21st century - 21sci-tech.com · the black hole war: my battle with stephen hawking to make the...

21st CENTURYSCIENCE &TECHNOLOGYSUMMER 2008 www.21stcenturysciencetech.com $5.00

21st CENTURYSCIENCE &TECHNOLOGYSUMMER 2008 www.21stcenturysciencetech.com $5.00

Yes,We CanReprocess Nuclear Fuel!

Yes,We CanReprocess Nuclear Fuel!

LaRoucheOn WoeseLaRoucheOn Woese

Departments 2 EDITORIAL Life, Life, Life . . . Laurence Hecht 3 RESEARCH COMMUNICATION Nuclear Decay Rates And the Cosmos Zbigniew Jaworowski 4 VIEWPOINT Science: The Slide Toward Decadence T.E. Phipps, Jr. 6 NEWS BRIEFS 8 GLOBAL WARMING UPDATE Compiled by Gregory Murphy51 BOOKS The Black Hole War: My Battle

with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics

byLeonardSusskind

Reviewed by Hilton Ratcliffe

52 Earth: The Biography ANationalGeographic SocietyDVD

Reviewed by Ryan Milton

21st CENTURYSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Vol.21,No.2 Summer2008

Features

10 We Need to Reprocess Spent Nuclear Fuel, And Can Do It Safely, at Reasonable Cost Clinton Bastin

AveterannuclearreprocessingexpertfortheU.S.government recountsthelittle-knownhistoryofAmerica’ssuccessfulreprocessing program,andtheunfortunatepoliticaldecisionstothwartitsprogress.

21 The Subject of Principle: Project ‘Genesis’ Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr.

Adiscussionofissuesofepistemologyposedbytheassumptionsin themethodofmicrobiologistCarlWoeseandhisassociates.

24 Carl Woese and His Work

AnexcerptfromthepaperbyCarlWoese,whichLaRouchecomments oninProject‘Genesis’

42 THEISOTOPEECONOMY Producing More and Better Food Using Nuclear and Stable Isotopes Marjorie Mazel Hecht

Isotopetechnologiestoincreasefoodproductionandpreservecrops arereadytobemobilizednowtohelpfeedtheworld!

49 How Food Irradiation Works

ON THE COVER: Nuclear reactor fuel as-sembly unit: Once used, nuclear fuel can be recycled and used again—truly renewable! Photo courtesy of Nuclear Regulatory Com-mission; cover design by Alan Yue.

NASA

A typical site for Archaea, the new kingdom discovered by microbiologistCarl Woese (p. 21).

2 Summer2008 21st Century Science & Technology

EDITORIALEDITORIAL STAFFEditor-in-Chief

Laurence Hecht

Managing Editor

Marjorie Mazel Hecht

Associate Editors

Elijah C. Boyd

David Cherry

Christine Craig

Marsha Freeman

Colin M. Lowry

Gregory B. Murphy

Richard Sanders

Charles B. Stevens

BooksDavid Cherry

Art Director

Alan Yue

Advertising Manager

Marsha Freeman

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD

Francesco Celani, Ph.D.

Hugh W. Ellsaesser, Ph.D.

Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr.

Wolfgang Lillge, M.D.

Ramtanu Maitra

Thomas E. Phipps, Jr., Ph.D.

B.A. Soldano, Ph.D.

21st Century Science & Technology (ISSN 0895-6820) is published 4 times a year by 21st Century Science Associates, 60 Sycolin Road, Suite 203, Leesburg, Va. 20175. Tel. (703) 777-6943.

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Areportongammarayphotosynthesisfrom University of Missouri Emeri-

tus ProfessorT.D. Luckey raises afreshthecrucialquestionof the relationshipamongthethreeontologicaldomainsofliving,non-living,andnoetic,firstclear-ly identified by Academician V.I. Ver-nadskyintheearlydecadesofthe20thCentury.

Dr. Luckey’s communication, to ap-pearinfullinourFallissue,reportsonexperiments exposing a PseudomonasbacteriumandAnacystisalgatocontin-uous gamma rays from a cobalt-60sourceattheUniversityofMissouriRe-search Reactor. In the absence of anyvisible light, both organisms remainedgreen and increased in mass, up to alimit, in proportion to the radiationflux.

Theexactmechanismbywhichgam-marays,ordersofmagnitudemoreener-getic than visible light photons, mighttrigger aphotosynthetic reaction isnotknown.AsDr.Luckeynotes,low-energygamma rays can transfer energy to anatomicelectron,eitherbythephotoelec-tricortheComptoneffect,intheprocessproducing a photon of visible light.Whatever themeanswhichNaturehaschosen to accomplish this feat, the re-sultssuggestthatradiationfromdecayofnatural radioactive elements in theEarth’scrustmayplayaroleinencourag-ing the growth of subsurface microor-ganisms,whichwenowknowmakeupthevastbulkoflivingmatterontheEarth.Onecanonlyspeculateonthepossibili-tiesforthedevelopmentoflifeinthera-diation-rich environment of an earlyplanet.

The Tyranny of ReductionismHowever, it is not the attempt to ad-

duce acrediblemechanism,but rathertheunderstandingof theprocesswithinthe whole of universal creation, whichmustguideusinthesearch.Anditishere,that a break with currently acceptedmodesofintellectualbehaviorismostur-gently required. As our feature on theworkofCarlWoese,etal.indicates,the

tyrannyof reductionism, a self-imposedmentalenslavement,butonewhichisen-forcedbyrawpower,mustend.So,too,musttheinsistencethatphysicalscienceberestrictedtotherulesimposedbythecultofentropy.

The resolution of the impasse whichhasengulfedphysicssincethe1927Sol-vayConferencerequiresarealrevolutioninscience,arebirthofauniversalviewofmanandnatureofasortwhichmodernempiricism claims is impossible. Thatmeans that physics must recognize itssubsidiaryrolewithintheschemeofhu-manknowledgeas awhole.Theactualordering of human knowledge, which,whenunderstood,hasalwaysledtotrueand revolutionary advance in science,hasalwaysbeen thesame:First the im-mortal soul (humancreativity), then liv-ingprocesses,thenthenon-living.Pres-entlyneithertheso-called“lifesciences,”nor the “physical sciences” have got itright.

Photosynthesis,theconversionofso-lar,andperhapsevencosmic,radiationinto living tissue, is anobviouscandi-dateforstudy.Oneofthefirstapplica-tionsofanalysisbyradioactiveisotopeswastothestudyofphotosynthesisintheperiod immediately preceding WorldWar II.Aprocess thathad,until then,beenrepresentedbyasinglechemicalequation turned out to be one of ex-tremecomplexity;eventheapparentlyobvious assumption of the conversionofcarbondioxideintooxygenprovedwrong in detail, as it turned out thattherewasfirstanexchangeoftheoxy-gen in thecarbondioxidewith that inwater.

Yet,evenafterdecadesofstudyitcanhardlybesaidthatthebookisclosedonthesubject,astheLuckeystudy,amongothers,shows.LaRouche’sentryinthisissueon“TheSubjectofPrinciple:‘Proj-ectGenesis’”shouldclarifysomefun-damental issuesofmethodwhichwillhelp to set matters such as thesestraight.

—Laurence Hecht

Life, Life, Life . . .

21st Century Science & Technology Summer2008 �

ApaperbyJ.H.Jenkinsetal.on“Evi-denceforCorrelationBetweenNu-

clear Decay Rates and Earth-Sun Dis-tance,” dated Aug. 25, 2008, wascirculatedonCCNet,Aug.28.1Thesamephenomenonwasdescribedin1998byS.E.Shnolletal.fromLomonosovMos-cowStateUniversity([email protected])ina paper titled “Realization of DiscreteStates During Fluctuations in Macro-scopicProcesses,”publishedinEnglishinPhysics-Uspekhi,2Itwasalsoreviewedin21st Century,Summer2000(www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/articles/time.html)

TheabstractoftheShnollpaperreads:“It is shown thatdue tofluctuations, asequenceofdiscretevaluesisgeneratedbysuccessivemeasurementeventswhat-everthetypeoftheprocessmea-sured. The corresponding histo-gramshavemuchthesameshapeatanygiventimeandforprocessesof different nature and are verylikelytochangeshapesimultane-ouslyforvariousprocessesandinwidely distant laboratories. For aseries of successive histograms,any givenone is highlyprobablysimilartoitsnearestneighborsandoccursrepeatedlywithaperiodof24hours,27days,andabout�65days, thus implying that thephe-nomenonhasaveryprofoundcos-mological (or cosmogonic) ori-gin.”

This paper is an effect of morethan40yearsofstudies,andpartsof itwerepublishedseveral timesbefore,afterthefirstobservationin1955of thisphenomenoninvari-ousbiochemicalreactions.Thepa-per cites 14 publications on thissubjectinRussian,thefirstin1958.Later thephenomenonwas foundinhomogenouschemicalreactionswith low-molecular compounds,aswellasindiversephysico-chem-icalmeasurements:(a)velocitiesof

latexparticlesinanelectricfield;(b)dis-chargetimedelayinneonlampRCoscil-lator;(c)transverserelaxationtimetau2ofwaterprotonsusing thespinechotech-nique; (d) amplitude of concentrationfluctuationsintheBelousov-Zhabotinskyreaction;and(e)radioactivedecayofvar-iousisotopes.

Itwasfoundthatthephenomenondoesnot depend on the measurement tech-niquesor thenatureof thephenomenaunderinvestigation.Themeasurementsofradioactivity, for example, were per-formedwithGeigercounters,liquidandsolidscintillationcounters,andsolidstatedetectors.Thebeta,alphaandgammaac-tivityof11radionuclideswasmeasured:H-�,C-14,P-�2,Co-60,Tl-204,Ra-226,Po-210,Po-214,Po-218,Pu-2�9,andthe

secondaryX-rayquanta at 5.9 keVand6.�keV,whichaccompanytheK-captureassociatedwiththeFe-55toMn-55trans-formation.

The bulk of the experimental data,however, were derived from the mea-surements of the alpha activity of Pu-2�9specimensfirmlyattachedtosiliconsolid state detectors. Control measure-mentswereperformedasnecessaryforeliminating the dependence of the re-sults on the amplitude cut-off regime,etc.

Thegeographicaldistributionofthesi-multaneous measurements was ratherlarge; theminimumdistancebetweenapair of laboratories was more than onehundredanduptomanythousandsofki-lometers.ThestudysiteswereatMoscow,

Nuclear Decay Rates and the Cosmosby Zbigniew Jaworowski

RESEARCH COMMUNICATION

Figure 1ILLUSTRATION OF NON-RANDOMNESS OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF

MEASUREMENTS OF RADIOACTIVITYResults of 1,200 consecu-tive measurements of an Fe-55 preparation show the non-randomness of the radioactivity. Layer lines are drawn after each 100 measurements. In-stead of the expected bell-shaped curve, sharp peaks are found at certain pulse rates of the scintillation counter. The mean activi-ty is about 31,500 pulses per second, but peaks are seen at other activity lev-els in the four separate tri-als of 1,200 consecutive measurements shown here.Source: Courtesy of Shnoll et al., 1998. Upsekhi Fisicheskikh Nauk, Vol. 41, No. 10.


There can be little doubt that thelastfiftyyearshaveseenasteady

slide toward decadence of the hardsciences.Thequalityofideas,theca-pacitytojudgebeauty, thestatusac-corded to empirical fact vs. theory,evenelementalethicalstandards,haveslippedintolerablytothepointwhereanotherfiftyyearsofthesameshouldwritefinistoscienceasaserioushu-manenterprise (of valuebeyonden-tertainment).Readersofthismagazinewill needno further proof of such adrastic claim than a reminder of thehistoryofthecoldfusionfiasco.ForitwasindeedafiascoforthephysicsEs-tablishment,whichrevealedbyitspu-erilerushtojudgmentpreciselywhatitsjudgmentwasworth.

Wenowhavescientificjournaledi-torssostuckonthemselvesthattheydare to reject papers—particularlysubmissions from home addresses—ontheirowninitiative,withoutthefor-malityofrefereeing.Andwehaveem-perors of the Internet (located atCornell)whoautomatically rejectallarXiv.orgsubmissionsunlessvouchedforpassionatelybypeoplewithaca-demicreturnaddresses.So,nowitisofficiallyoutintheopen,realscienceistheCosaNostraofacademia...allothersneedtoapply(givensuchpre-sumption)ontheirknees.

Thusitistacitlyacknowledgedthatthe graduate-level science education

giventootherthanacademia’sownisworthlesswithoutadditionalacademicendorsement.Withblanketcriterialikethat in action, you can see withoutmuchstudywhere thingshavegot toandwheretheywillgo.Thereisevensaidtobeblacklistingbyjournaledi-tors,thatis,singlingoutofindividualwould-becontributorsbynameforau-tomaticrejection.Whynot?Itsalogi-cal conclusion. If not today, then to-morrow for sure. Do the academicloversoffreedomraiseiratevoicesinthe sort of protest they have shownthemselvessogoodat?Blessyou,child,let us be academically precise: Thefreedom they love is academic free-dom—thatis,freedomforthemselves.

Thesameacademicscientistswhobemoanthepublic’slackofinterestinscience profoundly discourage suchinterestby repellingallcontributionsfrom the general public, other thantheirtaxmoneyintheformofgrants.That,andtherightofawe-strickenad-miration,constitutetheshrunkenresi-dueofnon-academicfreedomsgrant-edtotheunanointed,betheyscientistsorlaypersons.

The Crash of the Merit SystemSomuchforthemeritsystem,which

has quietly crashed in flames. In myyouth,whenIwenttograduateschool,Iwasencouragedtocherishtheillusionthatscientificmeritwouldprevail.So,IthoughtIdidnotneedtojointheaca-demiccrowdnorcurryfavorwithit.AllIhadtodowastodogoodscience.

Experience has taught me better.Thesystemhasevolvedduringmylife-timeinsomanywaystopreventmeritfromprevailing,thatIcanonlymarvelatmyformerstateofmind.YetIsus-pectthatthatstateisstillinculcatedineachgenerationofyouthby the sol-emnhypocritesofacademia, includ-ingthoseonthemathfaculties,aswellasphysics,astronomy,etc.SomehavewonderedhowEinstein,thelowlypat-ent clerk, would make out today. IwonderthesameaboutRamanujan.

Dissidentsfacetwolevelsofdifficul-

VIEWPOINTScience: The Slide

Toward Decadence

by T.E. Phipps, Jr.

VIEWPOINT

Pushchino,Tomsk,Leningrad,thePacificOcean,theIndianOcean,andtheWhiteSeabeyondtheArcticCircle.

Shnolletal. summarized their resultsasfollows:

“Because of fluctuations, any se-quence of measurements of processesofarbitrarynatureyieldsaseriesofdis-cretevalues.Someofsuchvaluesoccurmuchmoreoften thanothers—weob-serve‘allowed’and‘forbidden’statesofmicroscopic objects. The correspond-inghistogramsexhibitextrema—peaksandtroughs.Theshapeofthespectrumof allowed and forbidden states—therelative distances between the levelsand their populations—is at all timessimilar for processes of different na-tures,andisverylikelytovarysynchro-nously for different processes, evenwhen theyoccur in laboratoriesmanymilesawayfromeachother.Thereisacertain‘lifetime’;forthegivenshapeofhistograms:inseriesofconsecutivehis-tograms,ahistogramismostlikelytobesimilar to its closest neighbors. Theshapesofhistogramsarevery likely torecurwithaperiodof24hours,27days,and�65days.Allthis(regulartimevari-ation of consecutive histograms, simi-larityofhistogramsforsimultaneousin-dependent measurements of processesofdifferentnatureandpossiblyoccur-ring at different geographical points)points to existenceof a universal cos-mophysical(cosmogonic)causeofthisphenomenon.”

In their conclusions, the Russian au-thors (sixof them)analyzedaquestion:Whyhavetherebeennoresultsfromoth-erlaboratories?”

The Jenkins et al. paper is probablythefirstpaperfromsuchan“otherlabo-ratory.”

OnemayfindotherEnglishpapersbyShnolletal.athttp://www.allais.info/priorartdocs/shnoll.htm

References _______________________________

1. The Cambridge Conference Network, CCNet, is an electronic interest group moderated by Dr. Benny Peiser.

2. Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk, Vol. 41, No. 10, pp. 1025-1035, 1998, Russian Academy of Sciences, (PACS numbers: 01.90.+g,06.20.+f,89.90.+n).

http://www.allais.info/priorartdocs/shnoll.htm

http://www.allais.info/priorartdocs/shnoll.htm

21st Century Science & Technology Summer2008 5

tyingettingacrossnewideas.Thefirstisthebasiconeofinitialcommunication,that is,ofmaking their ideasavailableforpublicconsumptionandjudgment.Thismeansgettingpasteditorialcensor-ship—thereisnoreasontocallitany-thing else. The best ideas, I am con-vinced,nevermake it.This isbecausetheynecessarilypossesscertainfeaturesthat make them unacceptable, begin-ningwiththeirrejectionofsomeaccept-edshibboleth.Thatnowadaysisenoughtostopapaperrightattheeditor’sdesk.

Supposing,however,by some freakofinattentiontheeditorallowsrefereestoseethepaper,andsupposingtheref-ereeshaveheardsomethinggoodaboutsomeonewithanamesimilartothatoftheauthor,oraretoobusytopickuponhisheresy,thenthepapermayactuallybepublished.

Nowitfacestherealdifficulty.Eithernobody reads it (readingbeingessen-tially a lost art) or those few who doreaditreactexactlyastheywouldhavedoneifaskedtorefereethepaper:theystumbleattherejectionoftheshibbo-leth, or whatever made the paperuniqueandacontribution.For,truthto

tell,mostpeople,even(orparticularly)thosewithdoctorates,arenotgeniuses,nor equipped to recognize either ge-niusorrightness,unlesstheircolleaguesarepressing iton them.So, there isaherd endorsement, a critical mass ofapproval,ofanyworthwhilenewideathat constitutes an essential prerequi-siteforgenuineprogress,andisvirtu-allyimpossibletoattainunderthecon-ditionsIhavesketched.

Infact,theonlykindofprogressatallpracticallylikelytooccuristhesortof-feredhistoricallybystringtheory:SomegreatPooh-Bah(towit,EdWitten),lad-enwithhonorsandalreadymuchad-miredintheprofession,headsaschoolof sycophants who automatically pro-vide the critical mass of “consensus”neededtoensurethatanyrottenideaisperceivedasbeautiful.Editorsself-effac-inglybowdown.Sciencemarcheson,crushingalluntruthsbeneathitsvenge-fulheel.Alternativesdevolveinexorablyfromdubioustocareer-poisoning.

This seems to be the story behindmost of the media-trumpeted physicsadvancesofthelasthalf-century,begin-ningwiththeBigBangandunlikelyto

stopanywhereshortoftheludicrous,ifthere.WhomtheGodswouldlaughat,theyfirstmaketheoreticalphysicists,orwhathasbecomethesamething,math-ematiciansmanqués.

J.M.Herndon,writinginAgainst the Tide: A Critical Review by Scientists of How Physics & Astronomy Get Done(BocalRaton,Fla.:UniversalPublishers,2008), attributes the corruption of thecurrentjournalrefereeingsystemtotheanonymityoftheprocess.Thatseemstome both an under-estimation and anover-simplification,butworthconsider-ing.Theonlydownsidetoopenlynam-ingrefereesisthatatinyhandfuloftrulynuttycontributorsarebynaturelitigious.Despite Constitutional Amendments,thegrimshadowofthelawdampensallgenuinefreespeechinthehomeofthebraveand the landof theadvertisedlyfree. I should like to make the caseagainstalltortlaw,butnothere.

Is there any hope of reversing thetrendofdecadence in theoretical sci-ence? I opine that there is only oneforceintheuniversestrongenoughtoaccomplishthis.Thatistheforceofdis-gust. Ifenoughacademiciansbecomesufficiently disgusted with what theyhavedone, theconditionsneeded forprogressinsciencemayrecuronEarth.Untilthen,itwillbestringtheoriesallthewaydown.

__________________Dr. Phipps, a retired physicist, is on the

Scientific Advisory Board of 21stCentu-ry.Among his many articles are “Simula-tion of Ampèrian Current Elements by Magnetic Toroids,” (21stCentury, Sum-mer 1998). After retiring from research in civilian and military organizations in 1980, Phipps set up a small physics labo-ratory in his father’s basement, where they conducted joint experiments until his father’s death in 1990. These experi-ments are described in HereticalVeri-ties, published in 1987. His most recent book is OldPhysicsforNew, published by Apeiron Press in 2006.

Phipps can be reached at [email protected]

VIEWPOINT


Petten High Flux Reactor/NRG

A shielded bottle containing molybde-num-99. Mo-99, with a half-life of 66 hours, decays into technetium-99, which has a half-life of 6 hours. Hospitals store the Mo-99 and separate out the Tc-99m, which is the most widely used isotope for medical diagnostics.

This video-grab from Chinese television shows Shenzhou VII mission commander Zhai on his EVA. Videos of China’s first spacewalk can be viewed at www.cctv.com/english/special/Shenzhou7/02/04/index.shtml.

CHINA’S FIRST SPACE WALK IS PICTURE PERFECTOnSept.27,at4:4�Beijingtime,ShenzhouVIImissioncommanderZhaiZhigang

exitedtheorbitalmoduleofhisspacecraftandsuccessfullyconductedanearly25-minuteextravehicularactivity,orspacewalk.ThelivetelevisionfootageoftheEVAwasstunning,showingZhaiup-closeinhiswhitespacesuitagainsttheblacknessofspace.Heretrievedasampleofsolidlubricantmaterialfromoutsidethespacecraft,whichChinesescientistswillexaminefortheeffectsofitsexposuretospace.

IndicativeofthecautionwithwhichtheChinesemannedspaceprogramiscarriedout,ZhaiworetheChinese-madeFeitianspacesuit,estimatedtohavecost$4milliontodevelop.Asecondastronaut,LiuBoming,donnedaRussian-madeSokolsuit,whichhasbeenusedformanyyears,incaseZhaiencounteredanyproblems.Liubrieflyex-ited theShenzhou.Thespacewalkwentsmoothly,andafterwardZhaispokewithPresidentHuJintao,whohadwatchedtheactivitylivefromMissionControl.

Beforelaunch,NASApublicaffairstoldXinhuathattheU.S.spaceagencywishedChinasuccessandthesafereturnofitscrew.

FDA OKAYS IRRADIATION TO KILL PATHOGENS IN LETTUCE AND SPINACHTheFoodandDrugAdministrationannouncedafinalruleAug.21allowingtheuse

ofionizingradiationtocontrolfood-bornepathogensinfreshiceberglettuceandfreshspinach.ThismeansthatconsumerscannowchoosetobuylettuceandspinachthatareguaranteedtobeE. colifree.PreviousFDAregulationshaveallowedlettuce,spin-ach,andotherfreshproducetobeirradiatedtokillinsectsortoslowspoilage.Butthedosesnecessarytokillmostdisease-causingbacteriaareslightlyhigherandrequiredanewruling.

Morewidespreaduseoffoodirradiationinthedevelopingsectorcouldincreasethefoodsupply,byprotectingharvestedfoodcropsfrominsects,rodents,fungi,andharm-fulpathogens.Now,25-50percentormoreoffoodislosttospoilage,especiallyinplaceswherefoodstorageinfrastructureislacking.Butthetechnologyhasbeenheldbackbythefoodcartelswhichwanttouseitonlyasitsuitstheirsalesstrategy.

Formoreonfoodirradiation,seearticle,p.42.

NEW ISOTOPE PRODUCTION SYSTEM CAN ASSURE DOMESTIC SUPPLIESTheWashington-basedcompanyAdvancedMedicalIsotopesCorp(AMIC)ispart-

neringwiththeUniversityofMissouriatColumbiatodevelopaninnovativemethodofproducingmolybdenum-99,withoutanuclearreactor.TheUniversityholdspatentsonasub-criticalsystemitcreatedforfissioningU-2�5intosuchproductsasMo-99.Ener-geticgammaraysaredirectedintoatankofheavywater,producingneutrons,whichthenbombardtheuraniumnucleiwithenergiessimilartothoseinnuclearreactors.Usingtargetsotherthanuranium,otherisotopescanbeproduced.

AccordingtoRobertSchenter,chiefscienceofficerofAMIC,theapparatusisroom-size,andwouldallowsuchsystemstobelocatedinmajorcities,producingshort-livedisotopesclosetothepointofuse.

Mo-99isusedtogeneratetechnetium-99m,theveryshort-livedisotopeusedformorethan80percentofradioisotopediagnosticproceduresglobally.TheUnitedStatesnowimports90percentofitsmedicalisotopes,mostlyfromCanada.Recentshortagescausedby theshutdownofsupplier reactors inCanada,Europe,andSouthAfrica,forcedthepostponementofdiagnosticandtreatmentprocedureshereandinothercountries.

AMICestimatesthatproductioncouldbegininaboutthreeyears,anditexpectstohaveaprototypebuiltnextyearfortestinganddevelopmentofisotopeextractionpro-cedures.

NEWS BRIEFS

NEWSBRIEFS

www.cctv.com/english/special/Shenzhou7/02/04/index.shtml

www.cctv.com/english/special/Shenzhou7/02/04/index.shtml


Marsha Freeman’s biography of Krafft Eh-ricke will be available in February 2009.

Marjorie Mazel Hecht

Japanese scientist Yoshiaki Arata, Emeri-tus Professor at Osaka University, was honored at the ICCF-14 conference with an award and a conference session dis-cussing his achievements.

NUCLEAR TRANSMUTATION A FOCUS AT COLD FUSION CONFERENCEDespitecatcallsandnose-thumbingfromalargelybrain-deadscientificestablish-

ment,adeterminedgroupofscientistshaskeptuptheresearchontheanomalousproductionofheatandnuclearby-products,firstobservedbyDrs.FleischmannandPonsinapalladiumcathodeelectrolyticcell,andreportedataMarch2�,1989pressconferenceinSaltLakeCity,Utah.ThelatestresultsofthisongoingscientificworkwerepresentedbyresearchersfromfourcontinentsatICCF-14,the14thInternation-alConferenceonCondensedMatterNuclear Science, held inWashington,D.C.Aug.10-14.

AfterinitialattemptstoverifytheanomalousresultsofPons-FleischmannasaD-D(deuteriumfusion)reaction,someresearchersturnedtothehypothesisthatsomenewformofnuclearprocesswasoccurring.Beginninginthemid-1990s,reportsbegantocomeinofnewelementsfromlithiumtoleadappearingonthesurface,andalsoofachangeintheisotopiccompositionofthepalladiumelectrode,afteroperationofthecell.Thisandotherevidencesuggesting thatnuclear reactionsofapreviouslyun-knowntypeareoccurring,hasbecomeafocusofmanyresearchersintheirattempttopindownwhatnewscienceisoccurringhere.Suggestionsofanewtypeoffission,possiblyofthepalladiumnucleushavebeenentertained,amongotherpossibilities.

Newevidencesuggestingtheappearanceofanuclearreactioninorganicmaterialsincludingcross-linkedpolyethylene(XLPE)sheetsexposedtohighcurrentsandintheorganicmoleculephenanthrene,wasalsopresentedattheconference.

Abstracts of the conferencepresentations canbe foundat http://lenr-canr.org/Collections/ICCF14Abstracts.pdf.Newsofthesubjectandaccesstoelectroniccopiesofhundredsofscientificpapersonthetopicaretobefoundathttp://lenr-canr.org/.

NUCLEAR NEAR BOTTOM OF LIST FOR FEDERAL SUBSIDIESAnewreportonFederalincentivesforenergydevelopmentshowsthatthemain

beneficiariesofthemorethan$700billionofgovernmentenergyincentivesoverthepastfivedecadeshavebeentheoilandnaturalgasindustries.Together,thesetwoin-dustrieshavereceived60percentofFederalincentivesbetween1950and2006,withabout46percentgoingtotheoilsector.ThestudywascarriedoutbyManagementIn-formationServices,Inc.

Thestudyalsoshowsthatofthetotalincentivesprovidedsince1950,coalhasre-ceived1�percent($94billion),hydroelectricenergysources,havereceived11per-cent($80billion),nuclearenergyhasreceived9percent($65billion),andrenewableenergyhasreceived6percent($45billion).Thereportalsoindicatesthatsince1988,FederalspendingonnuclearenergyR&Dhasbeenlessthanspendingoncoalresearchand,since1994,hasbeenlessthanspendingonrenewableenergyresearch.

Thereportcanbereadinpdfformatatwww.nei.org.

NEW BIOGRAPHY OF SPACE VISIONARY KRAFFT EHRICKE TO BE RELEASEDThephilosophicalandtechnicalcontributionsofGerman-Americanspacevisionary

KrafftEhricke,arethefocusofthefirstbiographyeverwrittenaboutthisspacepioneer.Krafft Ehricke’s Extraterrestrial Imperative,writtenby21st Century Science & Technol-ogyAssociateEditorMarshaFreeman,includesreprintsof20ofEhricke’smostimpor-tantcontributionstothefieldofastronautics.PublishedbyApogeeBooks,thebookwillbeavailableinFebruary2009.

