – ecosan. Effective Microorganism technology has many
uses. …The first microbes lived without oxygen, but produced
oxygen, 3.5 billion years ago. They break down hydrocarbons and
repair oil spills, microorganisms in nuclear waste – the enormous
resilience of nature." - Lucas Dengel
Listen to the full audio presentation
at:
http://www.universityofhumanunity.org/audio_presentation_lucas