Thursday, July 03, 2003

Three Classes of Life In 1921, Alfred Korzybski, a mathematician and scientist, classified Life with precise and accurate operational definitions of plants, animals, and humans. He defined the plants as energy-binders, the animals as space-binders, and we humans as time-binders. Korzybski explained that the plants adapt to their environment through their awareness and control of energy. The animals adapt to their environment through their awareness and control of space. And we humans adapt to our environment through our awareness and control of time. He wrote: "Human beings possess a most remarkable capacity which is entirely peculiar to them – I mean the capacity to summarize, digest and appropriate the labors and experiences of the past; I mean the capacity to use the fruits of past labors and experiences as intellectual or spiritual capital for developments in the present; I mean the capacity to employ as instruments of increasing power the accumulated achievements of the all-previous lives of the past generations spent in trial and error, trial and success; I mean the capacity of human beings to conduct their lives in the ever increasing light of inherited wisdom; I mean the capacity in virtue of which man is at once the inheritor of the bygone ages and the trustee of posterity. And because humanity is just this magnificent natural agency by which the past lives in the present and the present for the future, I define humanity, in the universal tongue of mathematics and mechanics, to be the time-binding class of life."  (07/03/03) The Pluralism Hypothesis—Athens Howard Bloom writes: Meanwhile, above the Peloponnesus in Athens, another hypothesis was making its way through evolution's r&d labs - one which would increase not merely the speed with which information flowed, but the way in which it would be processed. Sparta was a freezer killing off diversity. Athens was diversity's warm and cozy hatchery. As a result, Athens and Sparta tested a fistful of opposing policies: among them, authoritarianism versus libertarianism, internationalism versus isolationism, and totalitarianism versus democracy. The winner would not be the contestant anyone was likely to foresee. ... Athens did not kill off its introverted, physically weak, and over-sensitive newborns who would have made poor warriors. Nor did it regiment them mercilessly as youths and eradicate their sense of individuality. Over to Xenophon again. Athenians and the inhabitants of the Greek cities which fed their thinkers into the Athenian mix came from parents "who claim to give their sons the finest education...put them under the care of servants as tutors and at once despatch [sic] them to schools to learn reading and writing and music and the art of wrestling. Besides they make their children's feet soft with shoes and their bodies delicate with changes of clothing. As for food, they certainly let them eat as much as their stomach can hold." (07/03/03) DaimlerChrysler, UPS, and EPA to Work Together Associated Press -- DaimlerChrysler AG said Monday it is teaming with United Parcel Service Inc. and the Environmental Protection Agency for what officials billed as the first introduction of fuel cell vehicles into a U.S. commercial delivery fleet. The DaimlerChrysler vehicles will be used in normal UPS operations on an established delivery route. A passenger-sized F-Cell — a Mercedes-Benz A-Class powered by a Ballard fuel cell — was expected to begin letter delivery toward the end of the summer. A fuel cell Dodge Sprinter van will begin delivering larger packages next year. "The really intriguing part of this partnership is that these vehicles are going to be in day-to-day use," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. "They can be monitored through temperature variances ... the stops and starts of city driving, and long distances where the speed gets up for a sustained time." The three said they would base their efforts in Ann Arbor at the EPA National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory, where a newly designed hydrogen refueling station will be built by Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of Allentown, Pa. (07/03/03) Shopping for a Better World GreenBiz.com -- From the catwalk to the consumer, the world's leading fashion designers and retail giants could play a major role in saving the planet. Whether it is the high-end labels of Prada or Versace or the high-street brands of Carrefour, Monoprix, and Marks and Spencer, a growing number of professionals in the fashion and retail business are responding to a latent public demand for ethical and green products. In support of these efforts, the United Nations Environment Program is working on a new initiative dubbed "shopping for a better world," which aims to influence the $7 trillion global retail industry. At the same time, new partnerships with people from the fashion world hope to bring environmental messages to a new and increasingly influential audience. "Consumers, especially the young, are often confronted with the seemingly contradictory choice of wanting to help the planet and the hedonistic desire to buy the latest 'must-have' brands", said UNEP executive director Klaus Toepfer, speaking in Brussels at the opening of the European Commission's Green Week. "But, what can be more modern, more fashionable, than caring about our planet," Mr. Toepfer continued. "By working with the retail and fashion industry, we can help change attitudes towards consumption, and ultimately people's actions." The new UNEP activities are the latest element of UNEP's work to advance the positive sides of sustainable consumption and production. Earlier this year, to encourage more people to embrace so-called sustainable consumerism, UNEP launched a new project that puts an emphasis on marketing "attractive" or "desirable" lifestyles as a key way to sell environmentally preferable products. (07/03/03) Take Out the Trash! WIRED Magazine -- A bill that would require electronics manufacturers to devise and finance a plan to collect and recycle all computer equipment passed California state Senate on Wednesday. The bill now moves to the state Assembly. If the Assembly approves it and Gov. Gray Davis signs it, the law would push manufacturers to create collection centers where people could drop off their old computers and monitors, which both contain many toxic substances. Equipment makers would also have to come up with plans to recycle the equipment. In the absence of federal legislation outlining the correct way to discard e-waste, several state legislatures are in the process of reviewing bills to draft into law. If California adopts the law, it should have a sweeping effect on the industry. The recycling question looms large for computer manufacturers. Californians discard 2.75 million televisions or computer screens per year, roughly 7,500 units per day. (07/03/03) Clowns on Strike! CNN World -- A strike by artists, actors and theater workers over a government plan to reduce their unemployment benefits has forced the cancellation of a Paris Opera performance and is threatening to close arts festivals across France. Culture Minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon met in an urgent session Monday evening with the president of France-Festivals, the umbrella organization for 82 music festivals, and the directors of major festivals planned for July in Avignon, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. No solution was reached, but Aillagon said the government would not back down on its plan to reform the unemployment system. Under the deal, the artists would be able to draw unemployment pay for only eight months, instead of the current 12. The changes are aimed at making up a $950 million shortfall in the system. (07/03/03) A Fuel Powered Laptop? Excite! News -- Japanese computer giant NEC Corp. Monday revealed a prototype of a laptop computer that runs on a methanol fuel cell instead of a rechargeable battery, and said it will start selling it next year. ... Also, users will be able to keep operating their computers by replacing the fuel cartridge or refilling with methanol fuel, instead of recharging the battery. NEC initially plans to introduce a computer with a fuel-cell system able to run for five consecutive hours on a single cartridge of methanol fuel, but also plans to make a PC within two years that can run continuously for as long as 40 hours. Fuel cells produce electricity without generating pollutants, through an electrochemical reaction that uses oxygen and hydrogen. (07/03/03) 7:59:41 AM

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