Fororderinginformation,seewww.apogeebooks.comlaterthisyear.A few of Krafft Ehricke’s writings are available in photocopy format from 21st

Century, https://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TTS&Category_Code=EHRK

NEWSBRIEFS

http://www.apogeebooks.com/

https://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TTS&Category_Code=EHRK

https://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TTS&Category_Code=EHRK

http://lenr-canr.org/Collections/ICCF14Abstracts.pdf

http://lenr-canr.org/Collections/ICCF14Abstracts.pdf


‘The Climate Made Me Do It’?

A group of Greenpeace protestersknownastheKingsnorthSixwerearrest-edin2007fortryingtopaint“GordonBinIt” (referring to Prime Minister GordonBrown), on the Kingsnorth coal plantsmokestack,whichresultedin£�0,000indamages. During their trial, the Green-peaceprotestersadmittedthattheydidit,andneverquestionedtheamountofdam-age.So,themattermightseemsettled.

Butno,theKingsnorthSixclaimedtheywerenotliableforthedamages,basedonthelawthatholdsafiremannotliablefordamageswhen,intheprocessoftryingtosavelives,hebreaksdownthefrontdoorofahometogainaccess.TheKingsnorthSix claimed, like the rescuing fireman,thattheyweresavingtheworldfromtheeffectsofglobalwarming,byprotestingnewcoalplants!

Inotherwords,theseGreenpeacepro-testerstooktheirdefensefromthe1960s-1970s comedian FlipWilson, who wasfamous forhis routine, “thedevilmademe do it.” Now Greenpeace is saying,“theclimatemademedoit.”

Enter James HansenHowdidthejurybuythisdefense?The

KingsnorthSixcalledinJamesHansen,thechiefU.S.globalwarmingalarmist,totes-tifyasanexpertwitness.Thismeansthathisstatementsweremadenotasaprivatecitizen,butasthedirectorofNASA’sGod-dard Institute for Space Studies. Hansenclaimedinhistestimonythatcoalplantswerethebiggestcauseofglobalwarming.Further,Hansentoldthecourt,“Maybewehavethewrongpeopleontrial.”

OnSept.10,2008,thejuryintheKings-northSixcase,influencedbytheHansentestimony, found theGreenpeacers“notguilty” of damaging the Kingsnorthsmokestack.

Thequestionremainsaboutthefalloutof the verdict.At present there is some

talkofpassingalawinBritiantostopcli-mateprotesters fromdamagingor stop-pingtheoperationofcoalplants;butuntilthen,protesterscandamageortieupop-erationsofcoalplantsinBritainandclaimthat“theclimatemademedoit.”

Gore’s comment featured by Green-peaceUK’svideooftheevent:“Ican’tun-derstandwhy therearen’t ringsof youngpeopleblockingbulldozersandpreventingthemfromconstructingcoal-firedplants.”

Return of the Global Warmers’ Sacred Icon

The U.S. Climate Science Program(http://www.climatescience.gov/) re-leasedadraftofitsfullreportforpubliccommentinJuly,whichfeaturedthere-turnofthemostholyiconoftheclimateswindle, the“hockeystick” temperaturegraphofMichaelMannetal.

TheinfamousMannhockeystickshowsafairlyleveltemperatureformostofthepast 2,000 years, which comprises theshaftofthehockeystick,butthenasud-den, steep rise in temperatures in the1990s,whichmakesupthebladeofthehockey stick.The2,000-year even tem-peraturedepiction,ofcourse,deniesboththe Medieval Warm Period from aboutthe10thto14thCentury,andtheLittleIceAge of the 16th to mid-19th Century,

whichfollowedit.Bykeepingthe temperature record flat,Mannetal.canassertthatthesteepriseisentirelycausedbyman’sactivities.

The return of the hockeystick was a shock, because ithad been so thoroughly de-bunked by a congressionalcommittee in 2006, and in areport andconferencehostedby the National Academy ofSciencesthatthesameyear.

InSeptember,Mannetal.released a report titled“Proxy-based reconstruc-

tionsofhemisphericandglobalsurfacetemperature variations over the pasttwo millennia” (http://www.pnas.org/content/105/�6/1�252.full.pdf), inwhichMann claims to show that the hockeystickwasnotjustastatisticaltrick.Hedidnotrelyontreeringsforthisreconstruc-tion,Mannsays,ashehad in the1998paper.

Butthisnewpapermeetsaverydiffer-entaudiencethanthatofthefirsthockeystick paper in 1998.This time, readershavebeeneducatedbytheworkofSteveMcintyre and Ross Mckitrick, on theirwebsite Climateaudit (www.climateaudit.org/),whichshowshowMann’sre-contructionsareput togetherbycherry-picking the data. Mcintyre has workedtirelesslytogetthedataandsourcecodesforthisandothergraphicsthattheglobalwarmerswillnotrelease.Sonow,Mann’slittlesecretshavebeenmadeavailabletoagoodpartofthescientificcommunity.

For those readers who would like tocheckouttheconstructionofthehockeystick,thereisashort,easy-to-understandonlineexperimentathttp://noconsensus.word-press.com/2008/09/20/o n l i n e -experiment-withthe-latest-hockey-stick/.

‘Climate Wars’ Meanwhile,tokeepthepressureofthe

global warming scare going, BBC2 in

GLOBALWARMINGUPDATE

GLOBAL WARMING UPDATE

compiled by Gregory Murphy

Greenpeace UK

Hansen and Gore made me do it?

http://www.pnas.org/content/105/36/13252.full.pdf

http://www.pnas.org/content/105/36/13252.full.pdf

http://www.climatescience.gov/

http://noconsensus.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/online-experiment-with-the-latest-hockey-stick/




Britainairedatwo-partprograminSep-tembercalled“TheClimateWars,”whichattemptedtoreturnthesacrediconbackto the respectibility it had in the 2001“IPCCThirdAssessmentReport.”Thatre-portfeaturedthehockeystickonitscov-er,andfivetimesinthetext.The“ClimateWars”programpointedoutthatMichaelMannwasnotaloneinfindingthetem-peraturehockeystick,butotherresearch-ershaddone soaswell.However,un-mentionedintheBBC2programis thatalloftheresearcherswhocameupwithsimilarhockeystickcurves,haveco-au-thoredpaperswithMann,orworkedei-therwithhimorPhilJones,thedirectorof theClimateResearchCenter inBrit-ain.

(Thoseglobalwarmerswholovetoat-tackthe“skeptics”asbeinginthehireoftheoilcompanies,shouldnotethat thisClimate Research Center was orginallyfundedbyShellOil.)

LordMoncktonisrightwhenhewroteinhis rebuttal to the latestMannpaper(http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/monckton_papers/rebuttal_of_rebuttal_

of_on_global_forces_of_nature_driving_the_earth_s_climate.html),thatMannetal.andU.S.climatescientistJamesHan-sen should be put on trial for crimesagainst humanity, because the policiesthattheypromotewillkillmillionsoftheworld’spoor.

New Zealand MP Calls Al Gore a Phony

Rodney Hide, ACT Party Leader andMemberofParliament,gaveaaspeechtoParliamentonSept.2,attackingthepro-posedemissionstradingschemeforNewZealand (http://nzclimatescience.net/in-dex.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=�42&Itemid=�0).“Theentireclimatechange-globalwarminghypoth-esisisahoax,thedataandthehypothesisdonotholdtogether,AlGoreisaphonyandafraudonthisissue,andtheemis-sionstradingschemeisaworldwidescamandswindle.”Hidesaid.

“EnactingthislegislationwillcostNewZealandersdear—thatisthepointofit—anditwilldriveupthecostsofbasicgoodsandservices forNewZealandersproba-

blybyatleast$500or$600ayear.”Hidealsonoted that if passed, this emissionstradingschemewoulddriveNewZealandfarmersoff their land,would sendbusi-nessesandjobsfromNewZealandwithnoenvironmentalgain,andwoulddolit-tleornothingforworldweather.

The only proof of man-made globalwarming was a computer model thatwas created by an “obsure U.S. physi-cist,” Hide said.That computer modelgivesatemperaturecurveintheshapeofa hockey stick, he said, and when theworld was given the computer model,researchersfoundthatyoucouldgetthesamehockeystickshapebyputtinginanysetofnumbers.“YoucouldtaketheWellington telephone directory, feed itintothemodelthattheIntergovernmen-tal Panel on Climate Chnage used in2001,andwewouldgetahockeystickthatsawtheworldrunningscared,thatsawpolicy-makersrunningscared,andsawAlGoremakehismoviebasedonit.”

Are Record Sales of Long Underwear Another Sign of Global Warming?

According to anarticleintheLondon Telegraph Aug. 22,sales of thermal un-derwear increased54 percent as com-pared to last year,while winter coatsales increased 76percentforthesametimeperiod.Depart-ment store Deben-hams’spokesmanEdWatsontoldtheTele-graph: “The awfulweather clearly hassomethingtodowiththishibernationhys-teria.” Watson alsonoted that with theincreasesinthecostofnaturalgas,itlookslikemanypeoplewillbeturningtotheirwardroberatherthanthecentralheating

GLOBALWARMINGUPDATE

USCCSP

The original Michael Mann hockey stick, shown here in the USCCSP report, cherry-picked its proxy temperature data. The “new” hockey stick uses only 5 percent of the available temperature proxy data.

Continued on page 55

Proof of global warming?

http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/monckton_papers/rebuttal_of_rebuttal_of_on_global_forces_of_nature_driving_the_earth_s_climate.html



http://nzclimatescience.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=342&Itemid=30




Reprocessing is thechemical separationofenergy-usablematerialsfromusednuclearfuel.Itpermitsfulluseofnu-clearmaterialsthatwouldprovideavirtuallyinexhaust-

ibleenergy resource thatdoesnotaddpollutants to theatmo-sphere. It isalsoneeded to separateweapons-usablematerialsfromnuclearwastessothattheweapons-usablematerialscanbetransmutedtonon-weaponsmaterialsforbeneficialuse,andthewastesdisposedofwithoutneedforindefinitesafeguards,whichcannotbeassured.

NuclearpowerplantsintheUnitedStatesandmostnationsuselessthan1percentoftheenergyinnuclearmaterials.Inthebestpossiblereprocessingconcept,essentiallyalloftheproductspro-ducedinnuclearreactorscouldberecoveredandputtobenefi-cialuses.

We Need to Reprocess Spent Nuclear Fuel,

AndCan Do It Safely, At Reasonable Costby Clinton Bastin

A veteran nuclear reprocessing expert for the U.S. government recounts the little-known history of America’s successful reprocessing program, and the unfortunate political decisions to thwart its progress.

Above: Spent nuclear fuel can be reprocessed into new fuel like this mixture of uranium and plutonium oxides, called MOX, shown here at AREVA’s MOX fabrication plant in France. One gram of MOX-recycled plutonium generates as much electricity as one ton of oil.

P. Lesage/AREVA


Decision-makersforeverylightwaterreactorbuiltintheworldtodatehadthefullexpectationthatspentfuelwouldberepro-cessed,theremainingenergyvalueswouldberecycledforpro-ductionofenergy,andtheweapons-usableplutoniumwouldbedestroyedinproducingpollution-freeelectricity.

Reprocessing,integratedwithmixeduranium-plutoniumfuelfabricationinawell-designed,well-managedfuelrecyclecom-plex, would assure that weapons-usable materials would re-maininaccessibleuntiltheyweretransmutedtonon-weaponsusablematerials.Reprocessingand recycleare thusessentialcomponentsofgoodnonproliferationpractice.

Iwouldliketoexplainhowlossofreprocessingislargelytheresultofmanyyearsofmismanagement,misinformation,andmisdirectionbytheDepartmentofEnergyanditspredecessors,beginningin1944.IwouldalsoliketosettherecordstraightandmakethecaseforrestartingU.S.reprocessingonthesuc-cessfulmodeloftheSavannahRiverPlant,whichwasoperatedfortheU.S.governmentbyDuPont,from1950to1989.

Savannah River vs. the Laboratory ModelTheSavannahRiverPlanthadasuccessful,safe,andefficient

reprocessinghistory,onanindustriallevel,operatedbytheDu-PontCompany(Bebbington1990).DuPonthadalsosuccessfullymanagedreprocessingforthenuclearmaterialsproductionpro-gramsoftheManhattanProject(HewlettandAnderson1972).ThoseexperiencesprovidefullassurancesthatreprocessingofusedfuelsfromnuclearpowerplantsintheUnitedStates,andthoseinothernations,couldbedonesafely,successfully,cost-effectively,andwithoutacrediblethreatofproliferation.

DuPontbecameinvolvedinreprocessinginOctober1942.ManhattanProjectdirector,GeneralLeslieGroves,recognizedthatthecomplexitiesofreprocessingneededtosupportalargenuclearprogramwouldbeadifficultchallengeeventothemostexperiencedchemicalengineeringorganization.HeaskedE.I.DuPontdeNemoursandCompanytodesign,build,andcarryout experiments in a reprocessingpilot plant, and todesign,buildandoperateproduction-scalereprocessingfacilities.

ManhattanProjectscientistsweredisappointedwiththedeci-siontouseindustrialcorporations.Theybelievedthattheyhadearnedtherighttocarryouttheirworktocompletionandwereabletodoso.Butmostofthesescientistshadnoexperienceop-eratingcomplextechnologyonanindustrialscale.

RecognizingtheimportanceoftheManhattanProjecteffort,DuPontacceptedGeneralGroves’srequest,butinsistedthatDu-Pontprovidecorporatemanagementfor theactivityandengi-neeringdesignformajorprojects,similartothoseforitscommer-cial activities. DuPont also requested that Manhattan Projectscientistswhohaddevelopedreprocessingprocessesparticipateinpilotplantexperiments.

The reprocessingpilotplantbuilt atOakRidge,Tennessee,wasnotconfiguredforextendedoperationormaintenance; itwas intended foronlya fewexperiments toassuresuccess inscalingupforproductionfacilities.Afterafewexperimentstoconfirmandimproveprocessconceptsdevelopedbythescien-

tists,DuPontleftOakRidgetobuildandoperatetheHanfordEngineeringWorksinWashington,whichincludedthreelarge,canyon-typereprocessingplants.

Theplantdesignwascalleda“canyon”becauseoftheverylarge—60 feet high, 700- to 1,100-feet long—thick-walled,heavilyreinforcedconcretestructure,inwhichremotelyoper-atedandmaintainedequipmentwasinstalledatthebottomtocarryoutthechemicalprocessing.Alargecraneforrapidre-movalandreplacementoffailedequipmentwasatthetopofthecanyon,andtherewasroomtomovefailedequipmentoutofthecanyonspace.Fromabovetheprocessingequipment,thestructurelookslikeacanyon.

Thecanyonsandprocessingequipment,piping,andinstru-mentswere configured for safe andhigh capacityoperation;containmentofradioactivityunderallcredibleconditions,in-cludingfiresandexplosions;goodmaterialaccountability;rap-id,remoteremovalandreplacementoffailedequipment;andrapidmovetofullproductivityafterthestartofoperations.

The“T”canyonatHanfordwasoperatedsafely,successfully,andwithminimalradiationexposuretoworkerstorecoverplu-toniumfromirradiatednaturaluraniumbyaprecipitationpro-cess(HewlettandAnderson1972).

The“U”canyonwasusedshortlyafterWorldWarIItorecov-eruraniumnotrecoveredearlier,usingasolventextractionpro-cess(BastinA).The“B”canyonwasusedmanyyearslatertorecoverisotopesfromnuclearwaste.

After the war, in 1946, the General Electric Company as-

Editor’s Note:Thishighlyinformeddescriptionofthefi-ascowhichbefellnuclearfuelreprocessingintheUnitedStates,pennedbyoneofthenation’sleadingexpertsinthefield,shouldbeknowntoeveryAmericanandeveryper-soninterestedinthefutureofmankind.Thereadershouldalsobeawareofapoint,notaddressedinthisarticle,thatmoreadvancedscientifictechniques,suchasplasmaiso-topeseparation,basedonnewphysicalprinciples,willsomedaybeapplicabletobothnuclearfuelenrichmentandreprocessing.Althoughthesemoremodernmethodshavenotyetbeenbroughttothedevelopmentstage,thatisonlybecauseofthecontinuingoppositiontoscientificinnovation,whichispartofthedesignforworldpopula-tionreductionandzerotechnologicalgrowthfrompow-erfulpoliticalandfinancialforces.

Oneofthesemethods,atomicvaporlaserisotopesepa-ration (AVLIS),developedin the1980s foruraniumen-richment, was brought to fruition; a pilot facility wascompletedatLawrenceLivermoreNationalLaboratoryin1997, which demonstrated industrial capability, usingfull-scalehardwareoveraseveral-monthperiod.Butun-derprivatization,theprogramwasshutdownonthebasisthattheoldenrichmenttechnologywouldprovidelargershareholder dividends in the immediate term. Anothertechnology, the fusion plasma torch, conceived in the1960s,despitegreatpromise,hasmetasimilarfate.


sumedresponsibilityforoperationsatHanford,butdidnotpro-videcorporatemanagementoftheactivity.Significantproblemsdeveloped, particularly in the PUREX reprocessing plant.(PUREXstandsforPlutoniumandUraniumRecoverybyExtrac-tion.)Amongthemostsevereproblemswasclosecouplingofprocesssystems,whichresultedintheplanttakingalongtimetoreachfullproductivityafterthestartofoperations.

Therewasalsoa lackofstoragecapacity fornuclearwastegeneratedduringstartup,whichresultedintheneedtodisposeoflargeamountsofnuclearwastetosoils.Thisproblemwasmost

difficultduringtheinitialattempttostartoperationsaftercom-pletionofconstruction,in1956,andresultedinatwo-yeardelayinoperations.In1972,HanfordPUREXwasshutdownbecauseitcouldnotbeoperatedwithoutlargereleasesofnuclearwastetosoils,whichwasthenaviolationofAECrules(BastinE).

The Oak Ridge Pilot Plant.AfterDuPontleftOakRidge,Man-hattan Project scientists who had participated in experimentscontinuedtooperatethepilotplantandrecovered�26.�9gramsofplutonium(Jolleyetal.1994).However,thepilotplantmanag-ersbelievedtheyhadrecoveredseveral kilogramsofplutonium.

Theconceptofusednuclearfuelas“nuclearwaste”isafictioncreatedbytheopponentsofnuclearenergy.Usednu-clearfuelisn’twasteatall,butarenewableresourcethatcanbereprocessedintonewnuclearfuelandvaluableisotopes.

Whenweenteredthenuclearage, thegreatpromiseofnuclearenergywasitsrenewability,makingitaninexpensiveandefficientwaytoproduceelectricity.Itwasassumedthatthenationsmakinguseofnuclearenergywouldreprocesstheirspentfuel,completingthenuclearfuelcyclebyrecy-clingthenuclearfuelafteritwasburnedinareactor,toex-tractthe95to99percentofunuseduraniuminitthatcanbeturnedintonewfuel.

ThismeansthatiftheUnitedStatesburiesits70,000met-rictonsofspentnuclearfuel,wewouldbewasting66,000metrictonsofuranium-2�8,whichcouldbeusedtomakenewfuel.Inaddition,wewouldbewastingabout1,200met-ric tonsof fissileuranium-2�5andplutonium-2�9,whichcanalsobeburnedasfuel.Becauseofthehighenergyden-sityinthenucleus,thisrelativelysmallamountofU.S.spentfuel(itwouldfitinonesmallhouse)isequivalentinenergytoabout20percentoftheU.S.oilreserves.

About96percentofthespentfueltheUnitedStatesisnowstoringcanbeturnedintonewfuel.The4percentoftheso-

calledwaste that remains—2,500metric tons—consistsofhighlyradioactivematerials,butthesearealsousable.Thereareabout80tonseachofcesium-1�7andstrontium-90thatcouldbeseparatedoutforuseinmedicalapplications,suchassterilizationofmedicalsupplies.

Usingisotopeseparationtechniques,andfast-neutronbom-bardment for transmutation (technologies that the UnitedStatespioneeredbutnowrefusestodevelop),wecouldsepa-rateoutallsortsofisotopes,likeamericium,whichisusedinsmokedetectors,orisotopesusedinmedicaltestingandtreat-ment.Rightnow,theUnitedStatesmustimport90percentofitsmedicalisotopes,usedin40,000medicalproceduresdaily.

Thediagramshowsaclosednuclearfuelcycle.Atpresent,theUnitedStateshasnoreprocessing,andstoresspentfuelinpoolsordrystorageatnuclearplants.Existingnuclearre-actorsuseonlyabout1percentofthetotalenergyvalueinuraniumresources;fastreactorswithfuelrecyclewoulduseessentially100percent,burningupalloftheuraniumandactinides,thelong-livedfissionproducts.

Inaproperlymanagedandsafeguardedsystem,thepluto-niumproducedinfastreactorswouldremaininitsspentfueluntilneededforrecycle.Thus,thereneedbenoexcessbuild-upof accessible plutonium.Theplutoniumcould alsobe

fabricateddirectlyintonewreactorfuelassembliestobeburnedinnuclearplants.—Marjorie Mazel Hecht

(1) Mining

(2) Milling

(3) Conversion

(4) Enrichment

(5) Fuel fabrication

(6) Nuclear reactor

(7) Spent fuel reprocessing

Interim storage

Recovered Plutonium

Recovered Uranium

Recovered isotopes from 3% high level waste

Front end of cycle

Back end of cycle

Completing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan

Ninety-seven percent of spent nuclear fuel is reusable!

21st Century Science & Technology Summer2008 1�

Relyingon the statementsbyOakRidgeNationalLaboratorymanag-ers about their successful produc-tioncampaignintheOakRidgepi-lot reprocessing plant, AtomicEnergy Commission managersasked ORNL scientists and engi-neerstodirectthedesign,construc-tion, and start-upoperationof theIdaho Chemical Processing Plant(ICPP), which was configured likethe Oak Ridge pilot reprocessingplant.TheICPPwasbuilttorepro-cessallhighlyenricheduraniumir-radiatedinU.S.nuclearreactors,in-cluding those operated at theSavannahRiverPlantforproductionoftritiumfortheweaponsprogram.

ProblemsattheIdahoPlantwereapparent during early attempts atstart-up,in1952.Ventilationfilterstopre-vent the release of radioactivity becamepluggedandwere removed.Productivityformanyyearswasonlyafewpercentofrated capacity. The American CyanamidCorporationhadbeenselectedtooperatetheIdahoPlant,butrealizedthatthefacil-itycouldnotbeoperatedsafelyorsuccess-fully,andleft.PhillipsPetroleumCompany,whichoperatedtheMaterialsTestReactorat the Idaho site,agreed tooperate theIdahoPlant,butdidnotprovideadequatecorporatemanagement(Jolleyetal.1994).

The Savannah River SuccessIn 1950, President Harry S. Truman

emphasizedDuPont’ssuccessindesign,construction,andoperationoftheHan-fordEngineerWorksinaJuly25letterrequestingthatDuPontdesign,construct,andoperatetheSavannahRiverPlant(Beb-bington1990,BastinC).

Again, operations by DuPont were highly successful. TheAtomic Energy Commission reported that the company hadachievedthebest-eversafetyforbothconstructionandoperation(USAEC1975).FactorscriticaltosuccessfuloperationintheDu-pont reprocessingplantswere theplant configuration, equip-mentandpipinglayout,typeofequipment,remotabilityfeatures,remotemaintenancesystem,intersystemtankage,samplingsys-tems, ventilation, containment, safeguards andaccountability,and soon. Itwasdemonstrated that significantdifferences inthesenon-processcomponentscouldmakeasmuchastwoor-dersofmagnitudedifferenceinoperabilityorunitcostofopera-tions—andcouldinsomecasesprecludeoperations.

ThetworeprocessingplantsatSavannahRiver,“F”and“H”

canyons,reachedfull-capacityoperationwithinafewweeksaf-tercompletionofconstruction,reprocessingirradiatednaturaluraniumforproductionofplutoniumfortheweaponsprogram.TheplantsusedthePUREXsystem(seebox,p.14).Highlyen-richeduranium fuels irradiated inSavannahRiver reactors toproduce tritium for weapons use were shipped to the Idahoplantforreprocessing.

Butby1957,thelowproductivityoftheICPPresultedinlargeaccumulationsofirradiatedhighlyenricheduraniumfuelsfromSavannahRiverreactors.Toavoidathreattotritiumandnuclearweaponsproduction,adecisionwasmadetoincreasetheca-pacityofthe“F”reprocessingplantattheSavannahRiverPlantforreprocessingofnaturalandlowenricheduraniumfuelsforproductionofplutonium,andtoconvertthe“H”reprocessingplanttoreprocesshighlyenricheduranium.

InOctober1957,theAtomicEnergyCommissionissuedits

W.P. Bebbington, History of DuPont at the Savannah River Plant

Aerial photo of the Savannah River Plant, which operated from the early 1950s until 1989.


A “canyon” reprocessing building in construction at the Savannah River Plant operated by DuPont. The key to the plant’s success was the industrial production methods which focussed on safety and high capacity operation.


summaryreport,“AECReferenceFuel-ProcessingPlant(WASH74�),”whichitpresentedasamodelfornuclearpowerplantfuelreprocessing.ThemodelwasbasedontheORNL-builtIda-hoPlant,whichthereport indicatedhadoperatednot at less than 3 percent,butat80percentproductivity—anoverstate-mentbyafactorof�0(BastinF)!TheAtomicEnergyCommis-sionproposedtousetheORNL/ICPPtechnologyforreprocess-ingU.S.nuclearpowerplantfuels,andalsobegantotransfertheORNL/ICPPreprocessingtechnologytomanyothernations,in-cludingIndia(BastinI).

Earlier,theU.S.AtomicEnergyCommission,asthefirstsup-plyof“AtomsforPeace,”hadprovidedheavywaterforuseinreactorssuppliedbyCanada.ThesereactorsweresimilartotheoneoperatedbyCanada,underamutualsecurityagreement,toproduce plutonium for U.S. nuclear weapons. Supply of theORNL/ICPPreprocessingtechnologypermittedrecoveryoftheplutoniumproducedinthesereactors.Indiauseditsplutoniumfromoneofthesereactorsforanuclearexplosivetest,in1974,andlaterfornuclearweapons(BastinI).SupplyoftheORNL/ICPPreprocessingtechnologyalsounderminedAmerica’smostimportant nonproliferation initiative, the policy for return of

usedfuelofU.S.originorfromreactorssuppliedbytheUnitedStates(BastinB).

The ICPP: A Failed ModelTheuseandexportofICPPreprocessingtechnologyalsoledto

thefailureofcommercialreprocessingintheUnitedStates,in-steadofthesuccessitcouldhavebeen,andtoproblemswithre-processingworldwide.Thefailureofnuclearandpoliticalleaderstorecognizethedifferencebetweensuccessfulandfailedrepro-cessingledtothemyththatreprocessingwasaproliferationthreatandshouldbedeferred.Itsdeferralprecludedresponsibledispos-alofnuclearwastes,anargumentusedtojustifythelongmorato-riumonnewnuclearpowerplantsintheUnitedStates.

Agoodunderstandingofexperienceprovidesabasis forabetterapproachforreprocessingthatwillleadtomoreviablenuclearprograms.Particularlyimportantinreprocessingare:

• differencesbetweenlaboratory-typereprocessingandthatneededfornuclearpower,

• thebasisfordecisionsthatledtosuccessfulandunsuccess-fulreprocessing,and

• theDuPontdesignfora“SpentLWRFuelRecycleCom-

Separationofuraniumandplutoni-um from high-level waste and fromeachotherinanuclearfuelreprocess-ingplantisaccomplishedusingmixer-settler chemical process equipment.Thinkofthisoperationaslikeabottleof Italian dressing.The vinegar/watermixtureonthebottomsimulatestheni-tric acid/water solution of uranium,plutonium,andfissionproductsinthefeedtoamixer-settler.Thesaladoilontop simulates the tri-butyl-phosphate/kerosene mixture used to extract theuraniumandplutonium.

Addtheproperchemicalstotheker-osene(oil)inthetopofthebottle,shakethoroughly, and the plutonium anduranium are extracted into the kero-sene,leavingthefissionproducts(high-levelwaste)inthenitricacid/wateratthebottomof thebottle.Pouroff thekerosene containing the plutoniumanduranium,addsomedifferentchem-icals,thenmixthekerosenewithcon-centratednitricacid.Theplutoniumisextracted into the nitric acid, leavingtheuraniuminthekerosene.

Simple.Exceptnotsosimpleinaradiationfieldwhereex-posureforabout20secondswouldbealethaldoseofradia-tion.Astheshort-livedfissionproductsinspentfueldecay

overaperiodoftime,theradiationisreduced,andafterafewhundredyearstheprocessbecomesalmostassimpleasde-scribedhere.

PUREX: How Reprocessing Works


Looking down on a 60-foot high canyon cell, showing typical process vessels and connectors that separate uranium and plutonium from spent fuel.


plex”thatwouldhaveavoidedaccessto,andaccumula-tionsof, separatedplutoniumand resolvedotherprob-lemsandconcerns(DuPont1978).

TheinitialAtomicEnergyCommissionprogramfordis-positionofusednuclearpowerplantfuelswasbasedonreceipt,storage,andreprocessingatSavannahRiverPlantfacilities,operatedbyDuPont(BastinB).ButsomeAtomicEnergyCommissionofficialspromotedtheconceptidenti-fiedintheAtomicEnergyCommissionReferenceFuelRe-processingPlant,citedabove(USAEC1957).TheIndus-trialReprocessingGroup,composedofofficialsofearlynuclearpowerplantvendorsandoperators,andDavisonChemicalCompany(adivisionofW.R.GraceandCom-pany),withconsultantsfromtheIdahoplant,OakRidgeNationalLaboratory,andHanford(butnottheSavannahRiverPlant),endorsedtheORNL/ICPPconcept,andcom-mercial reprocessingusing thisconceptwas initiatedatWestValley,N.Y.,inafacilitydestinedforfailure.

ProblemsatWestValleybeganimmediatelyafterstart-up.Productivityof�0percentwasachieved,butprocesslossesandradiationexposurestoworkersweremorethana factor of 10 larger than those at the Savannah RiverPlant,andfinalproductsoftenfailedtomeetspecifica-tions.Duringthesixthandfinalyearofoperation,averageradiationexposurestopersonnelwerewellaboveFederalstandardsandrising,and thereleaseof radioactivity tosurface streams exceeded technical specifications. In1972,AtomicEnergyCommissionregulatoryauthoritiesorderedahaltofoperations(Low1972).

OperationsattheIdahoPlant,meanwhile,continuedatverylowproductivity,andby1966,inventoriesofusedhighlyenrichedfuelsatIdahoapproachedthetotalstor-agecapacity.TheAtomicEnergyCommissioncarriedoutareviewforreprocessingofthesefuels,andsomeofthefuelswerereassignedtotheSavannahRiverPlantanddeliveredthere(BastinC).However,ICPPoperatorspublisheda“MultipleFuelsProcessingProgram”report thatshowedaneconomicadvan-tageforreprocessingofcertainhighlyenricheduraniumfuelsattheICPP,andtheAtomicEnergyCommissiondecidedtocon-tinueoperationsthere.

Subsequent annual Multiple Fuels Processing Program re-portsshowedattractiveeconomicsforreprocessingattheIdahoPlant(USAEC1968andff.).In1967,theAlliedChemicalCom-panyacceptedresponsibility foroperationof the ICPP.AlliedChemical managers reviewed the Multiple Fuels ProcessingProgramreportswhichhadindicatedattractiveeconomicsforreprocessing,and,inpartnershipwithGeneralAtomicsCorpo-ration,asAlliedGeneralNuclearServices(AGNS),decidedtobuildtheBarnwellNuclearFuel(reprocessing)PlantinSouthCarolina,atanestimatedcostof$40million(BastinC).

More Failed Reprocessing IdeasAt the same time, the San Diego-based company General

AtomicswasattemptingtocommercializeitsHighTemperature

Gas-cooled Reactors, which required reprocessing. GeneralAtomicsreliedonthefavorablefuel-cycleeconomics,basedonreprocessinginaconceptualplantdesignedbytheICPPtechni-calstaff.Federalfundingof$�0millionwasprovidedformodi-ficationoftheIdahoPlanttopermitdemonstrationofHTGRfuelreprocessing(BastinC,D).(HTGRfuelconsistsoftinyparticlesofuranium,eachencasedinlayersofgraphiteandspecialce-ramics;thesefuelparticlesarethenformedintorodsortennis-ballsize“pebbles.”)

In 1974, Allied Chemical and General Atomics officialslearnedthat:

• StatementsofproductioninannualMultipleFuelsProcess-ingProgramreports,whichindicatedfavorableeconomicsforreprocessingattheIdahoPlant,wereoverstatedbyafactorof5(BastinF).

• ThecostsoftheconceptualHTGRfuelreprocessingplantwereunderestimatedbyafactorof10.

• Thecost formodificationof the IdahoPlant topermit ademonstrationofHTGRfuelreprocessingwasunderestimatedbymorethanafactorof10.

The Atomic Energy Commission then abandoned plans to

DOE

The Idaho Chemical Processing Plant was built on the model of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory pilot plant, and was plagued with fail-ures and low productivity. Here, a view of the interior of the ICPP.


demonstrate HTGR fuel reprocessing, andGeneralAtomicsabandonedplanstocommer-cializetheHTGR(BastinE).OfficialsofAlliedGeneralNuclearServices,awarethatthecon-cept adopted for the Barnwell reprocessingplantwasnotvalid,notifiedtheAtomicEnergyCommissionthatitwouldnotoperatetheplantforcommercialreprocessingandproposedthatitbeoperatedasagovernmentdemonstration.

Duringthesametimeperiod,GeneralElectricbuilttheMidwestFuelRecoveryPlantatMorris,Illinois.Inanattempttoreducesizeandcapitalcost,GEusedmuchmorecomplexprocessesforreprocessingthanthoseusedatSavannahRiver.Numerous equipment failures and problemswereencountered incold testing thatmade itimpossibletooperatetheplant,andGEseniorexecutivescarriedoutacorporatereviewofthetechnicalandoperationalcapabilityoftheplant,which identified many problems. Among themostsignificantwasthefollowing:

“Itthusappearsthatthetimerequiredtosta-bilizetheprocessandobtainusefuloutputmaywellexceedthemeantimebetweenfailure.Ifthisshouldbethecase,itwouldbedifficulttobeabletorunlongenoughtoobtainsomeout-put,andtimeoperatingefficiency(productivi-ty)wouldbeclosetozero.”

GEdecidednottooperatethatplant(Reed1974).

Reprocessing in Other NationsNuclearprogramleadersinBritain,France,Germany,India,

Japan,andtheSovietUnionwereawareofproblemswiththeOakRidge/Idahopilotplant reprocessing technologyand thesuccessofDuPonttechnology.In1970,Frenchreprocessorsvis-itedtheUnitedStateswithapromiseofaccesstoDuPonttech-nology,butafter theirarrival, theAtomicEnergyCommissiondeniedthemaccess(BastinC).

TheSovietUniongainedanunderstandingofDuPonttech-nologythroughintelligenceefforts,butinitsownreprocessingplants,itdidnotprovideadequateprotectionagainstaccidents,contrarytotheDuPontsystem(BastinC).

BritainhadaccesstoDuPonttechnologythroughaclassifiedcooperativeagreement,butreliedonaphilosophyof“nomain-tenance”—again, contrary to the DuPont system—until therewasasevereaccidentinanearlyBritishreprocessingfacilityin197�(BastinC,E).

FranceattemptedmanagementofreprocessingbyitsAtomicEnergyCommissionandencounteredseriousproblems.Itstech-nologywasbasedlargelyontheOakRidge/Idahopilotplantreprocessingconcept,withprovisionforrapidremovalofcer-tainmoresensitiveprocessequipment(Bastin2007).Sincethecreationofastatecorporation,COGEMA,Francehasimproved

reprocessing,and,intheabsenceofDuPontreprocessingtech-nology,hasdominatedworldreprocessingactivities.However,thehighcostandotherfeaturesofthemostrecentFrench-builtreprocessingplant,thatofJapanatRokkashoMura,raiseseriousquestionsabouttheFrenchtechnology.

Afterathoroughreviewofreprocessingsuccessesandfail-ures,andparticularlyof thefailuresandotherproblemswithcommercial reprocessing, theAtomic Energy Commission in1974reassignedresponsibilityforsupportofcommercialfuelreprocessingtoDuPontwithitsemphasisonsafe,successful,cost-effectivereprocessing.AtameetingatitsNewYorkofficesin July1974, theEdisonElectric InstituteNuclearFuelCycleCommitteeexpressedstrongsupportforthisreassignment.

The DuPont Facility That Was Never BuiltDuPont carried out its own research and development and

supportedoutsideworkfocussedonconceptualdesignstudiesforalicensedfuelrecyclecomplex.Thedesignstudieswerecom-pletedinNovember1978andreportsissued.Costsforthe�,000tons/yearintegratedfuelreprocessing/fabricationfacilitywerees-timatedat$�.7billion.Specialfeaturesofthisfacilityincluded:

• noaccesstooraccumulationofseparatedplutonium,

DOE

Despite the problems known with the Oak Ridge/Idaho Plant concept, the West Valley, N.Y. commercial reprocessing plant was built using this concept, instead of the successful method of the Savannah River Plant. It was a facility “destined for failure,” Bastin says. Here, the fuel receiving and storage area at the West Val-ley plant in 1982.


• totallossofplutoniumtowasteforfuelrecyclewouldbeabout5percentofthatlostintheU.S.commercialnuclearfuelrecycleprogram,

• high-levelnuclearwasteswouldbepreparedforlong-termisolationinageologicrepositoryandtherewouldbenostorageofliquidwastesinundergroundtanks,

• indefinite(hundredsofyears)lifeoffacility,• flexibility for major changes, including processing other

typesoffuels,• costsforreprocessingofaboutone-fourthofthatofcurrent

reprocessingprices,and• otherfeaturesbasedonsuccessfulreprocessingexperienc-

esattheSavannahRiverPlant(DuPont1978;BastinE,G).Manyproblemsandconcernsaboutreprocessingworldwide

wouldhavebeenresolved,iftherehadbeenacontinuationofre-searchanddevelopmentbyDuPont,thesubsequentconstructionandoperationoftheDuPontfacility,andasharingofthetechnol-

ogywithothernationswhichhadlargenuclearpowerprogramsandwiththeInternationalAtomicEnergyAgency(BastinH).

ButinJanuary1975,undertheFordAdministration,programsoftheAtomicEnergyCommissionweretransferredtoanewlycreatedagency,theEnergyResearchandDevelopmentAdmin-istration.NuclearprogramleadersinthenewERDAdidnotun-derstandthecomplexitiesofreprocessing,setasidethosewhodid,andtransferredprogramresponsibilitiesbacktotheOfficeofNuclearEnergy,successortotheAtomicEnergyCommissionDivisionofReactorDevelopment.

PresidentsGeraldFordandJimmyCartercarriedoutmajorpolicyreviewsofreprocessingwith no input from persons who understood the technologyandwhoknewwhathadhappenedthatledtosuccesses,failures,proliferation,andotherproblems.Theindefinitedeferralofefficientuseofnuclearenergyresourc-es and responsible disposal of nuclear wastes resulting fromthesereviewsweremajorfactorscontributingtothelongmora-

Thechemicalprocessesusedinreprocessingareonlyonecomponent of reprocessing “technology.” Also critical tosuccessfuloperationaretheplantconfiguration,equipmentandpipinglayout,typeofequipment,remotecontrolfea-tures, remote maintenance system, intersystem tankage,samplingsystems,ventilation,containment,safeguardsandaccountability,andsoon.

Significant differences in these non-process componentscouldmakeasmuchastwoordersofmagnitudedifferenceinoperabilityorunitcostofoperations—andcouldinsomecasesprecludeoperations.

Duringthemid-1950stomid-1970s,theIdahoChemicalProcessingPlantandthereprocessingfacilitiesattheSavan-nahRiverPlantusedsimilarprocesses,butoperability(andmanyotherimportantparameters)werevastlydifferent.

On-streamtimeduringperiodsofproductdemandweremorethan80percentatSavannahRiver,andonlyabout2to�percentattheIdahoPlant.Failureofamajorpieceofequip-mentresultedinonedayoflostoperatingtimeatSavannahRiver,anduptoonetotwoyearsattheIdahoPlant.Returntoequilibrium(thatis,productiveoperation)aftershutdownformaintenance,accountability,orotherreasonsatSavannahRiverwouldtakeafewminutes;itwouldtakeabout�0daysattheIdahoPlantandabout8daysattheHanfordPUREXfacility.

TheDuPontplantwasdesignedwithmoresafetyprotec-tionsforplantworkers.Forexample,equipmentmaintenanceattheIdahoPlantresultedinlargeradiationexposuretoper-sonnel, because personnel were required to enter processcellsfordirectmaintenanceofequipment.AverageradiationexposurestooperatingandmaintenancepersonnelattheIda-hoPlantwereaboutafactorof�higherthanatSavannahRiv-erandHanfordonanoverallbasis,andafactorofsome50to100timeshigheronaunitofproductionbasis.

The Reprocessing Facility


Looking down on a 60-foot high canyon cell, showing typical process vessels and connectors that separate uranium and plu-tonium from spent fuel.


toriumonnewnuclearpowerplantsintheUnitedStates.UnderPresidentCarter,ERDAwasdissolvedandtheDepartmentofEn-ergywasorganizedtotakeitsplacein1977.

Nuclearprogram leaders in theDOEsetaside informationfromDuPontaboutreprocessingthatwouldhaveresolvedprob-lems,andinsteadtheysupporteduseanddevelopmentoflabo-ratoryconceptsthathadnopotentialforsuccess.Noinforma-tion about the success-based concepts was provided toPresidentsCarterorReagan.

PresidentReaganwaselectedin1980onaplatformofsup-portforreprocessing,butwasunwillingtosupportoperationoftheBarnwellPlant.

TheDOEfundedthedevelopmentofanOakRidgeNationalLaboratoryconceptforreprocessingwiththePUREXprocess,but incorporatingaverycomplex, in-placemaintenance sys-tem,untilacostestimatebasedondetaileddesignindicatedanexceptionallyhighcost.TheORNLprogramcontinuedasacol-laborativedevelopmentwithJapan,andthecomplexmainte-nancesystemwasincorporatedintheveryexpensiveJapanesereprocessingplantatRokkashoMura.

In1990,theOakRidgeprogramwasphasedout,inordertofunddevelopmentofanArgonneNationalLaboratorypyropro-

cessingconceptforseparatinguranium,plutonium,andotherheavy elements from highly radioactive waste in fast reactorfuel.Thepyrometallurgicalprocessisclaimedtobeprolifera-tion-resistant.AnevaluationbyDOEstaffknowledgeableaboutreprocessing revealed that the conceptwasneither prolifera-tion-resistantnorappropriateforreprocessing(seebox,p.19).TherewasnodisagreementwiththisevaluationbyDepartmentofEnergyorArgonneNationalLaboratoryofficials,butsupportfortheconceptcontinues.

Advanced Reprocessing TechnologiesTheDOEnowproposesfundingforso-called“advancedre-

processingtechnologies”aspartofitsGlobalNuclearEnergyPartnership (GNEP) initiative, but the processes proposed —UREX+andpyroprocessing—areneitheradvancednorappro-priateforreprocessingofusednuclearfuels.

DecisionsofManhattanProjectDirectorGen.LeslieGrovesin1942,andPresidentTrumanin1950,thatresultedinsuccess-fulreprocessinginthepastprovideamodeltodayforsuccessfulreprocessingofnuclearpowerplantfuels.SimilardecisionsofAtomicEnergyCommissionleadersin1959and1974wouldhaveledtosuccessandavoidedmanyproblems.Notealsothat

ThecostsforreprocessingintheDuPont-designedLWRFuelRecycleComplexwouldhavebeenabout$250perkilogramofura-nium.Thiscomparestoabout$1,000perki-logramchargedbytheBritishandFrenchforreprocessing,and$5,000to$15,000perki-logram for reprocessing in the French-builtfacilityatRokkashoMurainJapan.

ThemajorreasonforthedifferencesincostisthatthereismuchhigherproductivitywiththeDuPontdesignbecauseofitsshortertimefor replacement or repair of failed processequipment,piping,andinstruments,andtheshorter time to full productivity afeter thestart-upofoperations.

The much higher cost of reprocessing attheRokkashoplant is the resultof amuchmorecomplex—andexpensive—laboratory-type, in-place remotemaintenance system.In-placemaintenanceresultsingreaterlossofoperatingtime,comparedwiththemuchmore simple, rapid, remote equipment re-placementsystemofDuPont,followedbyhands-onrepairatleisure.

The Cost of Not ReprocessingOfcourse,thegreatestdifferenceincostisthatbetween

reprocessingandnotreprocessing.Without reprocessing,highly radioactivewastes inused

fuelcannotbepermanentlydisposedofwithout indefinite

assuranceofsafeguardsforweapons-usablematerialsintheusedfuel—whichisimpossible.Themoratoriumonnewnu-clearpowerplantordersintheUnitedStatesbeganinthesameyear—1974—thatcommercialreprocessingstopped.

ThismoratoriumisthegreatestreasonforAmerica’sener-gycrisisandresultingeconomicchallenges, including thehugebudgetdeficitsinCalifornia.

The Cost of Reprocessing

Atomic Energy Commission of Japan

The now-operating Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant in Japan, when it was un-der construction. Its operating costs are higher, Bastin says, because it did not incorporate the successful concepts of Savannah River.


by Clinton Bastin

In1991,IwasassignedbyDOE’sOfficeofNuclearEnergytodevelopcriteriaforevaluationofaplanneddemonstration of DOE’s IntegralFastReactor(IFR)“proliferation-re-sistant,” “pyroprocess-based” fuelcycle.IvisitedDOEsitesinChicagoandIdahotoinspectprocessequip-mentanddetailsofplanneddem-onstration operation, and learnedthatDOEplanswereforademon-strationofaprocess,nottechnolo-gy,andthatquestionsofoperability,maintainability, safeguardability,andcontainmentofradioactivity—major problems with commercialreprocessing—would not havebeenresolved.

Of greatest concern were greatdifficulties for material balancemeasurementsandhighplutoniumlosses.Thesefindingsledtoacon-clusion that the safeguards chal-lenge would be difficult and theprocess as planned would not beproliferation-resistantnorviableforcommercialnuclearfuelrecycle.

Concernsabouttheplanneddem-onstrationwerereviewedwithDOEandDOElaboratoryman-agementandtechnicalstaffwithoutsignificantdisagreement,andaresummarizedhere:

(1)Processestobeusedweresimilartothoseusedforplu-toniummetalprocessingintheAtomicEnergyCommissionweaponprograms.Muchgreaterdifficultywasexperiencedin plutonium metal processing than in properly designedaqueous reprocessing. Large accumulationsof scrapwerenormalatallplutoniummetalplants,exceptforthoseattheSavannahRiverPlantwhere scrapwas immediately redis-solvedandreturnedtoreprocessing.

Inearlier,similarfuelcycleexperiments,largeamountsofscrapwereshippedtotheIdahoChemicalProcessingPlantforrecovery.

(2)EquipmentproposedfortheDOEfuelcyclewasmuchmorecomplexthanthatusedinaqueousreprocessing(thePUREXsystem)andwouldhavebeenverydifficulttomain-tainforreasonableon-streamtime.In-situmanipulator-typemaintenance would be needed.The rapid, remote equip-ment-replacement system used in successful reprocessingwouldnotbeappropriate.

(�) Material measurement in the electrorefiner was ex-tremely difficult under cold, development conditions and

was performed only about everyyearortwointhedevelopmentfa-cility.Measurementoffullyirradi-atedfuelinaremoteenvironmentwould be far more difficult; thus,material accountability and safe-guardswouldbevirtuallyimpossi-ble.

(4) High process losses (10-20percent)wereexperienced,partic-ularly in the fuel fabrication step,andhighprocesslosseswouldhavebeenlikelyinelectrorefining.This,combinedwithmeasurementdiffi-culties,makessignificantdiversiondetectionimpossible.

(5)Operationsinaremoteenvi-ronment are about three times asdifficultasoperationsinglovebox-es;operationsinaninertenviron-ment are similarly more difficult.Thecombinationcontemplatedforthe IFR fuel cycle might be tentimesasdifficultasthoseingloveboxes,oraboutthreetimesasdif-ficult as those in aqueous repro-cessing, without consideration ofthe more complex equipmentplannedfor theIFRprocess.High

temperatureswouldfurtherincreasedifficulties.(6)TheIFRprocessrequiresuseofexoticmaterialsthatare

notavailableinforms/shapesneeded.Researchformaterialswasunderway,buttherewasnoexperiencebaseforuseofthesematerials.

(7) Inter-process transfer of nuclear materials requiresphysicalmovementofcontainersofnuclearmaterialasop-posedtotransferthroughpipinginreprocessingplantsthathave operated successfully. The containers are not fullysealed.Thus,thereissignificantpotentialforreleaseofcon-taminationintothecellatmosphere.

(8) Fissile plutonium is in weapons-usable form and inconcentrations usable for a significant nuclear explosive.Somereviewersarguedthatin-processmaterialsmaynotbedirectlyusableforweaponssuitableformilitarystockpiles,butcleveroperatorsofelectrorefiningequipmentmightbeabletoproducefairlypureplutoniummetaldirectlyusableformilitarytypenuclearexplosives.

(9)Therequirementforinter-processtransferbyphysicalmovementbymanipulatorsofcontainersofnuclearmaterialinsteadofthroughpipeswouldlimitapplicabilityoftheIFRfuelcycleprocesstoresearch,orproductionofsmallamountsofplutonium. —July 21, 2008

Pyroprocessing and the Integral Fast Reactor:A Case Study of So-called Proliferation-Resistant Fuel

DOE

Artist’s drawing (1989) of an electrorefiner for the Integral Fast Reactor, which would recycle the reactor’s spent fuel, returning the high level wastes to the reactor to be burned as new fuel. Bastin’s evaluation was that the prcess was not commercially viable.


DuPont’sexceptionalcorevaluesofsafety,healthandtheenvi-ronment,ethics,andrespectforpeopleweremajorfactorsinthesuccessofreprocessingandotherprogramsfortheManhat-tanProjectandAtomicEnergyCommission.

Americaneedsrealadvancedreprocessingtechnologies,andacompetentchemicalengineeringorganizationtomanagere-processing.Iproposea“U.S.EnergyandNuclearTechnologyBoard,”orasimilarorganization,thatwill:

• implementandsupportpoliciesandprogramsonthebasisof need, determined through careful, competent assessmentbasedonlessonslearnedfromexperiences,

• providefullandaccurateinformationtoAmericansaboutenergyandnucleartechnology,

• carry out collaborative research and development withothernationsforuseofthebestsystemsandtechnologyforben-eficial,efficient,andsafeuseofnucleartechnology.

ThePresident, leaders ofCongress, and leaders of nuclearpowerprogramsshouldaskDuPontandotherswithextensiveexperienceinsuccessfulreprocessingandotherusesofnucleartechnologytohelpcreateorganizationstoresolvelong-neglect-edenergyandnuclear technologychallenges.RecentFrenchexperienceincertainreprocessingtechniqueswillbeimportantforU.S.programs,buttheFrenchfacilitydesignshouldbeex-aminedcarefullybythosewithexperienceinthebestreprocess-ingtechnology.Thisnationhasdemonstratedsuccessfulrepro-cessingofspentnuclearfuelsinthepast,andifwearetomoveforwardasanindustrialnation,weneedtodoitagain!

____________________

Chemical engineer Clinton Bastin, now retired, was re-sponsible for the Atomic Ener-gy Commission’s reprocessing plutonium, and plutonium scrap operations, plutonium-238 production, transuranic materials processing, tritium and deuterium production for weapons programs, radioac-tive waste management, and related activities at the De-partment of Energy’s Savan-

nah River Plant. He was also involved in the diplomatic side of U.S. international nuclear efforts, and he was president of the Federal Employees Union at the Department of Energy head-quarters.

Upon his retirement, Bastin was recognized by the DOE in a Distinguished Career Service Award as “the U.S. authority on re-processing and initiator of total quality management and partner-ing agreements.” Bastin served as a U.S. Marine in World War II and was an instructor in chemistry for the Marine Corps Institute.

He has many published papers on the topics in this article.References ____________________________________________________Clinton Bastin, 1996. “United States Nuclear Technology—Need for a New

Approach” (Miami: Global Foundation International Energy Conference,

November).Clinton Bastin, 1999. “Nuclear Technology: Need for New Vision” (Washington,

D.C.: Global Foundation International Energy Conference, November).Clinton Bastin, 2007. “Weighing in on U.S.-India,” Letter to the editor, Nuclear

News (May).

Clinton Bastin personal experiences:(A) Participant in summer seminar for chemical engineering professors at Han-

ford on fuel reprocessing, including studies for disposal of nuclear wastes in soils at Hanford, June-August, 1958.

(B) Atomic Energy Commission technical leader for the initial, success-based program for disposition of used fuel from nuclear power plants in the United States and other nations, 1959-1962.

(C) Atomic Energy Commission technical leader at the Savannah River Plant and AEC/ERDA headquarters for reprocessing, plutonium processing, and studies for disposal of nuclear wastes, 1962-1976.

(D) Participant in monthly design reviews for reprocessing projects, DuPont cor-porate offices, Wilmington, Del., 1964-1972.

(E) Technical leader and task force chair at AEC headquarters for resolution of problems in AEC and commercial reprocessing facilities, and reduction of reprocessing-related proliferation threats, 1972-1974. Effort led to recom-mendations that reprocessing program direction and management be reas-signed to those who had directed and managed successful reprocessing programs and understood reprocessing technology

(F) Compared Atomic Energy Commission accountability records with produc-tion data in 1968 through 1972 annual reports of Idaho Chemical Processing Plant Multiple Fuels Processing Program; learned that production was over-stated in these reports by a factor of 5; and notified Atomic Energy Commis-sion and Allied Chemical Company authorities of the discovery, 1973.

(G) Technical leader in Energy Research and Development Administration for nuclear power fuel reprocessing and recycle, until ERDA leaders reassigned reprocessing program direction and management to those who had direct-ed, managed, and proposed failed reprocessing, and did not understand reprocessing technology, 1975-1976.

(H) Lead technical consultant to the International Atomic Energy Agency for its study of “Regional Fuel Cycle Centers,” which had been proposed by the United States to reduce proliferation threats from reprocessing.

(I) Technical leader for major non-proliferation initiative with the Government of India.

(J) Instructor for “Worldwide Reprocessing Experiences and Plans” for CIA and NSA, 1968-1996.

(K) Technical leader for U.S. nonproliferation initiatives and proliferation threat assessments, 1970-1983.

(L) U.S. coordinator for reprocessing development and technology exchange with other nations, 1962-1993.

(M) Determined that an Argonne National Laboratory pyroprocessing process which was claimed to be proliferation-resistant was neither proliferation-re-sistant nor appropriate for reprocessing, and advised DOE and ANL officials of that determination, 1991 (see box).

W.P. Bebbington, 1990. History of DuPont at the Savannah River Plant (Wilm-ington, Del.: E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company).

E.I. DuPont, 1978. “Spent LWR Fuel Recycle Complex.”Richard G. Hewlett and Oscar Anderson, Jr., 1972. A History of the United States

Atomic Energy Commission: Volume I: The New World, 1939-1946, (Wash-ington, D.C.: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission), a history of the Manhattan Project.

International Atomic Energy Agency, 1977. Regional Fuel Cycle Centres.Robert Jolley et al, 1994. “The ORNL Chemical Technology Division: 1950-

1994” (October), pp. 1-15.Lawrence D. Low, 1972. (Director, Division of Compliance, U.S. Atomic Energy

Commission). Letter to R.N. Miller, President, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (March 16).

C.E. Reed et al. 1974. (Senior Vice President, General Electric Corporate Stud-ies and Programs), “Midwest Fuel Recovery Plant Technical Study Report” (July 5).

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1957. Division of Civilian Application Summary Report: “AEC Reference Fuel-Processing Plant,” WASH-743 (October).

USAEC, 1968 and ff. Idaho Operations Office and Allied Chemical Company: “Idaho Chemical Processing Plant Multiple Fuels Processing Program” (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973).

USAEC. Official accountability records of enriched uranium reprocessed at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, 1953-1974.

USAEC, 1975. “Operational Accidents and Radiation Exposure Experience” (WASH 1192).


—————————————————————————-Here, reference is made to the work of the circles of Carl Woese, et al., particularly to “Col-lective Evolution and the Genetic Code”1 of Kalin Vetsigian, Carl Woese, and Nigel Gold-enfeld of the Department of Physics and Microbiology and Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Ill. 61801, May 16, 2006.

My critical contribution here is limited to certain very important issues of epistemology

1. See www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0603780103v1.

The Subject of Principle: Project ‘Genesis’

by Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr.March14,2008

OriginallypublishedinExecutive Intelligence Review,April11,2008

“Paradise,” 1530 oil painting on wood by Lucas Cranach the Elder

“The Noösphere is derived from a universal physical, cognitive principle of human life, a power of organization which does not exist within the species of the lower forms of life, such as the higher apes.” Only man is able to increase the potential rela-tive population-density of his species.


which have been posed implicitly by the pattern of an underly-ing assumption in the method employed there by Carl Woese and his associates. This present report emphasizes a return of at-tention to that argument of mine, which is rooted in the cogni-tive implications of Bernhard Riemann’s work, which I presented in my “Vernadsky & Dirichlet’s Principle,” ofExecutive Intelli-genceReview for June 3, 2005 [also in 21stCentury, Winter 2005].

—————————————————————————-

AmongthoseatExecutive Intelligence Reviewwhocon-tinuethecontestedthemesofissueswhichoccupiedat-tentionamongthecirclesoftheFusionEnergyFounda-

tion(FEF)ofthe1970sand1980s,theworkofCarlWoeseetal.hasbeenseenasarefreshingchangeofpacefromtheradicallyreductionistapproachestolivingprocesseswhichbecamepop-ularizedbothduringthe19�0s,andmoresoduringthepost-WorldWarIIaftermathsofacertainradicallyempiricistinfluenceonscientificpractice.Thelatterhasbeenapracticetypifiedbywhathasbecomeknownas theCambridgeSystemsAnalysisschoolofthefollowersofnotonlytheeccentricErnstMach,but,mostemphatically,BertrandRusselletal.,as,forexample,attheLaxenberg,Austria International Institute forApplied SystemsAnalysis(IIASA).

Thetopicofthisreportis,thatthepiecebyWoeseetal.,refer-encedhere,withitsotherwisecommendableemphasisondy-namics,errsinoneimportantfeatureofmethod.Iterrsbyseek-ing to argue the arguments bearing on matters of physicalprinciple,withinanimplicitlyhostilesetofcurrentlyhegemonicstatisticalmethods;theyhaveapparentlyoverlookedsomees-sentialmattersofprinciple,principleswhich,however, standoutsidetheterritoryinbiologystakedoutbythemforthepur-poseoftheirreport.

Therefore,mycriticismhereisnotfocusseduponthedetailsoftheirreportsonexperimentalfindingswithintheirimplicitlyas-sumedchoiceofsub-domainofthebiologyoflivingprocessesassuch.Myattentionisfocussedhereonprinciples which they do not bring into play.Theydonotconfronttheproblematicfeatureswhichariseinanyefforttobuildargumentsinwhichitispre-sumed,implicitlyorotherwise,thattheroleofmankindwithinbiology,mustbeboundedbyacertaincommonplaceassump-tionrespectingstatisticalmethodofpractice.Itisalsocrucialthattheyomittherelevantissuesoftheironicalnatureoftherecipro-calinterrelationshipbetween,andinteractionoftheBiosphereandNoösphere.Formypurposes,thoseomissionstolerateamis-taken presumption, a fallacy of composition, the assumption,whichIbelieveiscontrarytotheirintention,thatscientificknowl-edgemaybepermittedtobebuiltupinproofswhichproceedfromunproven,merelya prioristicpresumptions,suchasthoseunderlainbythepersistinginfluenceofEuclideanandCartesiangeometryuponwidelyemployedstatisticalmethods.

Thismightbemistakenbythoseauthorsfor“nit-picking”byme.Itisnot,astheunfoldingofmyargumentherewillshow.

Thetypicalsuchmistakenpresumptionis,thatthebuild-upofknowledge must occur, statistically, through a succession of,

first,thechemistryofnon-livingprocesses,second,thencontin-uedthroughthedomainoftheBiosphere,and,thence,contin-uedbyimplication,into,third,theuniquelyspecificdifferentiaexhibitedbythehumanspecies.Myapproachproceeds,as Ishow here, in the opposite direction: from the Noösphere,downward,totheBiosphere,and,thence,to,statistically, therelativelysimplistic,subsumed,reductionist’sviewofthePeri-odicTableofelementsandtheirisotopes.2

Unfortunately,today’sprevalentuseofstatisticalmethodofinterpretation of evidence itself, which I challenge here, hastendedtobetakenin theusualpracticeof thatprofessionassomemagicalauthorityovernature,theauthorityofthatstatisti-calmysticisminherentina priorimathematicalmethods,suchasthoseofthosereductionistformsofSophistryknownasEu-clideanandCartesiangeometry.

Worse,today’spracticeisusuallydominatedbythataxiom-aticallyirrationalistdoctrineofmodernphilosophicalLiberal-ismwhichisderivedfromtheprecedentofthemedievalirratio-nalist William of Ockham. I refer, with emphasis, to thecontinuing,hereditaryinfluenceofthedoctrineofthefounderofmodernEuropeanLiberalism,PaoloSarpi.ThisiswhatwasestablishedintheformofwhatbecameAnglo-DutchLiberal-ismanditsimpactonpracticedscientificmethod,asbyDes-cartes,deMoivre,D’Alembert,LeonhardEuler,andJosephLa-grange. Even worse, today’s practice is dominated by theradicallypositivistversionsofthatLiberalism,thedegenerateformassociatedwiththeemergenceofthesuccessiveinfluenc-esonthesubjectbyErnstMachandBertrandRussellonme-chanics, andby the evenmore radical extremesofRussell’sPrincipia Mathematica.

Ifthereisonemostcrucialfactshownbysciencetodate,itisthattheuniverseisneitherEuclidean,noranythingresemblingthat.�Iprotestagainsttheuseofapervertednotionofwhatareinherentlyargumentspremiseduponpresumptionsofana pri-oristic, digital statistical consistency, arguments derived fromsucharbitrarilychosenideologicalorigins,andthenemployedwithout regard for the bias expressed by those assumptions,which,inturn,areadoptedasastandardfor“objectively”inter-pretingphysical-experimentalevidence.Thisistypifiedbywhatis,presently,thegreatest,mostprevalent,singleideologicalbar-riertoacademicorcomparableprogressinscientificthinkingandincraftingeconomicpolicytoday.

My Method in Physical EconomyMyprincipledapproachtothesubjectwhichIpresenthere,

addressesthefallaciesinherentintheuseoftheinherentlyre-ductionist,so-calledstatisticalmethods,as,mostemphatical-

2. Distinguishing those isotopes of the table which are tuned specifically to liv-ing processes.

3. Cf. Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. “My Early Encounter With Leibniz: On Monadol-ogy,” LPAC, Jan. 22, 2008. Also in EIR, Feb. 2, 2008.———-“A Strategic Economic Assessment: That Doomed & Brutish Empire,” EIR, March 14, 2008.


ly,whensuchmethodsareusedintreatingthe subject of what is the inherently willful characteristic of that which drives human behavior, asifthelackofthoserelevantdis-tinctionsrespectingtheroleofhumanbe-haviormightbeanappropriateomissioninanytreatmentofother,lowertypesoflivingprocesses.

The most important feature of anything when it is first encountered, is what it is not.Thus,theeffectoftheomissionoftheNoö-sphere’sindispensableauthorityfordefiningthe subsumed Biosphere of today, is theproblemwhich, forexample, threatens thereferencedlineofworkbyVetsigian,Woese,andGoldenfeld.On this account, I definetheproperchoiceofmethodinanycompe-tentbranchofpracticeofphysical scienceitself,asinthespecialbranchofphysicalsci-encerepresentedbythesubjectofeconomy,asreflectingawillful treatmentof therele-vant subject-matter from the standpoint ofwillfulhuman behavior,onthepresumptionthatsuchsubjectscannotbesimplypredict-ableincategoricallystatistical(e.g.,a priori,asinEuclidean)orsimilarways.4

Sincethetimeofthediscovery,byveryan-cientcelestialnavigators,of thatpower forchangeofthestellaruniverse,whichisthere-fore the intrinsicpowerdefiningtherealitywithinwhichwedwell,wemustrecognizethatanybranchofcompetentscience,sinceactual science was developed out of thepracticeof celestial navigation, has alwaysbeen the practice of the continuing of that process of discovery; thus, there is the discov-ery of those principles whose process of ac-cumulation implicitly defines the mind of the human individual.Inotherwords,tosumuptheconclusiontowhichthoseconsiderationsmustleadus:wemustproceedintoday’ssci-encefromthegenerative,Riemannianstand-pointofV.I.Vernadsky’sNoösphere,down-wards, which are the true fundamentals,towardthefunctionallysubsumedsubjectsoftheBiosphereandinanimatenature.

So,fromthisstandpoint,weshouldsituatethetreatmentofsub-humanbiology,theBio-sphere,underthehigherauthoritytowhichitissubject,ahigherauthoritywhichexists

4. Hence, the intrinsic folly in method which underlies the habitual failures of the prevalent types of economic statistical forecasters.

Engraving by George Vertue, 1736

Paolo Sarpi (1552-1623)

René Descartes (1596-1650)

Rudolf Clausius (1822-1888)

Hermann Günther Grassmann (1809-1877)

William of Ockham (1287-1347)

The founders of modern philosophical Liberalism and the later practitioners of radical positivism exemplify the reductionist, statistical approach that is crippling scientific thinking and economic policy today.


Dr.CarlWoese,microbiologistattheUniversityofIllinois,isbestknown

as the discoverer of the Archaea (ca.1978), a type of organism includingmethanogens and other extremophiles,which,hesaw,werenotbacteria.Wo-ese’s discovery was at first bitterly op-posedbysuchleadingfiguresinbiologyasSalvadorLuriaandErnstMayr.

WoesepioneeredtheclassificationoforganismsbybiochemicalsignaturesoftheDNA,attemptingtosupersedetheoldclassifications based largelyonvisualmorphologies.Yet,hiswritingssince1965showhimtobeaconsistentoppo-nent of the reductionism ofmolecularbiology.

In1990,Woeseproposeda new taxonomy. By then,thekingdomshadgrowntofive: Plant,Animal, Protists,Monera,andArchaea.Itwasaninconsistentmixingoftheearliertaxonomies,basedonvisualandmicroscopicmor-phologies, with the bio-chemical and electron mi-croscopy. Woese proposed,asa remedy, tocreate threeDomains, taxonomicallyabove the Kingdoms. TheseareProcarya(includingbacteria),Archaea,andEucarya.Thefirstincludesthebacteria,thesecondtheverydifferentAr-chaea, and the third theplants, animals and fungi,whichsharecommontraitsandpresumedlineageatthebiochemi-callevel.

Woesewentontodevelophisideasofevolutionoforgan-isms,notfromauniquecommonancestor,butratherbyaprocess he called horizontal gene transfer occurring in acommunallivingprocessthathadlittleornospeciesindi-viduation.Theexcerptfromthe2006paperbelowsumma-rizesthatnotion.—Laurence Hecht

Excerpts from Woese, et al. on Collective Evolution*

Thegeneticcodecouldwellbeoptimizedtoagreaterex-tentthananythingelseinbiologyandyetisgenerallyregard-edasthebiologicalelementleastcapableofevolving.Therewouldseemtobefourreasonsforthisparadoxicalsituation,allofwhichreflectthereductionistmolecularperspectivethatsoshapedbiologicalthoughtthroughoutthe20thcentury.

First,thebasicexplanationofgeneexpressionappearsto

lieinitsevolution,andnotprimarilyinthespecificstructuralorstereochemicalconsiderationsthataresufficienttoac-countforgenereplication.

Second,theproblem’smotto,geneticcode,isamisnomerthatmakestheco-dontablethedefiningissueofgeneex-pression.

Asatisfactorylevelofunderstandingofthegeneshouldprovideunifyingac-count of replication and expression astwosidesofthesamecoin.Thegenetic

code is merely the linkagebetween these two facets.Thus, and thirdly, the as-sumptionthatthecodeandthe decoding mechanismareseparateproblems,indi-viduallysolvable,isareduc-tionist fallacythatserves todeny the fundamental bio-logical nature of the prob-lem. Finally, the evolution-arydynamicthatgaverisetotranslation is undoubtedlynon-Darwinian, tomostanunthinkablenotion thatwenowneedtoentertainseri-ously....

Tothispointintime,biol-ogistshaveseentheuniver-salityofthecodeaseithera

manifestationoftheDoctrineofCommonDescentorsimplyasafrozenaccident....

Ourpointofviewalleviatestheneedforanyassumptionofauniquecommonancestor.Wearguethattheuniversalityofthecodeisagenericconsequenceofearlycommunalevolu-tionmediatedbyHGT[horizontalgene transfer],and thatHGTenhancesoptimality....

IfDarwinhadbeenamicrobiologist,hesurelywouldnothavepictured a struggle for existence as red in tooth andclaw.Ourviewofcompetitioninacommunalworldasady-namicalprocessisverydifferentfromthewidelyunderstoodnotionofDarwinianevolution.Survivalofthefittestliterallyimpliesthattherecanonlybeonewinnerfromtheforcesofselection,whereasinacommunalworld,theentiredistrib-utedcommunitybenefitsanditsstructurebecomesmodifiedbytheforcesofaselectionthatisaninherentlybiocomplexphenomenoninvolvingthedynamicsbetweenthecommu-nityelementsandtheinteractionwiththeenvironment....

__________* Kalin Vetsigian, Carl Woese, and Nigel Goldenfeld, “Collective Evolution and the Genetic Code,” PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sci-ence), Vol. 103, No. 28 (July 11, 2006), pp. 10696-10701.

Carl Woese and His Work

NASA

Woese proposed three Domains, taxonomically above the Kingdoms: Procarya (which includes the bacteria), Archaea, and Eucarya.

Bill Weigand/UIUC

Microbiologist Carl Woese


onlyintherelativelyhigherrealmoftheNoösphere.AsIshowinthisreport, it is thosefeaturesof theNoöspherewhicharelackingintheBiosphere,whichshouldbethepreferredchoiceindefining theprincipleswithinwhich existenceof theBio-sphere is situated ontologically.

Therefore,Ipointtosuchexamplesofmistakenapproaches,asaretypifiedeitherbythedenialofanefficientuniversalphysicalprincipleoflifeper se,asbyradicalpositivistsandtheirlike,or,bythecomparableattempttoadducetheoriginsofthecognitivepowersspecifictomankindfromthebiologyofanimallife.

Today,thosewhohaveactuallygraspedthehigherorderofmeaning which permeates the specifically human process ofsuccessfuldiscovery,knowthatuniversetobe,inprinciple,asLeibnizarguedforauniversalphysicalprincipleofleastaction,andasAlbertEinstein,similarly,recognizedtheuniversetobe: a dynamic, analog form of Riemannian universe, not a neo-Car-tesian statistical (digital) universe.Contrarytothehoaxofthefamous “Second Law” of Clausius, Grassmann, Kelvin et al.,oursisauniversewhichexists,forourpowersofdiscovery,asaboundlesslyfiniteuniverse,a self-contained, anti-entropic, uni-versal process of continuing creation—asthefamousaphorismofHeracleitusclaimed.

Thisisthesamepointwhichwas exemplified, for us in mod-ern European civilization, as Einstein emphasized the exemplary significance of Kepler’s uniquely original discovery of gravita-tion, by a succession of discoveries of universal principles which are, each and all, typified by Johannes Kepler’s uniquely original discoveries founding the science of modern astrophysics.5

Therefore,theencompassingpremiseinmyargumentbear-ingonthereferencedaspectoftheworkofWoeseetal.,isnotonlylocatedwithinAcademicianV.I.Vernadsky’suniquelyorig-inaldiscoveryofauniversalphysicalprincipleknownas theBiosphere,butalsoinVernadsky’sassociatedrecognitionoftheexistenceoftheNoösphereasbeing,also,astrictlydynamic,distinctuniversalphase-space,whichisalsotobedefinedex-perimentallyinRiemannianterms.Inaddressingmattersofliv-ingprocesses,theemphasisisupontheprecedentsofphysicalchemistrytreatedbytheRiemannianmethodadoptedbyAca-demicianV.I.Vernadsky;asIhaveshownsuccessfullyforasci-enceofphysicaleconomicforecasting,whicharethesameRi-emannianprinciples,oftheNoösphere.

ItmayappeartosomethattheNoösphereisaproductoftheBiosphere.True,theBiosphereloansmaterialtotheNoösphere,andviceversa;but,itistheNoöspherewhichcontains,andactsupontheBiosphere.ItistheNoöspherewhichtransformstheBiosphere, notonly inmaterials, but inwhat theNoöspherecompelstheBiospheretocontain,ortoproduce,bybothde-

5. As I have pointed out in various earlier locations, the idea of science, such as the Egyptian-Pythagorean practice of Sphaerics, is derived from that notion of universal which, as a concept, has depended upon a very long span of empirical development of calendars derived from the cumulative evidence of very many generations of development of long-ranging celestial (oceanic) navigation by maritime cultures, as under the conditions of the approximately 200,000 years during which glaciation dominated large portions of the Northern Hemisphere, a glaciation toward which Earth is signaling a threat to return now.

ductionsandadditionstotherepertoireoftheBiosphere’ssub-stanceandaction.

Thus,myowncontributiontothatlatterarray,istobefoundin my premising an actual science of physical economy, thestandpointwhichIhaveemployedforthespecialcaseoflong-rangeforecastingandrelatedpurposes,sincethelate1950s,onthosesameimplicationsofBernhardRiemann’sargumentwhichwerefirstboldlystatedintheircoreinhis1854habilitationdis-sertation.6MyownviewsonthesignificanceofRiemann’sworkforphysicaleconomy,viewswhichwereoutgrowthsofano-tion—a“spark”—discoveredbymetothiseffectin195�,havecontinuedtobethefoundation,sincethattime,formyoriginal

6. The principal such distractions from this fact of Vernadsky’s originality are to be found in the kinds of misguided, “fundamentalist” or kindred religious fervor, notably those forms which adopt either the dubious speculations of the “Pilt-down” co-hoaxster and reductionist mystic Teilhard de Chardin, or, what are clearly recognizable elements of the ancient pagan’s Delphic cult of Gaea, in seeking to bring the mighty Creator of the universe down to Earth, so to speak. Teilhard’s relevant work touches, if only deceptively, upon the names of valid conceptions, that to such effect that the errors of many of his putatively more orthodox critics are worse mistakes than his own. It is in the systemic features of his applications of his conception of noësis, that the essential error of his expla-nations is more clearly shown. The source of the confusion lies in Teilhard’s at-tempt to reconcile the idea of creativity with what is called, unfortunately, a “Clas-sical” Christian doctrine, where the attractive aspects of his work appear; his attempt to reconcile that with an axiomatically reductionist (i.e., Aristotelean or quasi-Aristotelean) form of cosmogony, is the root of his confusion. Teilhard’s minting of the term “Noösphere” was acknowledged by Vernadsky; Teilhard named the baby, but Vernadsky conceived and delivered it.

Russian-Ukrainian scientist Vladimir I. Vernadsky (1863-1945) defined his conception of the Noösphere in Riemannian—not statistical—terms. Science must proceed from this standpoint downward to the subsumed subjects of the Biosphere and in-animate nature.


1950sdevelopmentofascienceofphysi-cal-economy,abranchofsciencewhichisinthecontinuingtraditionofLeibniz’semphasis on dynamics, as opposed toCartesian and related methods.This is,thus,acontinuationofworkoffoundingofaphysicalscienceofeconomy,asac-complishedbyGottfriedLeibnizoverthecourse of his relevant work during thespanof1671-1716.Thismethodhasbeenthe basis for what has proven to be,uniquely,a,happily,virtuallyfaultlessse-ries, of superior quality, of long-rangeeconomic forecasts, that since the late1950s.

Thecrucial,andpivotalfactonwhichmyowndiscoveryinthismatterdepends,isexpressedinaspecificallydynamicman-ner(i.e.,analog:Leibniz-Riemann),asdistinctfromwronglyas-sumeddigital(e.g.,Euclidian-Descartes)characteristicsofhu-manpotentialpopulation-density, as, thus, absolutely distinct in effect from the concept of ecological potential population-den-sity expressed by lower forms of life.Thehumanindividualispotentially,uniquelycapableofre-inventingthehumanspeciesinaqualitativelymoreadvancedformoffunctioning,throughtranscendental,qualitativeup-shiftsofaClassicalmodeinthepotentialrelativepopulation-densityofthehumanspecies.

Thus, theshiftingdependenciesof theascendingqualityof

economies,successively,fromburningofwood,ofcoal,ofpe-troleum,ofnuclear-fissionpower,andupwards,typifycharac-teristic,phase-spacestagesofsuccessive,upwardevolutionofhumancultures,awillfullydriven,qualitativedevelopmentofthespeciesofactionwhichdoesnotoccurinanymerelyordi-narylivingspecies.Itisman’sseizingknowledgeofthat“fire”whichOlympianZeusforbadebegiventomankind,whichde-fines thehuman species in its truedistinction fromall lowerformsoflife.7

7. Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, line 7, pantecnou puros selas, which Her-bert Weir Smyth translates: flashing fire, source of all arts.

Courtesy of the Korea National Fusion Research Institute

Michel Maccagnan/GNU

In a typically human willful act of seizing “fire” from the Olympian Zeus, South Korea’s KSTAR (Korean Supercon-ducting Tokamak Advanced Research), intends to establish the scientific and technological basis for a future power-producing fusion reactor. KSTAR produced its first fusion plasma in July 2008, as seen below.


Inotherwords, theactualexistenceof thehumanspecies,withitscharacteristicform,asdynamic,isderivedfromaspe-cific(i.e.,noëtic)qualityofthehumanmind,aqualitywhichdoesnotexistwithinany lower formof life (e.g., in theBio-sphere).Theprincipleofhumanlifeneitherexistsinlowerformsofexistencethanthat,norcanitbederivedfromstudiesofthenon-human,as if“pre-human,”aspectsof theBiosphere.TheBiosphere generates the potential for effective action by theNoösphere;but, therealizationofsuchpotentialoccursonlywithintheNoösphereitself.

Focusuponthefactthattheincreaseoftheabsolutemagni-tudeoftheproportionsofthecompositionoftheEarth’smassrepresentedbythecombinedBiosphereandNoösphere,asapercentileofthetotalmassofourplanet,whenthisisconsid-eredinlightoftheevidencethattheNoösphereisexpandingmorerapidlythantheBiosphereassuch,indicatestheexistenceofauniversalphysicalprinciple,thecognitivepowersofthein-dividualhumanbeing,whichisnotwillfullyexpressedinanylowerformoflifethanthehumanindividual.

Theincludedpointhere,asitisamplifiedinthesubsequentchapterofthisreport,isthattheprincipledcharacteroftheBio-sphere’sfunctionisitselftransformedqualitativelybytheactionoftheNoösphere,suchthattheBiospherenolongerhasfixedsovereign characteristics, because those characteristics them-selvesarebeingcontinuouslytransformedbyactionoftheNoö-sphere.ThispertainsnotmerelytothearrayofelementsofwhichtheBiosphereiscomposed,buttotheprincipleswhichgeneratetheselectedelements,botholdandnewlycreated,oftheBio-sphere’sevolutionunderthereignoftheNoösphere.Theevolu-tionofisotopes,theirroles,andtheirrelativequantities,aswiththoseofspecificimportanceforlivingprocesses,asthroughtheroleofnuclear-fissionoflate,couldnotoccurotherwise.

Thatdistinction,iswhatistobecalledthefunctionof human potential relative population-density, as increased per-square centimeter of cross-section of mode of power employed, drives a (potential) per capita and per square kilometer increase of po-tential human occupation of a large territory (or, of a continent or of the planet as a whole).This fact isrelativelyobvioustoevenmerelycompetentmodernstudies;but,thewayinwhichthiseffectisgenerated,takesusoutsidetheboundsofthewaythetopicof“scientificmethod”assuchisusuallyvisualizedintoday’sclassroomandelsewhere.Thecrucialpointtobeem-phasized,is: the Noösphere is derived from a universal physical, cognitive principle of human life, a power of organization which does not exist within the species of the lower forms of life, such as the higher apes.

Theprogressofthehumanspecies,relativetootherspecies,liesinaprinciplewhichischaracteristicofthehumanspecies,butnotothers.Therefore,ratherthanthe“bottomupwards”hab-itofattemptingtoobtainthetransitiontoarelativelyhighercar-dinal stateofamulti-phase-spaceprocess,suchasattemptedtransitionfromabiotictoBiosphere,orBiospheretoNoösphere,wemustnotproceedintermsofthefactorsofthepreviouslyex-isting(lower)state;rather, we must treat the “teleological” tran-

sition as effected by action as if bestowed from the higher state upon the relatively lower one asVernadskyemphasizedtheor-deringoftherelativemassoftheabiotic,Biosphere,andNoö-sphere.Inotherwords, the form of increase of the potential rela-tive population-density of the human population, has the (dynamic) mathematical-physical form of the pre-determination of the present potential by types of changes (as by human dis-covery of a higher principle) which correspond to what had been introduced as a futuresystemiclevelofpotential,ratherthansomethingmanifestasastatisticaldeterminationofafuturestate,asaconsequenceofacurrentone.

Thedevelopmentofthispotentialinthehumanspecies,de-terminestheeffectofthatupontheentiredomainoftheBio-sphere.And,soforth,andsoon.

Iexplainthesignificanceofthisphenomenon.

Carl Woese et al.Thereinliestheessenceofmyoriginaldiscoveryinthedo-

mainofascienceofphysicaleconomy.However,mydiscoveryisnotmerelythat;therearemuchmoreprofoundimplicationsofthis,implicationswhichshouldnotbeoverlookedinanap-propriatere-readingofrelevantfeaturesintheidentifiedworkofCarlWoeseetal.

ItwillbecleartothoseassociatedwiththeworkofCarlWo-eseetal.,thatmychoiceofreferencetotheirworkinmakingthecrucialpointpresentedhere,waspromptedbymysatisfac-tionwiththedynamicimplicationsofsuchpassagesintheref-erencedworkas: “... Specifically,wewillhereinmodel theevolutionoftranslation,thecodontable,theconstraintsthere-in,theuniversalityofthecode,andthedecodingmechanism,notasasumofpartsbutasawhole....”Inotherwords,dynam-ics,asdefinedbyLeibnizagainstDescartes,and,definedlater,byRiemann.

Sofar,sogood;thatisconsistentwithRiemanniandynamics.However,thequestionremainshere:whatistheorganizationofthewholeprocessofdevelopmentwhichaccountsfortheeffi-cient,actualgenerationofqualitativelyhigherordersofdynam-icstates—higherstatesonprinciple,suchasthefactthatthehu-man being represents a higher quality of principled physicalstatethananylowerformoflife?

Theideaoftheneedtodiscoverasolutionforthatquestion,is readily seen to be expressed in the upward evolution, asthrough realized applicationof higher physical principles, inphysical-economicprocesses.Thelatterare,ofcoursephysical-economicprocesses,butthoseexamplescannotbeotherthancruciallyrelevant forunderstandingotherdynamicmodelsofliving processes, or the effects of human physical-economicevolutionupon the two lowerphasesofourplanet’s internalprocesses.

Theanswer,inthecaseof“social”models,asdistinctfromtheorganizationofbehavior in theanimalkingdom(aswithmodelssuchasmankindlivingwithinKepler’sastrophysics),isthat the universe is intrinsically anti-entropic, contrary to theClausius,Grassmann,Kelvincultofa“secondlawofthermo-


dynamics.”However,asVernadsky’sworkhasforcedthefunda-mentally principled distinctions among the abiotic, the Bio-sphere,andtheNoöspheretoourattention,therearequalitativedistinctionsofuniversalprincipleamongthosesectorsoftheuniversetobetakenintoaccount.Asthehistoryofthechangesinrelativemassofabiotic,Biosphere,andNoöspherecompo-nentsoftheupperregionsofEarthshow,entropy,asaphenom-enon,isasubsumedexpressionofthesuperiorinfluence,anti-entropy,withinwhichtheapparententropyappears,andunderwhichitmustbedefined.Before there could be death, there must, first, be life.

Theconclusiveargumenttosucheffect,islocatedinthecaseofmankind’sincreaseofthepotentialrelativepopulation-den-sityofhumanpopulations,whichisaccomplishedonlythroughthosenoëticprocessesofdiscoveryofhigherorderphysicalandkindred,Classicalartistic,principles,processeswhichechotheprocessofcreationtypifiedbyJohannesKepler’suniquelyorigi-

naldiscoveryoftheroleofgravitationintheorderingwithintheSolarSystem.

Thehumanbeingisdistinguishedfromanyanimalspeciesbythesetofrelationshipsdefinedasareflectionofitstwofoldcharacteristic.Ontheonehand,ithasabody,likethatofananimal;atthesametimeitisanabsolutelydifferentformofex-istencethananyofthegreatapes,whicharemammals,bytheexistenceofahumanmindwhichisnotlocatedwithinthecon-finesoftheapparentmentallifeofananimal.Thisdistinguish-ingdifferenceisconvenientlyidentifiedasthehuman“spirit”or“soul,”whichhasnoneofthecharacteristicsofanyknownformofanimallife,exceptasanimalsdevelopasappendagesofmankind.8

Yet,anaiveuseoftheterm“spirit”or“soul”notonlymissesthecrucialpoint,buthaspromotedwidespread,absurdlymysti-calspeculations.Thehuman“soul” isverymuchanefficientpartof thephysicaluniverse, that in thesenseof the famous Genesis1,butnotastheterm“physical”isstillcustomarilyem-ployedinreductionisttermsofreference.That“soul”istheac-tualpersonalityofthehumanindividual,thatinthesensepro-videdbyPlato.Itisanexpressionofanefficientphase-spacewithintheuniverseatlarge,andexpresses,intheguiseoftheNoösphere,ahumanindividual’spowertochangethatuniversewillfully.

Thebiologicaldomain,thedomainoftheBiosphere,iscon-tainedwithin,andissubordinatetothatNoösphere.ThisistobeunderstoodastheexpressionoftheNoösphere’spowertocon-tainandmodifythecharacteristicsoftheBiosphere.Withman-kind’s appearance, the Biosphere thus loses its independentfunctionalcharacteristics(if,indeed,iteverhadthem);theBio-spherebecomes,ineveryway,aphase-spacecontainedwithintheNoösphere.

Therefore,wetreatthesubjectoftheBiospherehereinthosetermsofreference.Wepresentthecasetobearguedherebythemethodofsuccessiveconceptualapproximations.

That,sodescribedthusfar,ismysubjecthere.

1. The Relevant Fallacy of

Sense-CertaintyThecruciallydistinctfeatureofhumanbehavioris,that,un-

likeanimalbehavior,humanbehaviorisinherentlynotsubjecttotheconceptualapproachinheringinpresentlyconventionalrangesoftoday’sprofferedstatistical-ecologicalmodels.Norisanimalbehaviororderedinawaywhichisindependentoftheeffectofchangesinthehigher,human,reignoftheNoösphere.Itisalsofairtosaythat“choices”ofanimalbehaviorare,rela-tivelyspeaking,“event-driven,”wherethecruciallyimportant,highercognitivefunctionsofactuallyintelligent,asdistinctfrom“knee-jerk”practicesamonghumanbeings,areconcept-driven,

8. I address this, and Cusa’s treatment of the same subject, within part of chap-ter 2 of this report.

Remy/swiss-image.ch

Al Gore personifies the Malthusian, fascist political intent be-hind the “Global Warming” fraud. Its acceptance depends upon a population not using the higher cognitive functions that distin-guish human from animal behavior.


ratherthan“event-driven.”9

Therefore,thewaytodesignthelureforananimal,orafoolishU.S.voter,tobringaboutthatindividual’scontributiontoitsself-inflictedruin,istorelyontheintendedvictim’sbehaviorbeing“event-driven”(e.g.,“fact-driven”)as,forexample,thepatheticcredulities of believers in “Malthusian” models, such as the“GlobalWarming”hoax.Otherwise,whatistypicalofintelligenthumanbehavior,especiallycreative-scientificorClassical-artis-ticbehavior,is“teleologically”-drivenhumancreativeinsight,inthesenseofaClassical(e.g.,Platonic)formofhypothesis.

Totheextentthathumanpopulationsmay,atsometime,seemto show relatively fixed (e.g., “traditional”) ecological poten-tials,apparentlylikethosewhichmightbeattributedtobechar-acteristicofanimalpopulations,suchasknee-jerkproposalsforthefraudulent,MalthusianpoliciesofformerVice-PresidentAlGore,etal.:suchdecadencebytheMalthusiansandtheirpres-ent-day“GlobalWarming”frauds,isitselfevidencethatthere-latedculturalmatrixofthatinherentlystagnatingsocietywhichsuchfraudsasGore’sexpress,isinherentlyanabnormal(i.e.,pathological)model,onespecifictothathalf-wittedtrendwith-in the relevant part of the general population.10 Whereas, ahealthyorganizationof society isnotafixedsystem,butup-ward-evolutionary (e.g., increasing potential relative popula-tion-density),and,thus,committedtoscientific,Classical-cul-tural,andtechnologicalprogressforitsownsake.

Thus,speakingparenthetically,since,asIhavealreadyem-phasizedhere, theBiosphere isbounded systemicallyby theNoösphere,thecraftingoftheenvironmentthroughtheevolu-tionoftheNoösphere,shapestheselectedcourseofregulatingboththeexternalboundariesandinternaldevelopmentoftheBiosphere(definesthechangesinrules).Thisfunctionstotheef-fectthat the dynamic “forces of evolution” within the Biosphere, are not independent of the Noösphere; but, are themselves shaped by the development in the Noösphere.11Thus,itises-sentiallyanerrortoattempttodevelopasimplybiologicalmod-el for theBiosphereas such,evena trulydynamicone: thusmakingtheerrorofassumingthatthehigher,controllingforceoftheNoöspherewerenottheincreasinglysignificantsourceof

9. Concept-driven” as in recognition of a relevant principle of nature, or of cur-rent social processes. Thinking which walks in the footsteps of the discovery of universal gravitation by Kepler, Fermat’s discovery of the principle of least ac-tion, Leibniz’s uniquely original (e.g., 1676) discovery of the principle of the cal-culus, or Riemann’s 1854 habilitation dissertation.

10. It is fair, and necessary to say that former Vice-President Al Gore’s “global warming” hoax, is essentially a fascist economic model in the footsteps of the Haileybury Society’s Thomas Malthus, Mussolini, and Hitler, or, the Olympian Zeus of Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, or Friedrich Nietzsche’s dogma, since the model could not be institutionalized as a national, or world system except by what are easily recognized as fascist political means. Thus, essentially, like the H.G. Wells who stated his fascist commitments openly, Wells’ accomplice, Ber-trand Russell, was even more frankly, rabidly fascist than a Mussolini or Hitler.

11. Compare the case of the displacement of marsupials by arriving mammals, as the Australian “historical” model attests. While kangaroos, for example, may persist, most of the marsupials are replaced, niche by niche, by placental types which caricature the marsupial types. Leaving such oddities as the Platypus and a certain well-known, large-pouched publisher lingering as leftovers from the set of egg-laying species.

theconditionstowhichtheevolutionary(Riemannian)dynamicofthephysicalgeometryoftheBiosphereissubject.

Forexample,considersomerelevanthistory:

The Decadent Olympian ModelInthehistoryoftheancientthroughmodernculturesgathered

aroundtheMediterraneanSea,thecultureoftypicalcasesofstagnating,ordegeneratingsocieties, is typifiedbythemodeldepictedbythe“zerogrowth”policyexpressedbythecharacteroftheOlympianZeus,ofAeschylus’Prometheus Bound.UnderZeus’inhuman,tyrannicalpolicyofzero-technologicalgrowth,theordinarypeople,likethehelotsofLycurgus’Sparta,ortheneo-MalthusiandupesoftheU.S.A.andEuropesince1968,areforbiddenaccess,ifonlyideologically,tothepossibilityofthegaining of knowledge of universal physical principles (e.g.,“fire,”nuclear-fissionpower,etc.).Theeffectsofan implicitlyneo-Malthusianculturalpathologyofthosewhocanbedefinedideologicallyas“68ers”andtheirdupesofyoungergenerations,aretypifiedbythearchetypicalcaseofAeschylus’accountoftheeviloftheOlympianZeus,anOlympuswhichisamodelcase

Painting by Heirich Fueger, 1817

Prometheus bringing fire—the knowledge of universal physical principles—to mankind, a “crime” for which he was punished by the Olympian Zeus

�0 Summer2008 21st Century Science & Technology

whichbecomes, thus,key forun-derstandingboththecharacteristicsystemic-culturalproblemsandtheorigins of these problems whichhavebeenthecontinuingthreatstocivilization from within moderntrans-Atlanticcultureitself.

For example, in the so-called“code”oftheEmperorDiocletian,who crafted the political systemfromwhich theByzantine Empireemerged, the rich and powerfullustedandreveled,whilethemassof the thus degraded populationknelt,andacceptedaquasi-“Mal-thusian”socialsystemofwhatwasvirtually “zero technologicalgrowth.” This set the pattern forserfdom,orworse,asasystem.Thisaffectedthedevelopmentoftheorganizedbehaviorofthatsocietyasasystem.That,inturn,generatedaneffect,which,inturn,madethefactuallyobvi-ous,implicitrulesfordynamic“channeling”oftheself-evolutionoftheBiosphereinthatphaseoftheplanet’slife.

ThismodelofDiocletianandhissuccessors,wasavariantoftheDelphicmodelofLycurgus’Sparta.Ithadbeen,andremainedavariantofwhatwasknownasthe“oligarchicalmodel,”aDelphicmodelwhichhadbeentemporarilyde-featedbyAlexander theGreat,butwas tobeestablished, under the hegemony of the mur-deredAlexander’sPtolemaicsuccessors,upintowhatwastoemergelaterastheriseofthepro-cess leading into the process of formation ofwhatwasonthewaytobecomingtheRomanEmpire fromabout 200B.C.,12 andwouldbecontinued,inprinciple,inEuropeandadjoin-ing regions of westAsia under the Byzantinesystem,andunderthestillworse,successorsys-temunderthehegemonyoftheVenetianfinan-cier-oligarchyanditsinstrumenttheCrusadingNormanchivalry.1�

12. The deaths of the celebrated correspondents Eratosthenes and Archime-des, marked the onset of a clearly marked decline in European culture in the period beginning the Roman victory in the Second Punic War.

13. It is notably relevant, that the ancient Greek model of later European impe-rialist designs, is to be seen, to modern times, at the existing site of the Delphic cult of Apollo-Dionysos. Arrayed around the site of the temple itself, there are “chapels” representing the treasuries of ancient Grecian cities. Following the path downhill to the relevant nearby port location, we recognize the ancient Del-phic model for not only the Lombard League of European “New Dark Age” noto-riety, but the presently posed renewal of a proposed world empire of city-state usury proposed by those who, today, demand the form of globalization proposed by such creatures as that self-proclaimed, Forty-Billion-Dollar fossil, New York Mayor Bloomberg.

Theprincipalexceptiontothatoppression,istobeseendur-ingthereignofCharlemagne;thedeathofCharlemagneopenedthewayforthehegemonyofthesystemofdominationby(tem-porarily)adecadentByzantium,and,then,later, theimperialVenetianfinancier-oligarchywithitschronicallycrusadingNor-maninstruments.

Lookingmoredeeplyintothesechronicproblemsofthepres-entlycontinuingEuropeanformoftheoligarchicalmodel,thepro-oligarchical model of most of the reigning local govern-mentscenteredontheMediterranean,mostofthetime,wehavethefollowingnotablepointsofrelevantemphasisbearingonthe

An Egyptian ship depict-ed in the Tomb of Menna, ca. 1422-1411 B.C.) Ac-tual science developed out of the practice of an-cient celestial naviga-tion.

Sketch of a brass model of an ancient tanawa, or calculator, made from a drawing on a cave wall in Sosorra, Irian Jaya (West New Guinea), around the year 232 B.C. The base (A) in the plane of the observer’s horizon, is oriented so that the axis of symmetry is paral-lel to the meridian. (B) is the equatorial plane. (C) is the ecliptic plane. The Renaissance tanawa was known as a torquetum.

B

C

A

Drawing by Matt Makowski in The Epigraphic Society Occasional Publications, Vol. 32, No. 29, Feb. 1975

21st Century Science & Technology Summer2008 �1

externalconditionsaffectingtheevolutionofthehumanparam-etersoftheBiosphereitself.

Celestial NavigationWhatbecameknownasEuropeanculturewas rooted ina

widespreadmaritimeculturedated fromdeepwithin the lastgreatageofglaciation,sofar,intheNorthernHemisphere.TheleadingculturesemerginginthehistoricalMediterraneanfromthattime,weremaritimecultures,cultureswhosemoreorlessremoteancestorshad (apparentlyseasonally)migratedacrossverylongdistances,anddidsocontinuouslyovermanythou-sandsofyears.Thepracticeofnavigatingbystudyofthediffer-entiatedpattern shownby theSun,Moon,PlanetsandStars,sailingbythestars,hasbeentheobviousrootoftheproperuseoftheterm“universal,”theonlyvalidmeaningof“science,”es-peciallyasthistermistobeappliedtophysicalscience,espe-ciallyasthiswasdefinedformoderntimesbythemanifoldroleofCardinalNicholasofCusainlaunchingthemodernhistoryofEuropeancivilizationwith theFifteenth-CenturyRenaissance,andwiththepromptingbyCusa’stestament,ofChristopherCo-lumbus’sfamousfirsttrans-Atlanticvoyageofdiscovery.14

14. It was Nicholas of Cusa’s proposal for trans-oceanic development of con-tacts of Europe across the Atlantic and into the Indian Oceans, which explicitly guided Christopher Columbus’s scientific knowledge of the feasibility of crossing the Atlantic. Columbus acquired this knowledge through a reading of the testa-ment of Cusa, which was lodged with the executor of Cusa’s testament resident in Portugal at that time. Approximately two decades later, Columbus succeeded in fulfilling that intended design by Cusa.

Muchoftheexperiencefromthatlongperiodofglaciationandtheearlierportionsofitsaftermath,remainstobedefined.Yet,itremainsincreasinglyclear,thatthegreatfloodsandan-cient rivers flowing from the melting of the glaciation corre-spond toaperiod, sinceabout17,000B.C., sincewhich thelevelsoftheoceanshadrisen,byabout2000B.C.,byabout400feet.However,whatisclearabouttheoutcomeofthischange,isthestillvisibleevidence,today,oftheroleofoceanicmari-timeculturesincolonizingareasoftenfortifiedagainstthepop-ulationsofthenearbyinterior.Tobebrief,here,thisledintoaperiod,duringtheSeventhCenturyB.C.,whentheEtruscans,Ionians,andEgypt(e.g.,Cyrenaica)becamealliesagainstthetyrannyofTyre.Thisdevelopment,basedchieflyona renais-sance in Egypt of that time, defined the process of synthesiswhichformedtherootofEuropeanmaritimeculture,andthesubsequentdevelopmentofEuropeancivilization.

ThecruciallyrelevantpointonwhichIamfocussedinthesereferencestosuchhistoricalmattershere,isthatitwasthetrans-oceanicmaritimecultures,theculturesreflectedinthegreatdis-coveriesofJohannesKepler,whichhaddiscoveredthesecretsofcelestialnavigation;but,thesecultureshadtendedtodegener-ate intoa formofoligarchical ruleover thestrainsofhumanpopulationfrominlandregions.

Therewere,infact,twoprincipalstrainsofoligarchicalcul-tureaffectingtheMediterraneanfromhistoricaltimes.One,em-phaticallyland-based,andprincipallyareflectionofemergingculturesoftheAsianinterior,andtheother,theMediterranean-

These are excerpts from an essay by Albert Einstein, in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of Ke-pler’s death. It appeared in the FrankfurterZeitung on Nov. 9, 1930.

Inanxiousanduncertaintimeslikeours,whenitisdifficulttofindpleasureinhumanityandthecourseofhumanaffairs,itisparticularlyconsolingtothinkoftheserenegreatnessofaKepler.Keplerlivedinanageinwhichthereignoflawinnaturewasbynomeansanacceptedcertainty.Howgreatmusthisfaithinauniformlawhavebeen,tohavegivenhimthestrengthtodevotetenyearsofhardandpatientworktotheempiricalinvestigationofthemovementoftheplan-etsandthemathematicallawsofthatmovement,en-tirelyonhisown,supportedbynooneandunder-stoodbyveryfew!...

Onecanneverseewhereaplanetreallyisatanygivenmoment,butonlyinwhatdirectionitcanbeseenjustthenfromtheEarth,whichisitselfmovinginanunknownmanneraroundtheSun.Thedifficultiesthusseemedpracticallyunsurmountable.

Keplerhadtodiscoverawayofbringingorderintothischaos.

Einstein on Kepler

Max Planck (left) gives a medal to Albert Einstein in Berlin, June 28,


centered maritime culture. During the interval following thePeloponnesianWar,duringtheadolescentandadultlifeofAlex-andertheGreat,thetwosystemsofoligarchicalrule,theMedi-terraneanandAsian,werefusedtoformwhathasbeenthege-neric form of the European cultural oligarchical model ofmedievalandmoderntimes,thattypifiedbythefinancier-oli-garchicalruleoftheBritishEmpireoftoday.

Thus,with the late Sixteenth, andSeventeenth-Century tri-umphofthenewVenicefactionofPaoloSarpiandhisfollowersoverthepro-Aristoteleanold-Venicefaction,thedefeatofthecontinentalEuropeanpowersinthewarsofFrance’sLouisXIV,through theFebruary176�PeaceofParis,broughtabout theemergenceoftheAnglo-DutchLiberalfactionofPaoloSarpi’sheritage,asthehegemonic,oligarchicalformofimperialmari-timeculture,chieflyAnglo-DutchLiberalfinancier-imperialism,ofEuropeandmostoftheworldbeyond,duringmostofthetimesincethatpoint.TheemergenceoftheU.S.Federalrepublicasseen in admiration for U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt,fromamongmanynations,iswhatistobeseenashavingbeen

theprincipaldesignforasuccessfulchallengetoAnglo-Dutchglobalimperialismsincethattime,tothepresentdate.

The Ontological InfinitesimalForthesubjectofthispresentreport,whichis

essentially a matter of physical science, morethanpoliticsotherwise,therelevantpro-Classi-calargumentcanbefruitfullyselectedandad-optedfromthetreatmentofthatkindofdistinc-tionbetween“naturally”andsociallygeneratedcatastrophes,asprofferedbyPlatoinhisTimae-us.Forthepurposeofthispresentdiscussion,Ifocusattentionontheeffectofcatastrophesin-duced by a failure of a society to progress inwayswhich,attheleast,overcometheattritioninherentinany,scientifically,“zerotechnologi-calgrowth”system,thatthroughthequalitative

advancesinthescientific-technologicalpracticeonwhichthesociety’sresistancetodecadencealwaysdepends.

Sincethedevelopmentstypifiedinthecontentoftherevolu-tionaryworkofVernadskyandEinsteinthrough,approximately,thetimeoftheirdeathsduring,andintheaftermathofseveralyearsduringandfollowingthe19�9-1945“WorldWar,”15weareproperlyobligedtorecognizethesubject-matterof“physi-caluniverse”asbeingrepresentedbythreedistinct,butnone-thelessinseparablequalitiesofphase-spaces:1.)The“ordinary”abiotic,2.)TheBiosphere,and�.)TheNoösphere.FollowingthelineofworkbyAcademicianV.I.Vernadsky,theprincipledphys-icaldistinctionsamong thesephase-spacesare tobe locatedsystemically(experimentally)intheircommondomain,thatofthepracticeofphysicalchemistryinthefootstepsofthosesuchasLouisPasteur,D.I.Mendeleyev,WilliamDraperHarkins,andVernadsky.16 However, the three identified phase-spaces arealso interacting, and evolving dynamically as a set: the oneshapingtheconditionswhichshapetheevolvingexistenceoftheother.

Themethodbywhich thesephase-spacesare tobedistin-guished, is,essentially, thatmethodofmodernEuropeansci-encewhichissubsumedbythelegaciesofNicholasofCusaandJohannesKepler.Inthismethod,thenotionoftheexistenceofuniversalphysicalprinciplesasdefinedbythecommonfeaturesofthemethodofCusa,JohannesKepler,Fermat,Leibniz,Rie-mann,etal.,isonlyconditional,butnonethelesscrucial.ThatdistinctionwhichIhavedefinedinsundrylocationsastheprin-cipleoftheontologically infinitesimalcharacteroftheinfinitesi-maloftheLeibnizcalculus,17providesamodeldefinitionofall

15. Vernadsky died in January 1945, Einstein in April 1955.

16. And also, implicitly, in that work of Max Planck which was so viciously at-tacked by the German and Austrian followers of the radical reductionist Ernst Mach, during the period of the 1914-1917 warfare.

17. In defiance of the common, empiricist Sophistry of de Moivre, D’Alembert, Leonhard Euler, Joseph Lagrange, Laplace, Cauchy, Clausius, Grassmann, et al.

Louis Pasteur(1822-1895)

Dmitri Mendeleyev(1834-1907)

William Draper Harkins(1873-1951)

The principled physical distinctions among the distinct phase-spaces of the abiotic, Biosphere, and Noösphere “are to be located systemically (experi-mentally) in their common domain, that of the practice of physical chemistry in the footsteps of those such as Louis Pasteur, D.I. Mendeleyev, William Draper Harkins, and Vernadsky.”

21st Century Science & Technology Summer2008 ��

true universal physical principles, principles such as Kepler’suniquelyoriginaldiscoveryofuniversalgravitation,andAlbertEinstein’srelatedemphasisonanunbounded,butfiniteuniverseofuniversalphysicalprinciples.

Allvaliduniversalprinciplesareexpressedindetail,asKeplerdefinedtheprincipleofgravitation,intheformoftheircharacter-isticexperimentalexpressionas“ontologicallyinfinitesimal.”

TheappearanceofthisdiscoveryofwhatbecameknownlaterasLeibniz’sprincipleofthe“ontologicallyinfinitesimal,”byCusa,alsomarksthemomentofbirthofmodernscienceasmodernsci-ence,includingthesciencewhichmustbeemployedtodefinetheprinciplesofthesubsumedBiosphereandabioticdomains.

Thatdiscovery,aspresentedbyCusa,markstherebirthofthesameprincipleimplicitintheworkofthePythagoreansandPla-to.Cusa,recognizingasystemicerrorinArchimedes’quadra-tureofthecircleandparabola,18firstpresentedtheprincipleofthecomma,fromancientSphaerics,intothepracticeofmodernEuropeancivilization.ThisnotionbyCusawasthefoundationofcompetentdevelopmentofmodernscience,asfromthediscov-eryoftheprincipleofgravitationbyKepler,thenotionofaprin-cipleofleastactionassociatedwithadiscoverybyFermat,andthefirstdevelopmentofacalculus,byLeibniz,basedontheno-

18. I.e., Cusa’s exposure of the systemic error in Archimedes’ quadrature of the circle.

tion of the ontologically infinitesimal expression of universalphysicalprinciples,asthosearerightlypremisedontheprevi-ouslystatedprincipleofKeplerforthispurpose.

Brieflyconsiderthecrucialhistoricalimplicationsoftheim-mediatelyforegoingstatements.

For example: theessential experimentalbasis for Einstein’scelebratedinsistencethattheuniverseasawholeis conceptu-ally finite,hasancientrootstracedimplicitlytotimespriortothepracticeof SphaericsbythePythagoreans:

Sphaerics,asalegacyofveryancientpracticeofcelestialnav-igation,aswiththemaritimeculturesexistingunderthecondi-tions of widespread glaciation, toward which the planet isthreatened,again,over the longhaulahead, isobviously therelic of seasonal and otherwise repeated celestial navigationoverdistancesaslongasthousandsofmiles;onlyunderthoseconditions could mankind have discovered the qualitativechanges,asdistinctfrom,andopposedtotheconceptionofap-parentsimple(cyclical)repetition,adiscoverywhichwerenec-essary for thediscoveryofa reigningprincipleofqualitative,progressivechange in thecompositionof thenavigator’sandcalendar-builder’scelestialarray.19Astrophysicswas,necessari-

19. Compare Philo of Alexandria’s denunciation of the theology of Aristotle’s method, and the echo of Philo’s denunciation of Aristotle for astrophysics by Ke-pler. Note, as most notable, Kepler’s exposure of the specifically Aristotelean fraud central to Claudius Ptolemy’s fixed system.

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) re-futed Aristotle’s geocentric cosmolo-gy, and charged that Aristotle held science back for nearly two millen-nia, until the advent of Copernicus, by rejecting the Pythagorean idea that the Earth moves in an orbit around the Sun (“the fire”). Kepler’s full document was published in 21st Century, Winter 2001-2002, in a translation by George Gregory. These are excerpts.

[The Pythagoreans] spoke in aveiled way; by fire they understoodtheSun,andIagreewiththem,thattheSunisinthecenteroftheworld,and never moves away from thisplace,andthat,ontheotherhand,theEarthmovesonceinoneyeararoundtheSun,thatis,itrevolvesaroundthecenterpositionoftheworld,asother-wise also five other wandering stars[thatis,theplanets]....

[AristarchusofSamos(�10-ca.2�0B.C.)wasaccusedofblasphemyandthreatenedwithdeathforendorsinga

heliocentricsystem.]Onaccountofthisfear,andonaccountoftherep-utation of Aristotle, who rejectedthis teaching (although he did notyet fullyunderstand it), this teach-ingwassuppressed,andparticular-lybecauseitwasdifficulttounder-stand, it was nearly forgotten for1,800years....

IamaslittlesatisfiedwithAristotle,whenhethinksitissufficienttohaveaskedwhy theEarth remainsat thecenterof theworld,andtoanswer,thatnatureassignedthispositiontoit. For it is entirely uncertain, andnotconcededbyme,thattheEarthis in the middle of the world; andwereitso,itwouldbesoindeedonaccountofnature,but in the samewaythatallthingsareonaccountofnature. But one is not satisfied toknow that things are according to

nature,butoneaskswhytheyarethatwayandnotsomeother way, and what means nature used to bring thisabout....

Kepler on Aristotle’s Sabotage of Astronomy

Johannes Kepler, the founder of universal modern physical science.


ly,thebeginningofactuallyscientificknowledge—ofthenotionoftheactuallyuniversal,and,thus,oftheSphaericswhichthePythagoreansandothers adopted fromEgypt-Cyrenaica.Thattypifiesthedeeprootsofhumanity’sacquisitionofthat quality of universal knowledge which is the only practice worthy of the name of science.

SincetheancientClassicalGreeks,asthesearetypifiedeffi-cientlybythePythagoreansandPlato,themodernEuropeanstandard for thedefinitionofsciencewassetbyNicholasofCusa,thatdoneinaseriesofhisworkstypifiedbyhisDe Doc-ta Ignorantia.Acompetentformofuniversalmodernsciencewasestablishedbythecrucialdiscoveriesofprincipledevel-opedbyCusa’savowedfollowerJohannesKepler.AsEinsteinemphasizedonthissameaccount,modernphysicalscienceinitsfullspan,islodgedunderthedevelopedformoftheworkofBernhardRiemann,butisrootedasabodyofphysical-scien-tificpracticeintheachievementsofKepler.Itiswiththeargu-mentbyEinstein,thattheconceptofphysicalsciencewasre-turned,fullcycle,tothatdevelopmentofastronomybyancientcelestialnavigators,asBalGangadharTilakemphasizedinhisreviewofarelevantselectionofcombinedancientandmodernsources.20

Thedistinctiontobemadeisbetweenthenaiveviewofsci-enceasafallacyofcompositionindesignofmerelyrepeatableexperiments,asinthehoaxofClausius,Grassmann,etal.,andscienceasadiscoveryofpatternsofprogressive(i.e., anti-entro-pic,ratherthanmerelycyclical)changeoftheconditionsofex-perimentundertheimpactofthediscoveryofrelevant, long-ranging,universalphysicalprinciples.

Thelatterviewisforceduponcompetentobserverstoday,bythewayinwhichrelativepotentialpopulation-densityofthehu-manspecieshasbeenshaped,uniquely,forthehumanspecies:by theeffectsofwillfulprogressofhumanpractice tohigherstatesofpotentialrelativepopulation-density,thatthroughdis-coveryandadoptionofthosehigherprinciplesofchangewhichAeschylus’OlympianZeusforbade.As I have already empha-sized here, this development within the Noösphere reshapes the physical geometry of that Biosphere in ways which are to be seen as the effects of the changes which are effected in, and radi-ated from the higher realm of the Noösphere.21

Inthespanoftheknownhistoryoftheknownculturescen-tered on the Mediterranean, the kind of society which thatOlympianZeus’spolicyprescribed, is known to scholarsas“theoligarchicalmodel,”underwhosereignmostpeoplearereducedtothelikenessofcattlebyimpositionofrulesofno-change(“zerogrowth”)whicharereflected,typically,inMal-thusianfads,andfascistpoliticalsystemstoday.Thisoligarchi-calmodelhasbeenthepersistingoriginof thedegenerative

20. I.e., Orion, or Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas (1893) and Arctic Home in the Vedas (1903).

21. Consider the impact of what are largely “transuranic” istopes of specifically biological significance, a present line of development which echoes Vernadsky’s impact on Russian geological science since the visit of Prince and later Czar Peter the Great to the site of the Freiberg academy (near Dresden).

crises, suchas thepresentone,whichmankindhas experi-encedinknownhistory.

Riemann & the Principle of HypothesisThus,theimplicationoftherevolutionaryadvanceinphysical

scienceintroducedbyBernhardRiemann,asfirstintroducedinhis1854habilitationdissertation,hasledtotherecognitionthatwemustconsiderouruniverseasfinite,thatinthespecificsenseofbeing“finitebutunbounded”—“self-bounded.”Thisqualityoffiniteness,isexpressedbymankind’sexpandingknowledgeofsetsofdiscovereduniversalphysicalprinciples,aseachsuchprincipleistobedefinedbythemodelofKepler’sdiscoveryofgravitation.

Atrueuniversalprincipleisneveritselfanobjectofthesens-es,butisaprinciplewhichisshown,experimentally,asKeplerprovedthecaseofgravitationinhisThe New AstronomyandtheHarmonies, combined, asunderlying (i.e., confining) thephysicalgeometryoftherelevantuniversalclassofactions.

Forthatreason,theuniverseisknowntobefiniteinthesensethatanysuchuniversalphysicalprincipleisself-bounded(andthereforenotexternallybounded)astorelativemagnitude“1,”and that its localexpression,asanefficientlyactinguniversalphysicalprinciple,isthereforethatofanontologicallyinfinitesi-malqualityofthatactionuponitssubjects,astheworkofKepler’sHarmoniesshows.Thus,wehave,contrarytotheempiricistsandpositivists,Leibniz’sderivationoftheontologicallyinfinitesimalcalculusfromKepler’sdiscoveryofuniversalgravitation.22

Thus,sincethetimesincetheimmediatepost-WorldWarIIperiod,sincethedeathsofVernadskyandAlbertEinstein,evi-dencefromthedomainsofphysicalchemistryhasdefinedthreeclearlydefineddomains:First,andlowest,theabioticdomain;second,theBiosphere;andthird,thesubsumingpoweroftheNoösphere.Thesedomainsarefamiliartousbycomparingtheknownpatternsofgrowthof the latter twodomains, theBio-sphereandNoösphere,relativetotheportionoftheEarth’scrustwhichisapparentlynotaproductofphysical-chemicalchangesdonebylivingprocesses.Generally,theBiosphereanditsresi-duesaregrowing,inratiotothemassofthecrust,andthemass

22. As in the authentic discovery of a quantum principle by Max Planck (the adversary of the Machian positivist ideologues) later, Kepler’s discovery of the organization of the system of gravitation of the Solar System, depended upon rejecting a purely visual (sense-perceptual) notion of the organization of the Solar System, by making the ontologically paradoxical juxtaposition of the no-tion of visual and aural sense-perception (“sight” and “sound”). There is no “empty space” in the organization of nature in the very small or very large. The hysteria exhibited, in defense of a childish blind faith in sense-certainty, by what were otherwise leading scientists, on the subject of the indispensable role of harmonics in defining universal gravitation, has continued to be a crucial, lead-ing barrier to the progress in physical science today. The wild attack on Max Planck by the German and Austro-Hungarian dupes of Ernst Mach and Ber-trand Russell, during and following World War I, should be compared with the common, and usually wildly lying hysteria against Kepler on the same account of “sense-certainty.” In both cases, Kepler and Planck, the crucial issue is onto-logical: the refusal of the opponents to realize that the human sense-readings are merely the reactions of instruments which present us what are, so to speak, the mere shadows of reality: this to such effect that the paradoxical evidence of sight and sound, rather than the evidence of one alone, must be treated as, for example, Kepler did in defining the harmonics of gravitation itself, and Planck in his great discovery.


oftheNoösphere(humanactivityanditsspecificproducts)rela-tivetotheBiosphere.

VernadskyrootedthesedistinctionsinmethodsofaRieman-nianpracticeofphysicalchemistry.Thosemethods,withtheirsuitableenrichment,shouldbeconsideredtheimpliedauthoritytowhichIreferinthisreport.2�

Thedistinctionsincludethespecifications,that:1.)Withouttheprincipleoflife,thereisnodevelopmentoftheBiospherewithintheEarthasawhole;2.)Withouthumancognitiveactiv-ity,thereisnofurtherdevelopmentoftheNoöspherewithintheBiosphere.Fromthestandpointofphysicalchemistry,thosedis-tinctionssignifythenotionofmanandwomanasmadeinthelikenessoftheCreator,relativetotheBiosphere.

Hence,the“teleological”featureoftheuniversesodefined.Withoutauniversalprincipleoflife,thereisnobiology;withoutauniversal principleof humancreative reason, lacking in alllowerformsoflife,thereisnoNoösphere.Thus,theabioticSolarSystem(andbeyond)isnecessaryfortheexpressionoflife,andlivingcreaturesareanecessarypreconditionforexpressionofthedistinctivequalityof human life; but, theprincipleof theNoöspheresubsumesall.Wemustthinkoftheseprinciplesasuniversal physical principles in the same sense as Kepler’s

23. The argument, by Vernadsky, to which I referred in my “Vernadsky & Dirich-let’s Principle,” op. cit.

uniquelyoriginaldiscoveryofuni-versalgravitation,butasofthequal-ityofadifferentsuchuniversalprin-ciple.Allthreeprinciples,includinggravitation, share the character ofbeingimmortalas principles.

‘Sense-Uncertainty’Therootofthefunctionalquality

ofmentaldiseasecalledreduction-ism,isthenotionof“sense-certain-ty”:thatistosay,thenotionthatweareobligedtoacceptcertainfanci-fullyfalsenotionsofspace,matter,andtime,suchasdefinitions,axi-oms, and postulates, without fur-therinvestigation,thisontheprem-isethatthisrepresentsacceptance,a priori,of thestubbornlypersist-ingevidenceofoursense-percep-tualapparatusassuch.Thissystem-icerror ismet inancient throughmodernEuropeantraditionsasthebasis for that variety of Sophistmethod associated, successively,with the doctrine of Aristotle, asthis variety of Sophism is echoedbythefollowersofAristotleinthecelebratedEuclid’s Elements.24

Wedonotknow theactual timeandplaceof thecrucialbreaking-point inmankind’sexperience,atwhichactualsci-encedisplacedthepatheticworshipof“sense-certainty.”Wedoyetknowthatwhatistoberightlyseenasthehistoryofsci-encetoday,whichcanbeidentifiedasemerginginthetimeandplaceinthehistoryofman’sdiscoveryofastrophysics,what-everwereexactlythattime;itbecame,thus,apparenttoan-cientmastersofcelestialnavigationwhorecognizedthatthestarryskiesabovedidnotrepresentasimplesystemofrepeti-

24. Essentially, the main body of content of the Elements is in the form of sys-temic reification of hypotheses and theorems which had been defined earlier by, notably, the circles of the Pythagoreans and Plato. As the relevant principle was most famously clarified by Archytas’ purely constructive demonstration of the duplication of the cube, Classical Greek physical science, as in the Egyptian-Py-thagorean Sphaerics echoed in the work of Thales and Heracleitus. The charac-teristic of that Classical physical science of the Pythagoreans and Plato, was the same notion of underlying physical principles as expressed essentially by the experimental methods associated with the concept of the same ontologically infinitesimal represented by Kepler’s discovery of the harmonic, rather than na-ive visual-space-like basis for a measurable value of organization of the Solar System.

Our various specific sensory powers are of the quality of instrumentation of our experience, presenting our minds with what are the shadows which reality prompts as perceived sensations. The contrast of two opposing qualities of per-ception, such as vision and hearing, was indispensable for Kepler’s discovery of the quantifiable principle of gravitation. However, although this principle of anti-Euclidean geometry was already clear to such predecessors of Riemann as the great Eighteenth-Century mathematician Abraham Kästner (and, actually, if se-cretly, Carl Gauss), it was not until Bernhard Riemann’s explicit expulsion of all reductionist method from physical science, that the problem had been placed in clear focus for modern science.

Artist’s concept of the Solar System, NASA/JPL

At some point in human history, man discovered astrophysics, and recognized that “the star-ry skies above did not represent a simple system of repetitive cycles, but expressed the exis-tence of a universe in endless qualitative development, from relatively simpler to more com-plex, higher order (anti-entropic development of) systems of the universe as a whole.”


tivecycles,butexpressedtheexistenceofauniverseinendlessqualitativedevelopment,fromrelativelysimplertomorecom-plex, higher-order (anti-entropic development of) systems oftheuniverseasawhole.Thisfacthasbeenmadecleartothoseamonguswhoactuallythinkaccordingtothatrealizationofthe implicationsofBernhardRiemann’s fundamental revolu-tioninphysicalscience,arealizationwhichisbestrepresentedtodaybythefundamentalsoftheworkofAcademicianV.I.Ver-nadskyandAlbertEinstein.Thus,nolongercansciencebecon-sideredcompetent,ifitproceedsonassumptionsbasedonin-terpretation of experience of what is esteemed as beingcontainedwithintheabiotic.Competentsciencealwayslooksfromthetopoftheevolutionofthechangeswithintheuniverse,to the lowerqualitiesof itsorganization.Competentsciencetoday is premisedon Einstein’s conceptionof aRiemannianuniverseofKeplerandKepler’sprecedents,proceedingalwaysfromthefoundationofsciencefoundonlyinthosecognitivepowersoftheindividualhumanmindwhosetypicalachieve-ments are sampled in the Riemannian universe, as that hasbeendefinedinexemplaryfashionbyVernadskyandEinstein.

Thegreatcurseofprevalentmodernsciencedogma,isthatitisessentiallyempiricist,or, inits farmoredegenerateexpres-sionsaseitherpositivism,or,evenworse,existentialism.

Thus,competentsciencetodayproceedsfromtheoriginex-pressedbythespecificallycreativepowersofthehumanindi-vidualmind.Sciencemustdefineitselfasourknowledgeoftheuniverseastheprogressofman’spowertocontrol,andtodevelophisuniverse;thisshowsuswhattheuniversedemandsof us, and what it will tolerate from us as the practice, ex-pressedthroughman’spowerinandoverthatuniverse,asthatpower is increased in such expressed terms as systemic in-creaseofthepotentialrelativepopulation-densityofthehu-manspecies.

2. Anti-Entropy:

The Principle of Creation

Thus,thesecretofouruniverseis,thatonlybeasts,orbestial-izedhumanbeings,suchas,intheworstcases,MalthusianslikeformerU.S.Vice-PresidentAlGore,failtorecognizethat,amongalllivingspecies,mankind,andonlymankind,iscreativebyitstrue,willfulnature.Forthecompetenthumanindividual,thereisnolawof“entropy”inthisuniverse,butonlythemisleadingappearancesrepresentedaseffectsofacultivatedhabitofstu-pidity,orworse,amongsomeunfortunatepeople,sometimesverymanypeople.Forthatfaultyhabit,donotblamehumanityindifferently; blame some relevant people, including thosewretchedSophists,suchasthoseofthelegendarypresswhichwereresponsibleforthepolicybehindthemintingofthatNew York TimesstylebookwhichhasrippedthetruePythagorean commaofhumancreativityfromitspages.

Thecrucialthemeherecanbesummedupinasinglestate-ment, thus:The universe, viewed, properly, top-down, is the

habitat of the reign of the Noösphere!

Dogs, Apes, & HumansThosewhorecalltheU.S.A.vs.Sovietrivalryin“thespace-

race”ofthe1950sand1960s,mayalsorecalladebate,whetherdogsweremoreintelligentthanchimpanzees(theSovietpoli-cy).Frankly,dogswonthatcontest.Thecrucialfactofthematter,isthatdogshaveabetterpotentialforrelevantqualitiesofseem-ingly human-like intelligence than adult chimpanzees. (Anydog-loveralsofamiliarwiththetraitsoftheadultchimpanzee,canbeattractedtothisfact.)Tosettletheissue,itweresufficienttoconsideracandiddebateofthismatter,betweenatrainerre-sponsibleformanagingadultmalechimpanzees,andtheproudandinsightfulhumancompanionofapetdog.

Letusseemtocheatjustabit,butthatonlyforapedagogicalpurpose.Letuscompareadultpetmalechimpanzeeswithadultdogsraisedashouseholdpets.Wereallyarenotcheatingindo-ingthis.Whenwecomparethebehaviorofanimalspecies,wemustconsidertherelevantqualitiesforhumanityoftheadultrepresentativeofthespecies,asbycomparingadultmalechim-panzeeswhohadbeenpetsas“children,”withtheadultdevel-opmentofthehouseholdpuppywhenithasbecomeanadult.

Actually,contrarytotheopinionofsomechildrenandadults,adogdoesnotdevelopactuallyhumanintelligence;thepetdogacquireswhatmightbedescribedasan“echo”ofhumanintel-ligence.25Here, thedogout-classes thechimpanzee.Thepetdogdevelopswhatappearstobesomethingresemblingahu-

25. My wife and I have “owned” a number of dogs: several Irish Setters, two Great Pyrenees, and one West Highland White Terrier. There are “breed” char-acteristics, but there are also developed “personalities,” which are manifest as expressed “insight” specific to the dog and to the household into which it is as-similated while a puppy.

Strelka (left) and Belka, Soviet dogs who orbited the Earth in 1960—the first animals to survive orbital flight. LaRouche agrees with Soviet space scientists of that time, that dogs are more intel-ligent than chimpanzees. But there’s something essential here that Al Gore et al. fail to grasp.


manformofpersonality;thatdogtriestosimulate(“imitate”)thepersonalityofahumanbeing,perhapsregardingitsownerasrepresenting,inethicalandfamilyterms,thekindofauthoritydueitsmother,father,orhumansibling.26Therelevantdistinc-tionwasnotedbytheCardinalNicholasofCusa,whoreportedthiskindofapparentsimulationofhumanintelligenceamonganimals.Thus, the Noösphere “educates” the Biosphere.

For purposes of an introductory, exploratory discussion ofsuchmatters,wemight say that thedog’s simulationofwhatseemstohavebeenthebehaviorofthehigherorderoflivingspecies, the human individual, is “programmed,” although—God forbid!—never “digitally” programmed. Cusa comparedGodtothe“soul”ofman,asmantothe“soul”oftheanimal,thatinappropriatetermsofreference.

Thecontentofthoseprecedingparagraphsistobetreatedasanecessary,brief,playful,butnonethelessavalid,introductorydiscussion,thatasamatterofprovidingabackgroundorienta-tionforthediscussionofthe“hardpoint”whichIamabouttointroducethus.

The Folly of Sense-CertaintyAmongallknownspeciesexistentwithinourSolarSystem,

theformofhumanmentalperformancewhichisspecifictotheconceptionoftheontologically infinitesimalprinciplesofphysi-calscience,suchasKepler’sdiscoveryofgravitation(andalsoofthediscovery,asbyJ.S.Bach,oftrueClassicalartisticcomposi-tion),isunique,amongallspecies,tohumanindividuals.Thus,totheextentthatthehumanbrainmightbeconsidered,wrong-ly,bysome,asmerelyahigherorderofdevelopmentofanimalbrains,thatassumptionleavesnobasisforatrulynoëticintel-lectualcreativityofthequalityexpressedbythemoderncasesofCardinalNicholasofCusa,Kepler,Fermat,Leibniz,Riemann,orofJ.S.Bach,W.A.Mozart,andLudwigvanBeethoven,creativitywhichisnotsoencounteredinthebiologicalmental-perceptualapparatusofthebrain-functionofmammalsingeneral.

Thecluewhichpointstowardasolutionfortherelevantmys-tery,maybefoundthroughexaminingacertainsystemicqualityofparadoxinKepler’sdiscoveryoftheharmonicorganizationoftheSolarSystem.Thespecificqualityofthatdiscovery,byKe-pler,whichhasdrivenevenmanyserious,ifsomewhatmisguid-edscientistsintoafury,isthatKepler’ssolutioninvolvestheprin-cipled,musicallydefined, Lydian,Florentinebel cantofacultyofhearing.Whereas,asamatterofcontrast,thescientistwhowasheavily indoctrinated in theSophistryofAristotle-Euclid,willtend,withrareexceptions,toreactwithhisorherownpersonalperformanceofsomesortofa“freakshow,”whenconfrontedwiththeimplicationsoftheindispensablefunctionofhearing,asKeplerwasconfronted:whenconfrontedwiththeparadoxwhichthreatensthepeacefulcontemplationofanymerelyvi-sualconceptionoforganizationofspace-time.

26. We had a Great Pyrenees, who accepted a West Highland White Terrier as a puppy of the family, but seemed, over years, to grow increasingly troubled by the fact that that puppy never seemed to be growing up.

“Tuning”isanextremelyusefulpieceofscientificpedagogyforthepurposeofdefiningtheexperimentalsubject,whencon-frontingthatacutelyparadoxicalfact.Itisarelatedfact,thatallevidenceavailableindicates,thatthere is nothing intrinsic to the apparent physiological organization of the brain-function of the mammals which accounts for the unique role of the individual human mind in reproducing the phenomena of the Noösphere.Thereissomething,relatedtothenotionof“tuning,”asdefinedbyKepler’sdiscovery,andbyJ.S.Bach,whichaccountsforthisuniquespeciesofexperimentalfact.

The relatively more obvious point made by that sort of“thoughtexperiment,”isthatasanereactiontoKepler’streat-mentoftheparadoxofharmonicsindefiningthemeasurableeffectoftheprincipleofgravitation,compelstheseasonedex-perimentalisttoacceptthefactthathis,orherownsense-per-ceptualapparatusisanarrayofinstrumentations,tosucheffectthatthesundry“meterreadings”fromthatinbornarrayofex-perimentalapparatusmustbetreatedasjustthat.So,whatseemsalmostself-evident,almostEuclideanorCartesian,ifonlyoneofthehumansensesisbeingconsidered,maybetransformedintotheinducingofastateofstarkconfusioninthemindoftheun-witting,when two,ormore,differenthuman senses, suchassightandhearing,arebeingappliedtodefineasinglecommonimageofthecommonexperimentalsubject.

Forexample:Intherelativelysimplercase,thenaivestudent“believes”itto

bemoreorlessself-evident,thatastronomicalspaceisdefinedbydiscreteobjects,suchasplanets,moons,andsundryformsandsizesofintra-Solar-Systemparticles,eachandallappearingtofloatwhensuchphenomenaareassessedasbeingwithinabackground-mediumofwhatispresumedtobe,initsownna-ture,asCartesianemptyspace.Similarly,theMaxPlanck-hatingdupesofErnstMach,suchasLudwigBoltzmann,mayprofferachildishmisreadingofwhatheconsiders,onprinciple,asre-ducible,conceptuallytoapercussivelyorganizedgassystem.

In these cases, the experimental validity attributed to themechanisticrepresentation,istoberecognizedastheresultofinterpretingwhatmaybe,withinlimits,experimentalphenome-naviewedintermsofamechanisticfantasyderivedfromthea prioristic,mechanisticmethodsofAristotleandEuclid.Aslongasideologuescontinuetointerprettheevidence,axiomatically,onreductionistpresumptions,theymaybeself-satisfiedwiththeirformulations.Thismaycontinueuntiltheyarefacedwiththeex-periment which presents what they must view as profoundlyanomalousresults,asRiemann’s1854habilitationdissertationshows,orasKurtGödel,in19�1,demonstratedthefraudulentcharacterofBertrandRussell’sPrincipia Mathematica.27

Suchchildish Euclidean-Cartesian fantasies as thoseof thefollowersofMachanddupesofRussell,arepreciselythesourceof the confusion of the physicist experiencing a banshee-fit

27. Kurt Gödel, “On Formally Undecidable Propositions of Principia Mathemat-ica and Related Systems,” (1931), in Kurt Gödel Collected Works, Vol. I (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), pp. 144-195.


whenbeingpresentedwithKepler’sharmoniccompositionofthegravitational,wronglypresumed“action-at-a-distance”fieldoftheSolarSystem,28orinthatdomainofPlanck’sworkwhichtheradicallyreductionistdupesofthepositivists(e.g.,radicalempiricists)suchasMach,oronelikeBertrandRussell,misiden-tifiedasquantum“mechanics.”Atthatpoint,afewwordsfromaKurtGödelorAlbertEinsteinaresufficienttosendtheradi-callyreductionistcult-followersofMach,Russell,NorbertWie-ner,JohnvonNeumann,etal.,intohowlingfitsworthyofthedismaywhichmighthavebeenexpressed,attheclose,amongthe suffering characters of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau.

Thealternativetoreductionistfantasiesof“sense-certainty,”isto considerphysical space-timeas a truecontinuumof exis-tence-in-motion.Thatmeansthattheexclusionofthenotionofsomethingexistingwhichmustyetbemoved,infavoroftheac-ceptingtherealizationofthat“motion,”motionotherwiserec-ognizedasactioninthesenseofacontinuingprocessofdevel-opment, must be accepted as the intrinsically ontologicalqualityofexistence.Thismeansdynamicexistence,notinthesenseof the reductionist’snonsenseword“thermodynamics,”butasinthemethodoftheancientPythagoreansandPlato,orthemodernfollowersofCusa,LeonardodaVinci,Kepler,Fer-mat,Leibniz,Riemann,etal.

Rejectionofsense-certaintydoesnotmeanrejectingtheroleofoursenses;rather,wemustrecognizethatthesensesarein-dispensable in the two respects indicated here below.Whatmustberejected,forthesakeofcompetentscience,isthehedo-nist’sblindfaithin“sense-certainty.”

Firstly,wemustappreciatetheimplicationsofnotonlyHelenKeller’s plight, but her accomplishment in overcoming whatmight have seemed her hopeless situation. Her achievementdoesnotjustifydeprecatingthosesenseswhoseuseshelacked;but,rather,appreciatingtheimportanceofthenewinstrumentsof cognitive method and apparatus which science develops,newinstrumentswhichenablemankindtoexploresuchother-wiseforbiddenrealmsas theuniverseandsub-atomicspace-time.

Second, although the relatively competent expressions ofmodernsciencehavedemonstrated,afresh,thatthepictureoftherealworldgiventousbythesensesassuchisnottherealworld,butis,atbest,onlyafaithfulshadowofreality:none-thelessashadowonwhoseassistancewedependforguidingourinvestigationsintotherealworldoftheunseen.Themostsignificantoutcomeofrecognizingthisirony,isthatwemustlearntodiscardallformsofnaivesense-certainty,suchasthea prioristicSophistriesofAristotle,Euclid,andDescartes.Wethenlearntousethosesenses,boththosegiventousbybirth,orinstrumentsweadoptassupplementstothesenses,todis-covermoreandmoreofthenatureoftheactualuniversewhichweinhabit,and,inthatmanner,andinthatprocess,discoverthemostpreciousamongallofthesecretsofscience,thetrue

28. The case of the Crab Nebula should, therefore, drive him wild!

identityofourselves,andourplace in thisRiemannianuni-verseatlarge.

Riemann AgainIn treating thementaldisordercalled“sense-certainty,”we

must take into account, from theoutset, that theproblemofsense-certaintyasithasconfrontedusinEuropeanculture,per-sistently,sinceapproximatelythedeathofPlato,isaproductoftheriseofwhatisknownastheformofEuropeanSophistryat-tackedbyPlato’sdialogues.Thismeansattacking,specifically,the form of Sophistry which ancient, medieval, and modernSophistryhaveinheritedfromAristotleandsuchamonghisno-tablefollowersasEuclid.

Irepeat:thereiscruciallysignificant,survivingevidencetotheeffect,thatthegreattrans-oceanicmaritimecultureswhoseexperienceisreflectedtousfromtheancientEgyptknowntoSolon,thePythagoreans,andPlato,possessedascientificmeth-od,identifiedasSphaerics,whichwaslargelyfreeofthosefalla-

Library of Congress

Helen Keller’s accomplishment in overcoming both deafness and blindness shows that cognition is not based at all upon sense-certainty. Here, Keller is exploring the shape of a statue.


ciesof sense-certaintywhich Ihave ridiculed in theopeningpagesofthispresentchapterofthereport.Also,wemustrecog-nize, that therehavebeen tracesof the scientificallyhealthy,pre-Euclideanscientificworld-outlookradiatedbyPlato,asbycurrentsof JudaismandChristianitytypifiedbyPhiloandtheApostlePaul,atvarioustimesandinvariouslocations,overthecourseofancientandmedievalEuropeantimespriortothegreatworkofNicholasofCusainfoundingmodernscience.

InallmodernEuropeanhistory, therewasagreat struggle,fromthetimeofKepler,Fermat,andLeibniz,untilthatofRie-mann,duringwhichalunatic,so-calledCartesianandNewto-nianviewofscience,thatofthea-priorismofAristotle,Euclid,Galileo,andDescartes,wasmadeprevalent,eitherthroughtheimperialinfluenceoftheHabsburgandotherInquisitions,orbytheinfluenceof theAnglo-DutchLiberal imperium;until Rie-mann broke open the doorway to truth with his 1854 habilita-tion dissertation.

Onthisaccount,itmustberecalled,thattheechoesofCusa,LeonardodaVinci,andKepler,wereexpressedinthemid-Sev-enteenthCenturyofFrance,under the leadershipofCardinalMazarin,Jean-BaptisteColbert,andGottfriedLeibniz,untilthisprogresswasinterruptedbytheemergingprimacyofamodernLiberalismwhichemergedduringtheAnglo-DutchLiberalwarsleadingintotheFebruary176�launchingoftheneo-Venetianformoftheworld’spresentlycontinued,Britishempire-in-fact.So,despitethelatergreatEighteenth-CenturyRenaissanceledbyAbraham Kästner, Gotthold Lessing, Moses Mendelssohn,FriedrichSchiller,andtheMonge-CarnotEcolePolytechnique,the Jacobin Terror and the reign of the predator NapoleonBonaparte,crushed,onceagain,thenew,lateEighteenth-Cen-turyClassicalRenaissance.

ThattyrannyoftheHabsburgInquisitionofGrandInquisitorTomásdeTorquemada,ontheoneside,andthatoftheAnglo-DutchLiberalismofPaoloSarpiandhisfollowers,ontheother,hadalreadyestablishedthemassivelycorrupting influenceofPaoloSarpi’ssystemofLiberalismoverscience,art,andpolitics.TheBritishimperialtyrannyovertheViennaCongress’sEurope,and the British deployment of the early-Nineteenth-CenturySpanishmonarchy’scontinuationofBritishJohnLocke’searlierpromotionofthetrans-Atlanticslave-trade,continuedtodomi-natescienceuntilthecirclesofthatgreatorganizerAlexandervonHumboldtsucceededinunleashingthegreatrevolutioninphysicalscienceofWilhelmWeber,LejeuneDirichlet,andBern-hardRiemann.Oncemore,thatsameLiberalsophistrydomi-natesourmodernEuropeanculture,withitsschools,universi-ties,andpopularopinion,stilltoday.

Itwasuponthesignalcontributionsofthelatergeniuses,suchasthegreat,laterachievementsofsuchexceptionalgeniusesasVernadskyandAlbertEinstein,onwhichthenetprogressofsci-ence has chiefly depended. During the entire sweep of the1854-2008intervaltodate,theutteringofRiemann’s1854ha-bilitationdissertation,hasbecomethegreatlongwaveofrevo-lutiononwhichthegreatestnetachievementsofsciencehave,subsequently,thusfardepended.

Thus,asgreataswastherevolutionwhichBernhardRiemannlaunchedinhis1854habilitationdissertation,therewasnothingessentiallynewtoEuropeancivilization’sscienceinthegreatprinciplethroughwhichRiemannshatteredthedarknessofEu-clideansuperstition.Oncethe1854habilitationdissertationisunderstood,itsorigins,itsoutgrowths,anditsimplicationsfornow,were,already,essentiallygroundedinfact.

SinceRiemann’shabilitationdissertation,theprincipalsourceofmoral rot inmodernphysical science,hasbeen thatgreathoax,called“thermodynamics,”ascraftedbythescientificallyandmorallydecadentcirclesofClausius,Grassmann,andKel-vin.Thiscorruptionistypified,tothepresentdate,bywhathasbecome that implicitly mass-murderous, Machian hoax andfraudofmodernmechanics,thehoaxnamed“TheSecondLawofThermodynamics.”

Thatmuchsaidthisfar,theconsiderationswhichIhaveout-lineduptothispointinthereport,havetakenus,repeatedly,dur-ingtheprecedingpages,uptothevergeofthegreatconclusionstandingbeforeus:thenotionof the ontological infinitesimal.

The Noösphere as SuchThedevelopmentoftheconceptoftheNoöspherehasde-

pendedessentiallyontheinsightintothatevidencefromthatapproachtophysicalchemistrybyMendeleyevandHarkins,whichAcademicianVernadsky summarized in themiddleofthe19�0s.Althoughthereisoftenatemptationbysomereport-erstolocatethediscoveryofaprincipleoflifebyPasteur,rath-er than crucially significant phenomena expressed by livingprocesses,Pasteurhimselfrejectedaprecociousconclusioninthematter;hedidsocorrectly,onthepremisesofhisknowl-edgeofwhataproperscientificmethodmustrequireasade-quateproof.29We,stilltoday,mustshowsimilarcautioninstat-ingclaimspertainingtotheNoösphere;however,asmuchofwhatweknowtohavebeenprovenrespectingtheimplicationsof theprovenexistenceof theNoöspheremustbeaccepted,despitedeeperissuesyettobedefined.

Today,asIhaveemphasizedtheimplicationsofthequestionsimplicitlyposedby the referencedworkofWoese et al.,wemustbeconcernedwithahigherorderofchallenge,theNoö-sphere,asVernadskyclarifiedthequestionsrespectingtheBio-sphere.Livingprocessesexpressadifferentphysicalchemistrythannon-livingprocesses,thusdefiningaspecificphase-spaceknownastheBiosphere.Then,howshallweapproachthehigh-erorderofsubject,theNoösphere?

WeknowthattheNoöspherehasbeendiscoveredby(actu-ally)AcademicianV.I.Vernadsky.Wealsoknow fromcrucialexperimentalevidence,thattheBiosphereisdominatedfunc-tionallybytheNoösphere:thattosucheffectthattheNoöspherecontains the Biosphere functionally, such that no generaliza-tionsrespectingtheBiospherecanexcludethesuperiorroleoftheNoösphere.

Wemustrecall,thattheproofofthediscoveryofthehypoth-

29. LaRouche, “Vernadsky & Dirichlet’s Principle,” op. cit.


esisbyVernadskywassuppliedbytheevidenceofthegrowthofthe accumulated mass generated by the Biosphere’s phase-space as products specific to the effects and residues of themassesoflivingprocesses.ThegrowthoftheBiosphere,sode-fined,relativetothephase-spacegeneratedassuppliedbynon-livingprocesses, supplied theproofneeded,even thoughwehaveyettoreceiveacompetentexperimentaldefinitionof“his-torical”originsoflifeassuch.

ThesamestandardrequiredtodefinetheBiosphereistobeapplied to thecaseof theNoösphere,withoneverydistinctqualification.Crucialistheevidenceonwhichanycompetentscienceofphysicaleconomydepends:thatthepercentileofthemassofourplanetrepresentingproductsofhumancognitiveac-tivitynototherwiseproducedbytheprocessesoftheNoösphereitself,hasbeenincreasedthrough,chiefly,theeffectsofscien-tificandrelatedadvancesinthegoalsandtechnologiesofhu-mansocieties.

Thecrucialfactthusemphasized,isthatthisincreaseoftherelativemassoftheNoösphere,is,uniquely,thenowwell-de-finedproductofwhatistermednoësis.Thispertainstoactivities,

whichareexpresseduniquelybytheirontologically infinitesimal expression(asIhavealreadyemphasizedatearli-erpointsofthisreport),asthosepro-cesses of discovery of true universalphysical principles which have noplace in the reductionist methods ofancientSophistssuchasAristotleandEuclid,orinmodernempiricistandre-latedpractice.

This distinction of the Noösphere confronts us, at least typically so, with its evidence of the paradoxical type of case, an anti-entropic case, in which the future determines the present.�0

Forexample:inthecaseoftheBio-sphere,wehavehad the relativead-vantage of being able to define theBiosphereby reference to thehigherstate of organization in the universewhich contains the definition of theBiosphere,theNoösphere.WecannotapproachthesubjectoftheNoöspherewithsuchanavailablekindofadvan-tage.Theparadoxicaleffectismoreorlesslimitedtothefactthatitisthedis-covery of a principle which oftenserves as the cause of a qualitativechangeinthequalityofeffectofhu-manaction(forexample)ontheuni-verse.This,inturn,confrontsuswiththefactualexistenceofthediscoveryof a necessary truth of practice (i.e.,Classical Platonic hypothesis), this

evenbeforetherelevant,newexperimentalprincipleofactionwasdiscovered negatively.

Toillustratetheexistenceofsuchpoints:suchananomalyissuggested,althoughnototherwiseknowntohavebeenproven,yet,by theevidenceof theostensiblyanomalousorderingofcertainkindsofchangeswhichoccurintheCrabNebula.

Take,forexample,therelatedfactthatitwasFermat’sremark-able,uniquediscoveryof theprincipleof leastaction,whichpromptedLeibniztooverthrowtheauthorityofHuyghens’cy-cloid,andtobaseauniversalphysicalprincipleofleastactionontheanalogfunctionswhichledtothisrevolutionindefiningthenotionofactualphysicalprinciples.

Theseandrelatedconsiderationsleadustowardthreegreatparadoxes.

First, that the greatest moments of scientific discovery arethoseinwhicharevolutionarychange in the future change of the ordering in our universe of practiceappearstosomehuman

30. This has been the “secret” of my unique, current success as the most suc-cessful long-range forecaster in economics.

R. Gehrz/NASA-JPL-Caltech

The Crab Nebula presents an array of paradoxes to the scientist. It is rapidly changing, even pulsating; yet it is presumed to be immensely large. The changes that occur in its structure take place synchronously throughout it, seemingly like waves propagating at a velocity faster than the speed of light! Such anomalies drive the reductionists crazy.


mindasaninevitableconsequenceofevidence,auni-versalprinciple,yettobeemployedinpractice.Howhasthisbeenpossible?

Second, what is the mysterious, yet undeniablepoweroftheindividualhumanmind’sdesignwhichpermitsanindividualhumanbeing,butnoanimal,tomakesuchatypeofvaliddiscoveryofthenecessarychangeinprincipledmodesforshapingofthefuture?

Third,howdoestheindividualhumanmindmani-festsuchauniquepower,withnoprecursorforthisintheBiosphereassuch?

Isitsomeprincipleof“tuning?”Hasthedevelop-mentofthehumanmental-biologicalapparatustakenthehumanspeciestoapointatwhichitis“tunedinto”ahigherpowerintheuniverse,ahigherpowerwhichisnotonlyexpressedastrulyanti-entropy,asdefinedbythegreatEighteenthCenturymathematicianAbra-hamKästner,butasupremeuniversalphysicalprinci-ple of anti-entropy? So, Philo of Alexandria con-demnedtheAristotlean’stheologicalinsistenceontheself-inflicted, permanent impotence of the Creator,anddidsoonthebasisofthestrongestqualityofargu-ment in evidence against such an absurd theology,and,implicitly,againstanabsurd,Aristotelean,Claudi-us Ptolemy-like misconception ofscience.

There are two cases of such cru-cially significant behavior. In onecase,thereistheuniverseinthelarge,asgovernedbyananti-entropicprin-ciple driving the universe into suc-cessivelyhigherqualitativestatesoforganizationasauniverse.Intheoth-ercase,asposedinGenesis1,man-kindactsupon itsplace in theuni-versetosimilarlyanti-entropiceffect.Intheotheraspectofthematter,wehave the evidence that the humanmindhasapotentialqualitywhich,bysheerweightofdefini-tion,isnotaproductofitsbiologyaswedefinebiologytoday,but the“tuning”of thehumanformof thinkingtoagreementwithcognitivepowerswhichhaveneverbeenshowntoexistinlowerformsoflife.Yet,asisshownbythegrowthoftheNoö-sphere,relativetotheBiosphere,thispowerofthehumanmindisfullyefficientwithinouruniverse.

AsNicholasofCusapresentedthecase,asourCreatoroftheuniverseistoman,somanmimicsthatCreatorinman’sspiri-tualpowerover,andobligationtocaringfordogs.

Themoremodestpointtobeprofferedinthiscontext,istheevidencethattheuniverseisintrinsicallyanti-entropic,andthattheobligationwhichmankindmustmeetifmankindistosur-vive,istoactinthewaytheCreatorofouruniversehasgov-erned.Weareproperly“tuned”tobecreaturesdevotedtotheserviceofanti-entropy,suchthatthosewhoexpressacontrary

view,suchastheMalthusiansandformerU.S.Vice-PresidentAlGoretoday,arethereforeevilinwhattheydoinserviceofen-tropy.

Withrespecttothegreatquestionwhichhasbeenthesubjectofmyreporthere,weareinapredicamentwithpracticalimpli-cationslikethoseconfrontedbyLouisPasteuronthematteroflife.Wedonothavethetruesolution;but,wemustnotavoidtheimplications for thepresentpracticeof science,of theunan-swered, stubbornlypersistingquestionwhich itwouldbe in-competencetoavoid.Inscience,untilweposethequestion,asIhaveproposedwedohere,wewillneverbegintodiscovertheanswer.

_______________________________________

Lyndon LaRouche, a statesman and economist, is on the Sci-entific Advisory Board of 21stCentury. A version of this article appeared in EIR magazine, April 11, 2008.

NASA

Mankind’s effect on the universe is anti-entropic! Here, NASA scientists and engineers in the Mis-sion Operations Control Room celebrating after Apollo 11 made man’s historic first landing on the Moon, July 24, 1969. Inset: a close-up view of an astronaut’s footprint in the lunar soil during the Apollo 11 mission.


IntheearlydaysoftheU.S.AtomsforPeaceprogram,scientistsrealizedthatthenuclearfissionprocesscouldbeusedformorethanjustproduc-ingelectricityandheat.Theyplannedtoharnessradiationforallsortsof

beneficialapplications:desalinatingwater;sterilizingmedicalsuppliesandequipment;cancerdiagnosisandtreatment;spacetravel;industrialradiogra-phy(asdiagnostictracersorfordetectingflawsinwelds,forexample);breed-ingstronger,moreversatileseedsandplants;monitoringagricultureandlive-stock; controlling insectpestsby sterilizingmale insects; anddisinfestingfoodcropsandextendingtheirshelflife.

FortheAtomsforPeacevisionaries,thebenefitsofradiationhadnolimits!Forthisreason,theMalthusianoligarchicforcesintervenedtosquelchthisoptimism,institutionalizescientificpessimism,andtomakeradiationintoa

Isotope technologies to increase food production and preserve crops are ready to be mobilized now to help feed the world!

Above: New varieties of rice and other crops have been developed at the Agricultural Genetics Insti-tute in Hanoi, using radioisotope technologies, in collaboration with the IAEA. Here, a test plot at the Institute in 2004.

THE ISOTOPE ECONOMY

Producing More and Better Food

Using Nuclear and Stable Isotopes

by Marjorie Mazel Hecht

Lothar Wedekind/IAEA


scaryword.1WhattheMalthusiansfearedwasthatfulluseofthebenefitsofradiationwouldmakeitpossibleforallnationstoen-sureadecentstandardoflivingfortheirgrowingpopulations,andthatthecitizensofnucleareconomieswouldbecomesmartenough to continue to develop technological innovations tosupportagrowingworld.

Today,thereisnowaythatourworld’s6.7billionpeoplecansurviveandthrive,unlesswegonuclear,asthosepioneersofthe1950sand1960sintended.Thismeansbuilding6,000nuclearplantsbytheyear2050,simplytokeepupwiththeexpecteddemandforelectricity.2Itmeansreindustrializingthepost-industrialeconomiesbymobilizingaroundvastin-frastructureprojects,liketheEurasianLand-Bridge,usingthemethodsthatsucceededintheRoosevelt-eraTennesseeValleyAuthority(TVA).Italsomeansavastexpansionoftheknownandwell-testednu-cleartechnologiesforincreasingthefoodsupply—insectcontrol,plantandanimalbreeding,andfoodirradiation.

Proliferating Technological BenefitsThe main international agency that has spon-

sorednucleartechnologiesinthedevelopingsectoristheInternationalAtomicEnergyAgency(IAEA),whichturned50in2007.TheIAEA’sTechnicalCo-operationProgram,withabudgetof$76.8million,placedabout4,400traineesin2006throughouttheworld,workinginnuclear-relatedareas.Whenyouconsiderthatweneedtodoubleworldfoodpro-duction toeliminatehunger, this levelof fundingandstaffisbutadropinthebucket.ImaginewhatcouldbedoneinAfrica,forinstance,iftheprojectsbrieflyoutlinedhereweremultipliedtoexistinev-erycountryonthecontinent.

Plant breedingisoneoftheIAEA’smajorTechni-cal Cooperation projects, using controlled muta-tioninduction.Thistechnology,basedonthenatu-ralmutationofplants,usesradiationtechniquestoinducegeneticchanges,fromwhichthefavorablecharacteristicsareselectedandusedtobreednewplants.Inthisway,plantscanbemadesalineresis-tant,droughtresistant,sturdier,orhigheryielding.

Atamid-AugustInternationalSymposiumonInducedMuta-tionsinPlantsattheIAEA,theheadoftheagency’sDepartmentofNuclearSciencesandApplications,WernerBurkart,toldthe600plantscientistattendeesinhisopeningaddress:“Sincemu-tationinductioninplantsbeganover80yearsago,nearly�,000

1. See Marsha Freeman, “Who Killed U.S. Nuclear Power,” 21st Century Sci-ence & Technology, Spring 2001 www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/articles/ spring01/nuclear_power.html; and Marjorie Mazel Hecht, “The Neo-cons Not Carter Killed Nuclear Energy,” 21st Century, Spring-Summer 2006.

2. James Muckerheide, “How to Build 6,000 Nuclear Plants,” 21st Century Sci-ence & Technology, Summer 2005, www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/Arti-cles% 202005/Nuclear2050.pdf

varietiesfrommorethan170differentplantspecieshavebeenintroduced, resulting inhighernutritionalcontent,more suc-cessful agricultural output, and positive economic impact.Amongthemanysuccessesofinducedmutationisproductionofwheatindrought-pronepartsofAfrica,growingofbarleyinthehighAndesmountainsofPeru,andboostingofriceproduc-tioninVietnam.”

Kenya’sresearchprogram, incooperationwith the IAEA, isoneofthesuccessstoriesinplantbreeding.TheKenyaAgricul-tural Research Institute (KARI) has developed a high-yield,drought-resistant wheat seed, using radiation-breeding tech-

niques.Thenewwheatseed,Njoro-BW1,wasdevelopedoverthepastdecadewithmutationplantbreeding,underthedirec-tionofProf.MiriamKinyua,formerchiefplantbreederanddi-rectorofKARI.Njoro-BW1wasbredtouselimitedrainfalleffi-ciently,anditalsohasonlyamoderatesusceptibilitytowheatrust,highyields,andgoodqualitygrainsforbreadbaking.Withthis new seed, farmers have greened the hot and barren drylandsofKenya,makinguseoflandthatwasformerlyconsideredunfitforcrops.

WheatisthesecondmostimportantcerealcropinKenya,af-ter maize, but the country currently imports two-thirds of itswheat,atskyrockettingprices.Thusthenewwheatisvitalfor

This illustration by George Wilde from the 1955 children’s book, AllAbouttheAtom, by Ira M. Freeman (Random House), captures the Atoms for Peace spirit of that time. As the text states about the less advanced countries: “The main reason for the slow development of many of these lands is the shortage of power.” Nuclear energy could make “the neglected parts of the world flourish. In just a few years, they could make more progress than in many cen-turies before.”

http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/Articles%202005/Nuclear2050.pdf

http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/Articles%202005/Nuclear2050.pdf

http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/Subscriptions/spring%202006%20ONLINE/Special_Report.pdf

http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/Subscriptions/spring%202006%20ONLINE/Special_Report.pdf

www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/articles/spring01/nuclear_power.html

www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/articles/spring01/nuclear_power.html


Kenya’sfoodsecurity.Asecondwheatvariety,DH4,isexpectedtobereleasedsoon.ThissharesthequalitiesofNjoro-BW1,andisalsohardandred,withhighproteinandgoodbread-bakingqualities.

Inthepastfiveyears,inAfricaalone,sixnewvarietiesofcropsusing radiation breeding havebeen released, including sesa-meinEgypt,cassavainGhana,wheat inKenya,bananainSu-dan,andfingermilletandcot-toninZambia.Suchtechniqueshavealsobeenusedtodevelopcrops that can tolerate salinesoil.

A joint IAEA/UN Food andAgriculture Organization pro-gram,whichmaintains a plantbreeding laboratory inSeibers-dorf,Austria,has establishedanetworkofpromisinggenotypesof selected crops, providingthem to farmers.This includedin2006: soybean (in India, In-donesia,andThailand),peanut(inBangladesh),mungbean(inChina andPakistan), and sesa-me(intheRepublicofKorea).

Another success story is inMorocco,wheresalinetolerantplants are beginning to greenthe otherwise barren saltlands,wherethesoilhasone-thirdas

muchsaltinitastheocean.TheIAEAestimatesthattherearemorethan80millionhectaresofsalinesoilworldwidethatcouldbegreened,inwhatarecalledbiosalinenurseries.Egypt,Jordan,Syria,Pak-istan, Iran,Tunisia,and theUnitedArabEmiratesarenowinvolvedinthisproject.

Stableisotopesareusedinthesalineprojectnotjustforbreeding,butalsoforscreeningplantstode-termine their salt tolerance.This involves findingouttherelationshipbetweensalttoleranceandtheratiosoftwoisotopesofcarboninplants—carbon-12andcarbon-1�.Pakistan,whichhas6millionhectaresofsaltlands,isworkingwithMoroccoonthisproject.

Insect sterilization.TheSterileInsectTechniqueistheonlyexampleIknowofagoodpopulationcontrolprogram!Maleinsectsarelaboratoryrearedandthensterilizedwithgammairradiation.Whenreleasedintothefield,theirmatingwithfemalein-sectswillproducenooffspring.Thetechniquehasbeenusedfor50yearsasameansofcontrollingin-sectpopulations,usuallyinconjunctionwithother

methods,suchaschemicalpesticides.(Thisisbecausethein-sectsstillbite.)

Insectsterilizationhasbeensuccessfullyusedonsixconti-nentsforseveraldifferentpests:thefruitfly;Mediterraneanfruitfly(medfly)inChile,Mexico,California,andSouthwestAsia;

H. Agbogbe/IAEA

Prof. Miriam Kinyua (left), former chief plant breeder and director of KARI, led the drive to produce new varieties of crops in Kenya, including Njoro-BW1 wheat. Here she is walking with farmers and KARI staff in fields seeded with the new drought-resistant wheat.

Lothar Wedekind/IAEA

Village leaders and farmers in the village of Thanh Gia in North Vietnam, checking a crop of DT-36 rice in 2004. This hardy variety was developed using radiation technology at the country’s Institute of Agricultural Genetics in Hanoi, with IAEA support.


varietiesofmoth;themelonflyinJapan;andthescrewwormintheUnitedStates,CentralAmer-ica,andLibya.Thesepestshavecaused billions of dollars ofdamagetofoodcropsandlive-stock.Therearenow10insecta-ries—sterile flybreeding facto-ries—the two largest being inGuatemalaandMexico.

The most dramatic successstory is the eradication of thetsetsefly fromZanzibar.Tsetseflies attack both humans andlivestock,transmittingthesleep-ingsicknessdisease(Trypanoso-mosis),whichkillsoffherdsofcattleanddebilitatesorkillsitshumanvictims. Insub-SaharanAfrica, there are 22 species oftsetseflyendemic,over10mil-lion square kilometers (�.86million square miles). Wide-spread pesticide-spraying pro-gramsinZanzibarhadfailedtoeradicatethetsetse.

The model program in Zanzibar began in 1994, releasing72,000sterilemalefliesperweekbyairplane(inbiodegradablecontainers).Thefliesweremass-bredininsectariesinTanzania.Thesterilefliesweremarkedwithafluorescentdye,sothattheratioofsteriletonon-sterilefliescouldbemonitoredintrapssetacrosstheislandtocatchtheflies.

ThelastwildflywascapturedatthebeginningofSeptember1996.(ItwasentombedinaLucitecubeandsenttothethenheadoftheIAEA,HansBlix!)

Another success story is in SouthwestAsia, where farmersfromIsrael,Jordan,andthePalestinianAuthorityarecollaborat-ingtoletloosemillionsofsterilemalemedfliesintheAravaVal-ley,where this destructivepest turns citrus andother fruit tomush.ThefliesarereleasedbetweentheRedSeaandtheDeadSeainatwo-hourflight.

Livestock breeding.Thegainsinlivestockproductivitycomefromtheuseofisotopesinmonitoringanimalnutrition.Radio-activetraceelementstrackdigestiveprocessestohelpscientistsevaluatechangesintheanimalfeed,anddesignfeedthaten-ablestheanimalstoproducebetterqualitymilkandmeat.TheIAEA/FAOprogramdevelopedaneasilydigestedurea-molassesadditive(knownasUMB)toanimal fodder, forexample, thatfostersgrowth,milkproduction,andreproduction.TheUMBislocallyproduced,andhasincreasedmilkproductionby10to25percent.

Radioimunoassaytechniques,usingradioactiveiodinetola-belandtrackahormone,havealsoadvancedanimalbreedingindevelopingcountries,uppingmilkproductionandimproving

reproductioncapabilities.Agricultural efficiency.Bothradioactiveandstableisotopes

areusedtotracknutrientsinsoilandprovideinformationformore efficient use of mineral fertilizers. Better soil and cropmanagementasaresultofthisinformationhasallowedfarmersinAfricaandAsiatoincreaseyields,undertheIAEA/FAOtech-nicalcooperationprograms.

Thesameistruefortheefficiencyofwateruse.Neutronmois-turegauges,forexample,canaccuratelymeasurethemoistureinsoil.Whenusedwithnewirrigationmethods—mini-sprayersanddrippers—thetechnologyhasallowedfarmerstoincreaseyieldswithlesswater,appliedinspecificstages.

The TVA MethodAlloftheisotope-basedtechnologieshavethepotentialtoin-

creasethequalityandquantityofthefoodsupply,astheyhavealreadydemonstratedforyears.But theresultsarestillsmall-scalecomparedtotheneed.TheIAEA/FAOprogramdescribedherewasfundedatabout$76millionayearin2006.Mostoftheprojectsareaimedatimprovingthelotofthesmallfarmerswhomake up the majority of the developing sector’s agriculture.Imaginetheresultsofgearinguptheprogramineverynation,onthescaleoftheTVA.�

Inthe19�0s,theTennesseeValleyAuthoritycatapultedavastareaoftheU.S.Southeastintothe20thCentury,frompoverty

3. See the 1945 TVA film, “Valley of the Tennessee,” at www.larouchepac.com/news/2008/07/15/ full-versions-documentary-footage-used-film.html

IAEA

Breeding better plants: IAEA researcher Rome Montepeque working with plant mutations in the IAEA’s Agricultural Section.

http://www.larouchepac.com/news/2008/07/15/full-versions-documentary-footage-used-film.html

http://www.larouchepac.com/news/2008/07/15/full-versions-documentary-footage-used-film.html


andbackwardness.TheFederalTVAproject,initiatedbyFDR,plannedalarge-scaleop-eration todam theTennesseeRiver and itstributariesat49points,sothatruralcommunitieswouldnolon-gerbeatthemercyofnature’swhims—floodsanddroughts.

Thebuildingofthedamswasessential,butsowasthetrans-formationofthepeopleinthearea.TheTVArecruitedfarmersintousingnewmethods—contourfarming,fertilizers,andnewmachinery such as tractors.Thirty-thousand farmers were re-cruited, and their farms served as teaching projects for theirneighbors,bringinguptheleveloffarminginthearea.

Schools,hospitals,androadswerebuilt.Childrencouldseeafutureforthemselves,awayoutofthetraditionalAppalachianpoverty.TheTVAbroughthopetoaforgottenregionofthecoun-tryinatimeofDepression.Todayweneedsimilarmethodstosavethelivesofmillionswhoarewithoutadequatefoodtosus-tainthemandtobuildtheinfrastructurenecessarytoeliminatepovertyandhunger.

Thisinfrastructuredevelopmentiscrucialinordertomakefulluseofanotherimportanttoolinincreasingthefoodsupply:foodirra-diation.This technology was envisioned atthedawnofthenuclearageasalifesaver.Itsresearchwaspursuedwithpassionbypio-neers,whosawitasawaytoprovidecombattroops with good nutrition, to provide safefood for thosewhowere immune-compro-mised,andtoensurethesafetyofthefoodsupplybykillingmicroorganisms.Yet,morethanotherfood-relatednucleartechnology,its development has been suppressed, orused merely for the specific benefit of the

foodcartels.Thisnon-developmentoffoodirradiationisarealcrime,ata

timewhen25to50percent(andoftenmore!)ofthefoodpro-ducedinthedevelopingsectorislosttorotorinsectandrodentcontamination.

The Promise of Food IrradiationTheuseofnuclearisotopesfromcobalt-60orcesium,orra-

diationproducedbyelectronbeams,topreserveanddisinfestfoodstuffshasbeen researched sinceWorldWar II. It is safe,relatively cheap, and extremely effective in disinfesting fruitsandvegetables;preventing sprouting inonionsandpotatoes;preservinggrainsandotherstoredcropsintactforhumanuse,withoutlosstoinsects,rodents,andotherpests;andeliminatingfood-bornedisease.Thetaste,texture,andnutritionofthefood

Lloyd E. Brownell, Radiation Uses in Industry and Science

(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1961), p. 342.

The screwworm is the larva of the fly shown in the inset, which is about three times the size of a common housefly. Screwworms can kill a steer in 10 days if untreated. The female lays eggs—about 200 at a time—in any cut or wound in cattle. The eggs hatch to maggots (screwworms), which then destroy healthy tissue, producing oozing wounds that attract more flies. Irradiating male flies to make them sterile has eradicated screwworms, including in the United States in 1960.

Petr Pavlicek/IAEA

Defeating sleeping sickness: Laboratory technicians in Ethiopia’s fly-breeding center separating larvae before they hatch. Inset: Sterile male flies will produce no offspring when they mate.

Harald Baumgartner/IAEA (for flies)


arepreserved.Theradiationprocessexposesfoodto

lowlevelsofionizingenergy,whichcancome from three sources: gamma rays(using cobalt-60 or cesium), machine-generatedelectrons,orX-rays.

The very-short-wavelength radiationpenetratessolidparticlesandkillsmicro-organisms by breaking down the cellwallsordestroyingmetabolicpathways,sothatthecelldies.Theionizingenergypassesthroughthefood(anditspackag-ing)andkillsmicrobes,bacteria,insects,insect eggs or larvae, parasites, andmolds.

Higher-levelirradiationcanbeusedtosterilizefood,sothatnorefrigerationisneeded. Astronauts, for example, haveeatenirradiation-sterilizedmeals,topre-ventfoodborneillnessesinspace.Can-cer patients and others with compro-misedimmunesystemsalsobenefitfromradiation-sterilizedfood.

AsU.S. public health expertDr.Mi-chaelOsterholmhasstressed,therearethree pillars of public health that havemade the increase of lifespan possibleoverthelastcentury:pasteurization,im-munization,andchlorination.Thefourthpillar,heinsists,isfoodirradiation,aboutwhich he comments, “I can find very,veryfewissuesintheareaofmedicineandpublichealththathaveunanimousagreementandsupportofeverymajorpublichealth,medical,andscientificorganizationintheworld.”

Foodirradiationhasrecentlybeeninthenews,becauseonAug.22,theU.S.FoodandDrugAdministrationgavetheap-provalforlow-levelirradiationoficeberglettuceandspinachtokilltheE. colibacteriaresponsibleforwidespreadillnessesandseveraldeaths.ManyproductsareapprovedforirradiationintheUnitedStates,includingspices,grains,fruitsandvegetables,poultry,choppedmeat,eggs,animal feedandpet treats,andshellfish.Probablymostreadershavehadthebenefitofirradi-atedspices—freefromcrittersandmicroorganisms—evenwith-out knowing it.An estimated 175,000,000 pounds of spiceswereirradiatedintheUnitedStatesin2005.Inthesameyear,18millionpoundsofmeatand2millionpoundsoffruitsandveg-etableswereirradiated.Otherproductsareavailableforcon-sumersonalimitedbasis.

TherecentU.S.presscoveragehasbroughtoutthefamiliarchorusoffearfulnaysayers,whohavebeenraisingthesame,of-ten ignorant or lying objections to irradiation for the last �0years.Frommyexperience,thepurveyorsofsuchirrationalorideologicalobjectionshavenointentionofcorrectingtheirmis-

information.Formoreonthistopic,readersarereferredtootheravailablesources.4Instead,thefocusherewillbeonfoodirra-diationinthedevelopingsector.

Foodirradiationhasbeenapprovedin52countriesformorethan40products;andtherewere150irradiationfacilitiesin40countries,andasof2005,20moreirradiatorswereincon-struction.FromtheearlydaysofAtomsforPeace,theIAEAhasbeenconcernedwithbringingthebenefitsofirradiationtotheplacesthatneeditmostinthedevelopingsector.TheIAEAhasresearched irradiation technology since the 1950s, testing tofind the optimal irradiation conditions for various products.Whatisthelowestradiationdose,forinstance,thatwilldelaysprouting in onions and potatoes, thus making these staplesavailableforconsumptionforlongerperiods?AlloftheIAEAre-sults were made available for use by developing countries,

4. For more information on food irradiation, see www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/steele.html and www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/hecht_irra.html. The Food Irradiation Processing Alliance also has a useful compendium of frequent-ly asked questions on its website, www.FIPA.US, with links to reports on food irradiation by the American Council on Science & Health and the Institute of Food Technologists.

Lloyd E. Brownell, Radiation Uses in Industry and Science, p. 355

Schematic of a flour irradiation facility, designed to treat 100-pound bags of grain, flour, or meal to control insect infestation. At the time, 1960, the estimated cost for a com-mercial facility like this was $38,320.

www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/steele.html

www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/steele.html


throughitsFoodPreservationSection.TheIAEAteamedupwiththeFAOtoofferassistancetogov-

ernments forspecialist training for food irradiation, feasibilitystudies,andeconomicdevelopment. In theearly1990s, fourcountries were selected for economic feasibility studies forlarge-scalecommercialirradiators—Chile,China,Mexico,andMorocco.

Somenationsbegantheirirradiationprogramdecadesago.Thailand,forexample,beganirradiatedonions(todelaysprout-ing)in1971.Thiswasfollowedbytheirradiationoffermentedporksausage,nham,apopularThaifood,whichhashighcon-sumerratings.Now,Thailandirradiatesmanyfoods,includingwheat and wheat products, spices, shrimp, strawberries, andrice.Alsoin1971,SouthAfricabeganirradiatingpotatoes,on-ion,fruits,spices,meat,fish,andchicken.Japanbeganmarket-ingirradiatedpotatoesin1974.Israelapprovedtheirradiationofanimalfeedin197�.Russiabeganirradiationoffruits,vege-tables, spices, cereals, meats and poultry starting in 1959;Ukrainebeganirradiatingbulbs, roots,andtubers,aswellaspoultryandmeatintheearly1960s.

China began irradiating spices, vegetable seasonings, sau-sage,andgarlicinChengduin1978.AlargerfacilityinShang-haibeganin1986toirradiateapples,potatoes,onions,garlic,anddehydratedvegetables.TheShanghaifacilityaimedatpro-cessingabout45percentofthecity’sannualsupplyofvegeta-bles.

ConsumeracceptanceinChinawashigh:Amarketingtestin1985of25tonsofappleslabeled“irradiated”soldoutinlessthantwodays,whichsurprisedtheprojectleadership,because

theapplesweretreatedtoholdformonthsinstorage. Another survey showed that 10-20percentofvegetablesspoiledeveryyear,atanestimatedcostoftensofmillionsofyuan(min-imally$�million),whilefruitlosswasestimat-edat28,000tons,valuedat12millionyuan.

BasedontheIAEAfeasibilitystudy,theChi-nesegovernmentallocatedabout$1.1milliontodesignandconstructacommercialirradia-torinBeijingtoprocessrice,garlic,andotheritemsforthedomesticmarket.Chinaplannedasystemofcommercialplants,buildingthemnearmajortransportationcentersorimportantagriculturalareas.5

Commercialization and GlobalizationDespiteallthisactivity,commercialfoodir-

radiationdidnotscaleuptomeetitspromiseinthe1980s,andcertainlynotinthosecoun-triesmostinneed.Theinterestwaswidespreadinthedevelopingsector,butdevelopmentwassuppressedlargelybecauseofthetechnologysuppressionintheUnitedStates.AlthoughtheU.S.Armyandmanyotherlaboratorieshadre-searched every aspect of irradiation and the

specificationsforeachtypeofproduct(andalthoughastronautswereroutinelyfedirradiatedmealstomakesurethattheydidnotgetfood-borneillnessesinspace),thecommercialpowersinthepoultry,meat,fish,andproduceindustrieswerenotinter-estedinthetechnology.Acrushingdeterrentwastheparadigm-shift to a post-industrial, anti-science culture, with its well-fundedMalthusiangreengroupswhoopposedanytechnologythatwouldallowpopulationgrowth.

Thissituationchangedinthe“globalization”andcarteliza-tioneraofthe1990s,fortworeasons.

First, as Europe and the United States outsourced more oftheirfoodsupplies,importedfruitsandvegetableshadtobedis-infestedbeforeimportation.Tropicalfruitslikemangosandpa-payas,andcitrusfruits,forexample,couldharborfruitfliesthatifimportedwoulddevastatedomesticcrops.Afrequentdisinfes-tationmethod (after traditional pesticideswerebanned) is topickthefruitgreenandsubmergeitinahotwaterbath.(Thisac-countsforthetasteless,woodenqualityofmanylong-distance-shipped fruits.) Irradiation provides a solution: Fruit can bepicked fully ripe, then irradiated and exported, arriving in amuchtastierstateatitsdestination.

WhentheUnitedStatesapprovedirradiationfordisinfesta-tionofmangosandpapayas,India,whichisfamousforitsman-gos,andistheworld’slargestmangoproducer,gearedupitsfoodirradiationprogramfortheexportmarket.AlthoughIndiahad approved radiation for food preservation in 1955, and

5. Lothar H. Wedekind, “China’s Move to Food Irradiation,” Fusion magazine, November-December 1986.

Courtesy of Ron Eustice, Minnesota Beef Council.

One billion pounds of food are now irradiated per year for preservation and disin-festation—a tiny amount compared with the percentage of post-harvest food lost to spoilage in areas where people are going hungry.


Food irradiationuses the ioniz-ing radiation (or ionizing energy)fromadecayingradioactiveisotopelikecobalt-60asitsradiationsource.ElectronbeamsandX-rayscanalsobeusedasasource.Gammaraysareabletopenetratemorethan24inches of product, while electronbeams can penetrate only about�.5inches(inbothcases,irradiat-ingbothsidesofthefoodproduct).

Theveryshortwavelengthradi-ationpenetratesinsidesolidparti-clesandkillsmicroorganismsbybreakingdowntheircellwallsordestroying the metabolic path-waysof theorganismso that thecelldies.Athigherdoses,allmi-croorganismsarekilled,sterilizingtheprocessedfood.

Thereisnoradioactivityinducedintheprocessedfood.Thechemi-calreactionscausedbytheioniz-ing radiation do not involve theatomic nuclei of the food, andtherefore the atomic structures in the molecules are notchanged. Of course, some natural radiation, called back-groundradiation,ispresentinallfoods,butirradiationpro-cessingdoesnotaddtothis.

Oneofthebugaboosoffoodir-radiationhasbeentheclaimthationizing radiation would changethechemicalstructureofthefood,producinguniqueradiolyticprod-ucts (chemicals) thatmightproveharmful. All the years of testing,however,havedeterminedthatoftheradiolyticproductsproduced,90percentarethesameasthoseinnonirradiatedfood.Theremaining10percentarechemicallysimilarto natural food components andconstituteonly�partspermillionoftheprocessedfood.

TheFoodandDrugAdministra-tion which is responsible for as-sessing the safetyof food irradia-tion,concludedthatthedifferencebetweenirradiatedandnonirradi-atedfoodsissosmallastomakethe foods indistinguishable in re-specttosafety.

Foodirradiationisa“cold”pro-cess;thatis,itproducesnosignifi-

canttemperatureincreaseinthefood.Thismakesitparticu-larlyusefulforfumigatingspicesbecauseitdoesnotdriveoffthevolatilesubstancesthatgivespicestheircharacteristicfla-vorandaroma.Irradiationalsodoesnotdamagethenutri-tionalqualityofthefood.

Decadesofresearchhavedeterminedtheoptimalcondi-tions, packaging, and dose levels for irradiating differenttypesoffoodproducts—fromgrainsandvegetables,toshell-fish,tocutsofmeatandchoppedmeat.Verylowlevelsofir-radiation are required for sprout inhibition (.05 kilogray),slightlymore fordisinfestation (0.15kilogray), andgreaterlevelsforsterilization(44kilogray.

A Canadian design for a standard pallet irradiator with a cobalt-60 source. The boxed product re-mains on the same pallet from the completion of packaging, irradiation, and delivery to the custom-er. For a virtual tour of a similar plant, see www.isomedix.com/JS10000_Tour/Index.html

Gray*Star, Inc.

This cobalt-60 irradiator, Gray*Star’s Genesis, for food processing, is below ground in a shielded pool. The product is lowered in water-tight containers, called bells, to move past the radiation source in the pool, which is contained in a dry plenum filled with inert helium. This innovative design is less expensive than other irradiators and takes up less space, allowing it to be installed in ex-isting food processing plants.

The photo at right, taken through 14 feet of water, shows one of the two product bells next to the source plenum.

How Food Irradiation Works


movedaheadwithproductsfordomesticuse,themangoex-portmarketspurredmajordevelopmentinpursuitofthishigh-cashmarket.AnagreementwassignedwiththeU.S.Depart-ment of Agriculture in 2006 for India to export irradiatedmangosonacommercialscale,underU.S.supervision.AsofJune2007,accordingtoRonEustice,executivedirectoroftheMinnesota Beef Council, and an expert on food irradiation,75,000 boxes of mangos had arrived in the United States—about225-250tons.

ThailandisalsoapprovedfortheexportofmangosandothertropicalfruittotheUnitedStates.Peruisconsideringirradiationforasparagus,ofwhichitistheworld’slargestproducerandex-porter. The traditional pesticide for asparagus disinfestions,methylbromide,isbeingphasedoutbecauseoftheozonehoaxanditsMontrealProtocol.

And so,ashundredsof thousandsofpeople facehungerandstarvation,oneofthetoolsforproducingandpreservingmore food in the developing sector has been diverted intoglobalization’shigh-cashcrops.WhenIaskedonefoodirra-diationexpertaboutthis,hecommentedthatitwastrue,butthattherevenuegeneratedinthoseexportingcountrieswouldhelptheirdomesticsituations.Thisisthetypical“free-trade”argumentthattheAnglo-Dutchempirehasbeenpushingforcenturies—asthepoorintheirformercoloniescontinuetogetpoorer.

Thesecondreasonforthefoodirradiationgear-uphastodowith the highly publicized U.S. outbreaks of food-borne ill-ness—E. coliinchoppedmeat,spinach,andothervegetables—leadingtosevereillnessesandseveraldeaths.Formanylargefoodproducersandcartels,nowfoodirradiationisseenasaprofitableandnecessarybusinessmeasure.

The Isotope EconomyHowdowegetfromthepresentsituation—thefoodcrisis,the

vastunderdevelopmentofourworld,andtheimminentglobalfi-nancial collapse that threatens to obliterate civilization as weknowit—totheisotopeeconomy,wherewewillmakefulluseoftheknownbeneficialtechnologiesofthenuclearisotopesandre-searchthosenotyetknown?Todothis,weneedtorevivethespir-itofAtomsforPeacetoday,andinstituteacrashprogramtobuildfoodirradiationplantsandtheinfrastructurenecessary—forhar-vesting,transportation,andpackaging—tothecountriesthatneeditmost.Therearecompaniesthatcanbuildafacilitytoirradiate50millionpoundsoffoodperyear,for$1.6million,deliveredinsixmonths,accordingtooneU.S.expert.Withmassproductionoffacilities,thecostanddeliverytimecouldbeaccelerated.

IntheAtomsforPeacedaysinthe1950sand1960s,foodir-radiationwasseenassopromisingthattheU.S.AtomicEnergyCommissionshippedirradiationunitstoGhanaandNigeria,forexample, for research in this then-nascent technology.Therewere even plans for small mobile irradiators that could betruckedortakenbyrailtoharvestsites.What’srequirednowisthepoliticalwill.

Foodirradiationandtheothernucleartechnologiesbrieflyde-scribedhere(aswellasnon-nuclearbiotechnologies)arenota“magicbullet”tosolvetheongoingfoodcrisis.Buttheyareessen-tial“weapons”inthebattleagainsthungeranddiseasethatarenowvastlyunderused.Anyseriouscampaigntofeedtheworldmustexpandthesetechnologies—andfullyfundthescientificre-searchtodiscovernewbeneficialusesofnuclearisotopes.It’stimetobringthe21stCenturyworldinto“theisotopeeconomy”!

An earlier version of this article appeared in the ExecutiveIn-telligenceReview, Sept. 12, 2008.

IAEA

Mangos treated with irradiation can be picked ripe and keep their wholesomeness and flavor longer. High-value mango export has spurred irradiation in India and other countries, but crops for domestic consumption could have a greater impact on the food supply.


The Black Hole War: My Battle with

Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe

for Quantum Mechanics

by Leonard Susskind

New York: Little, Brown, 2008

Hardcover, 480 pp., $27.99

PerhapsI’mnotthebestpersontore-view Prof. Susskind’s book. I’m far

tooinclined,priortoreadingit,tosingitspraises,forthisstyleofwriting—sciencelite,withsoul—isrightupmystreet.Itisataleofhumanconflict,toldfromthein-sideout,andpromisestobecompellingdrama.

AsI lookedatthecoverofThe Black Hole War,Irecalledthetensehumanin-teractions of Interstellar Matters, GerritVerschuur’smagnificentrevelationofthediscoverybypioneerastro-photographerE.E.Barnardofsubstantialcontentsintheso-called dark voids in the Milky Way.Darkvoids,BlackHoles,what’sthediffer-ence? Immense! And Prof. Susskindshouldbejusttherightpersontoanswermyquestion.Thesubtitle,“MybattlewithStephenHawkingtomaketheworldsaferfor Quantum Mechanics,” was alreadyenough to get my slavering attention.SomeonepubliclyadmitstobattlingwithStephen Hawking, icon of theoreticalphysicselite?Tellmemore!

Susskindandhisco-conspiratorsmetatthelavishsoiréesofWernerErhardinSanFranciscointhe1970s,anditwastherethatHawkingdroppedhisbombshell:In-formationfallingintoaBlackHolewouldbe irretrievably lost. Not only that, butemergingtrickle-radiation,withsimulta-neousfluctuationofcountlessminiBlackHolessaturatingthecosmos,wouldgen-eraterampantentropy,andalongwithit,unbridledheat.

Spacewouldinsecondsbecomeatril-

lion-degreecauldronofchaos.Ittakesacertaintypeofscientisttoget

excitedbysuchaclaim.NodoubtProfes-sorHawkingwasexcited,Gerardt’Hooftwasexcited,and,ofcourse,LeonardSuss-kindwassoexcitedthathefeltcompelledtowriteabookaboutit.Letmebefrank:EvenifIhadbeenprivytothatmeetingofminds,IdoubtIwouldhavebeenexcited.TalkofthebehaviorofBlackHoleshasal-waysboredmetotears,andwhetherornottheyregurgitatetheirbreakfastisofnoconcerntomeatall.Itisalljustimaginedin brilliant minds, and is obviously nothappeninginreality.Whocares?

A Compelling TaleNevertheless,Susskind’staleiscompel-

ling,forittakesusintothatesoteric,ethe-realworldofquantumtheoryandmathe-matical conjecture, where insulatedmindsaresomehowconvincedthattheirpredictions have been seen and mea-sured,andweareabletoglimpsethestu-pefying intellectualaltitudeofHawking,t’Hooft,Gell-Mann,Finklestein,andFeyn-man.Wegettoknowthehumanfoiblesofacloisteredclique,anditisfascinating!

SusskindcallsHawkingtheEvelKniev-elofphysics,andwelearn,toourhorror,thatthetragicallyafflictedmathematicianonce emulatedSteve McQueen’s crazydashdownSanFrancisco’sroller-coasterhillside—inhiselectricwheelchair! It isthese sporadic emotive threads that letthebookliveandbreatheforme,whileIam left feeling thoroughly disappointedbythescience.

Ireadonwithbatedbreath,anxioustodiscoverjustwhereSusskindstoodonthewholematterofBlackHolesinphysicalreality.Whenitcame,Ifeltdeflated.“ButwhetherEinsteinlikedthemornot,blackholesarereal,”Susskindtellsus,“Astron-omersroutinelystudythem,notonlyin

theformofsinglecollapsedstars,butalsointhecentersofgalaxies.”

Really? I’ve been an astronomer forover �0 years, have stared intently atmanycollapsed stars andgalaxynucleithroughtheeyesofourgreatestobserva-tories,andtruly,IhaveneveronceseenaBlackHoleoranythingremotely like it.Norhavemycolleagues,numberinghun-dreds,perhapsthousands,worldwide.

WhenIsawthecoverblurbabouttheauthor’sbattlewithStephenHawking, Iwarmedinanticipationofatake-no-pris-onersdebatebetweenintellectualgiants,our heroes, which might just lead to aconclusion about the reality of BlackHoles.Instead,wehavetheanalogueofahead-to-head conflict on flying saucersthatturnsouttobeapettyargumentaboutwhether theyarebetterpaintedpinkorpurple.

Ireallydon’tcaretocontesttheBlackHolehypothesis,andonceIstoppedtry-ing, I honestly enjoyed this book. Onething isclear:LeonardSusskind,on thestrength of the present work, is a verygoodteacher.AsaRelativity101course,The Black Hole WarisoneofthebestI’veread,bettereventhanEinstein’sownin-troductorytexts.Forthelaymanwantingtogetintorelativisticphysicsandquan-tumscience fromthegroundup, this isthebooktoget.

If,however,likeme(andSusskind,ap-parently),youarenotafanofMinkowski-Lorentz-Poincaré-Einstein relativity, anddislikeirrationalscience(unlikeSusskind,aquantummechanician),thenitwillbe

I Never Saw a Black Hole, (And Never Hope to See One)by Hilton Ratcliffe

BOOKS


Earth: The Biography

Washington, D.C.: National Geographic

Society, 2008DVD of 5-episode miniseries,

230 min., $29.95 (Available at http://

shopngvideos.com/products/earth_ the_

biography_2)

It is inhumannature towant toknowwhyweareonEarthandwhatprocesses

ledtoourbeinghere.This internaldrivealsoimpliesthathumanbeingschoosetoprogress beyond our current existence.Thatisthenatureofdiscovery.WhenIwasinhighschool,NationalGeographicwaswhereresearchoftenbeganforpreparing“authoritativescienceprojects,”andthere-foreIwaseager toagainbeenlightenedwithNationalGeographic’snewminise-ries, Earth: The Biography. But upon re-viewingthisseries,itbecameclearthattheproducers did not want their viewers todevelopabetterscientificunderstanding;instead,theywantedtocreateanemotion-al,unscientific,antihumanideology.

Thisminiseriescoversfiveareasofna-ture: the atmosphere, the oceans, ice,volcanoes,andsomethingtheycall“therareEarth.”Overmillennia,thesenaturalforcesshapeandmoldthesurfaceoftheEarth,“drivetheclimate,”distributeandcreateallthegreenhousegases,andareintertwined as natural forces to protectlifeandregulatetheenvironmentonalo-calaswellasaglobalscale.Foraslongasthegeologicalhistorycanshow,massivechangeshaveoccurred,frequentlyintheformofnaturaldisasters:agreatmeteorthatkilledallthedinosaurs,orhugevol-

caniceruptionsthatburnedupEarth’sfor-ests,oroceansthatdriedupandwipedout the animal life. Nonetheless, asshown,thevibrantEarthhasbeenabletorecreatealltheecosystemsandevennewspeciesofcomplexlife.

Many questions remain to this dayaboutthebeginningoftheEarthandthe

developmentoflife.Thisseriespresents a weak version of Jo-hannes Kepler’s harmonic ori-entation of the Solar System,where the relationshipofeachplanettotheSunandtoeachoftheotherplanetsdefinestheba-sisforouruniqueEarth.Unfor-tunately,NationalGeographic’sscientistsproducednounifying

ideaofplanetarybeginningandtheun-foldingofthethreephasespacesoflife,theabiotic,thebiotic,andthenoetic,asRussian biogeophysicist Vladimir Ver-nadskyshowedasoneelegantgestalt.

Fascinating ExamplesAlthoughlackingthathigherscientific

idea,Earth: The Biographydoespeerat

© Xan Rice/BBC

Fissures in the ground through a port hole in the Afar region of Ethiopia.

lessuseful.Youpaysyourmoneyandyoutakesyourchoice.

Faith-based BeliefsSo,readthisbookontheclearunder-

standingthatinThe Black Hole War,thesubjectisanaxiominthetheoreticalas-sumptions of the author. If you have aproblemwiththat,asIdo,youwillcon-tinuouslyheardiscordsinSusskind’ssym-phony, false notes in the harmony of

spheres.Despitethat,Ireadthebookwithrelish,finishingitinacoupleofdays,andIendedupenrichedbytheexperience.

Idon’thavetoagreetorespectaview-point. My point is, when you make afoundational assumption (in this case,thatBlackHolesdoexist,intheformsug-gested), don’t forget that whatever youderive from that downstream, it is allbaseduponapriorchoicebetweenop-

tions.Itseemsweareattributingfartoomuch scientific truth to our faith-basedbeliefs.Nomatter;The Black Hole Warisagoodpopular-scienceread,andI rec-ommendit.

Astronomer Hilton Ratcliffe, of the Cli-mate and Solar Science Institute, South Africa, is the author of TheVirtueofHer-esy:ConfessionsofaDissidentAstrono-mer (reviewed in 21stCentury, Fall 2007).

Peering at the Edges of a Unified Concept of the Earthby Ryan Milton

BOOKS

http://shopngvideos.com/products/earth_the_biography_2

http://shopngvideos.com/products/earth_the_biography_2


theedgesofsuchaunifiedconcept.Muchbasisforthecompositionofland,air,andwaterareshowninthefilmstobethere-sultsofboththehot,violentcreationofEarththroughtheinitial,“chance”colli-sionoftwoplanets,andthentheiceagefromroughly700millionyearsago.ThecombinationoftheseEarth-changingpro-cessesisdepictedthroughsomefascinat-ing examples, both real (spectacular)photosandanimations.

•ThemassivehotlavalakeinthecrateroftheactivevolcanoErtaAleinEthiopia,givesthevieweranexcellentlookatthecreationanddestructionoftheEarth’ssur-faceina“fast-forward”representationoftheflowing,coolercrust,floatingandthensinkingunder,asnewEarthiscreated.

• National Geographic animates theterrificeffectontheEarthoftheiceageof700millionyearsago,whenmassivegla-cierscoveredhugeportionsoftheNorth-ernHemisphereoftheglobe,belowpres-ent-day Ohio.The viewer is shown theskylineofNewYorkCityfromadistance,in order to see the dip in the Midtownarea.Thatdipisthesoftsedimentthatre-placedthebedrockmovedbytheflowof

themassiveice-ageglaciers.• We are shown volcano-heated

springsofhighlytoxicwaterthatsustain“worldswithinworlds”ofmicrobial lifeat75°C,whichmayhavebeenthebasisforthefirstlifeonEarth.

• Thefirstlifetophotosynthesizelightintoenergyandoxygenwerethestrom-bolites,bacteriawhichformhard,round-edmounds fromtheslimetheysecrete,andwhichbeganasfarbackas4billionyearsago.

• Phytoplanktonareanotherkey spe-ciesthatgreatlyaffectslifeontheplanet.Thesesingle-celledcreaturesarethefirsttobeeateninthefoodchain,yettheyhaveamasseffect,invast“blooms”thatcanbeseenfromspacethroughphotosynthesis.Phytoplanktoncreateroughly50percentofallplanetaryoxygen—morethanallthejunglesandforestscombined!

Embeddedinthe“EarthScience101”storylineisanothersubtlethemeregard-ing Nature’s other inhabitant: human-kind. The viewer is uncomfortably in-formed that human growth may be theonethingviolatingthepristineequilibri-um.Howcouldthisoccur?Youguessedit:globalwarming.

NarratorIainStewartcommentsthatal-though great glaciers can level moun-tains,or that thewarmGulfSteammayhavecausedthelastgreaticeagethatrav-agedtheEarth,theseforcesarenomatch

forhumanbeings’ability tochange theplanet—presumably for the worse, be-causenootherviewisgiven.Inpassing,however,Stewartdoesadmitthatcondi-tionshave barely changedon the Earthsincehumansfirstwalkedtheplanet.

The thoughtful viewer will find it in-consistent to represent mankind’s rela-tivelyshortexistenceonEarthasaforcegreater than planetary interactions andlengthygeologicprocesses, and thusasautomaticallydestructive.Theviewerwillalsofindthatheisrequiredtobetoode-pendentonassertionsandbeliefs,ratherthandemonstratedprinciples.

Onesuchexampleisinthefilmcalled“RareEarth.”Inordertopresenttheglob-alwarmingargument,thenarratordevel-opstherelationshipoftheEarth’scoretotheatmosphereandshowshowthataf-fects carbon dioxide.The Earth’s atmo-sphereisregulatedbythemagneticfieldgeneratedbytheEarth’sironcore.Overtime,moltenmagmarisesfromtheEarth’scoreandmovestheEarth’splates,narra-torStewart says:“Where theplatescol-lide, volcaniceruptionsarecaused thatrelease carbon dioxide into the atmo-sphere.Todaywethinkofcarbondioxideasadangerousgreenhousegasthatleadsto global warming,” Stewart says, “butthroughout Earth’s long history, carbondioxidehasplayedavitalroleinkeepingtheEarthattherighttemperatureforcom-

BOOKS

© BBC

Dr. Iain Stewart, host of Earth:TheBiogra-phy, in front of computer-generated im-agery depicting the perpetual convection of hot plumes of rock from the Earth’s core to its crust.

©Paul Olding/BBC

Dune Sea in the Namib Desert, Namibia.


plexlifetosurvive.”Thefilmthencontin-ues tonote that theworld’s junglesandforestsabsorb25percentofallthecarbondioxide that is produced and the morecarbon dioxide there is, the faster thetreesabsorbitandgrow!

Finally, after continuing to note thiskindofhappyrelationship,thefilmcon-cludeswiththeclaimthathumankindis“pumping”greenhousegasesintotheat-mosphere at a destructive rate, and en-dangering this rather hardy planet, andthatthisisafarmorepowerfuleffectthanthe fantastic process Stewart just de-scribed!Nothing is presented regardinghuman intervention that shows that aprimitive existence is far worse than amodern existence, such as the obviousdifference between burning jungle bio-massforsubsistencefarmingordrugcropcultivation,versusthepotentialfornucle-ar power or water management for ad-vancedagriculturalcultivation.

Tobefair,theflowofthetheoryisnotascompactas Irepresenthere,butNa-tionalGeographicfinallybringsithome,statingthatscientistsagreethathumanin-fluenceissogreatthatthereisnowanewgeologicage,theAnthropoceneEra—or,inotherwords,the“not-so-great,”humanera.ThisisfarfromthetoneofthegreatRussianscientistVernadskyandhisideaoftheNoösphere,wherehumaningenu-itywillexpandanddeveloptheBiospheretoahigherlevelofexistenceandfruitful-ness,asman’snaturalmission.

InsteadofassertingthattherearenewdirectionsinwhichhumancreativitycandirecttheSolarSystem’sdevelopment,thefilmleavestheviewerwiththeharrowingthought that human beings will destroythemselvesby“pumpinggreenhousegas-es”intotheatmosphere,butthatinashortmillionyears,MotherNaturewillrecreateherself,albeit,withoutus.

A Negative CycleAlthoughmuchofNationalGeograph-

ic’s science about the atmosphere, theoceans,andtheclimateiscertainlytrueandrevealing,Icouldnothelpbutfeelasif Iwerebeing led into a cycle of fear,then reliefand rage,aboutmanyof thepotential catastrophes facing the planetbecauseofmankind’sexistence.Allofthefancyanimationsjustkeepyouwatching,sothatyougetthat“OldTimereligion,”thatitwerebetteriftherewerereallynotso many people to mess with Nature’sownharshcycles.

Whatisironicaboutthisnegativeviewof mankind, is that the film’s scientistscannotseeintheirownexamplesthatitisthe living process that creates the mostsignificant effects—mostly for the bet-ter—onEarth.Water,andeventheairwebreathe,arefossilsoflife,asLyndonLa-Rouche has shown [for example, see“ProjectGenesis,”thisissue,p.21—ed.].Abioticandbioticlifecanbecontinuous-lydevelopedbyincreasingthenoeticef-fectthroughhumandevelopmentandin-tervention.

BOOKS

©Ben Wilson/BBC

Banks of coral off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii.

HISTORY OF ROCKETRYAND ASTRONAUTICS

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For a complete listing of these excellentvolumes on the history of rocketry andastronautics, including brief descriptionsof each volume, tables of contents ofmost of the volumes and ordering infor-mation, please visit the following pagesin the book sections of our Web Site:

• http://www.univelt.com/Aasweb.html#AAS_HISTORY_SERIES

• http:/www.univelt.com/Aasweb.html#IAA_PROCEEDINGS_HISTORY_ASTRONAUTICS_SYMPOSIA

• http://www.univelt.com/htmlHS/noniaahs.htm

BOOKS ON MARSThese volumes provide a blueprint formanned missions to Mars and a contin-ued presence on the planetís surface,including what technology is required,and what kinds of precursor missionsand experiments are required. For moreinformation on the Mars books available,please visit the following page in thebook section of our Web Site:

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Web Site:www.univelt.com


thermostatthiswintertokeepwarm.

Arctic Ice 2008: Doomsayers Wrong Again

CNN, the New York Times, and theBritishpress,amongothers,allpublishedstoriesthisSummersayingthattherewasa50/50chancethattheArcticwouldbeicefreethisyear.ButitseemsthattheArc-ticwasnotconsultedonthismatter.

AccordingtothelatestdatafromtheNa-tionalSnowandIceDataCenter,NSIDC(http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/),thisyear’smelt is some 700,000 square kilometerslessthanlastyear’sicemelt.Togetanideaofsize:This700,000-square-kilometerin-creaseofseaiceisanareaaboutdoublethesizeofGermany.ThefirstweekinSeptem-bermarkstheendoftheseason’sicemelt.

WilliamChapman,aresearcherwiththeArcticClimateResearchCenterattheUni-versityofIllinois,toldtheonlineDailyTechSept.�that thisyeartheArcticwasdefi-nitely colder than 2007 (www.dailytech.com/Arctic+Sees+Massive+Gain+in+Ice+Coverage/article12851.htm).Chapmanalsosayspartofthereasonforthelargeicelossin 2007 was strong winds from Siberia,whichaffectbothiceformationanddrift,forcingiceintowarmerwaters,whereitmelts.

Wrong AssumptionsEarlier predictions were also wrong,

Chapman says, because researchersthought thinner icewouldmelt faster insubsequent years. Instead, according totheNSIDC,thenewicehadlesssnowcov-eragetoinsulateit fromthebitterlycoldair,resultinginafasterrateoficegrowth.

WiththeArcticseaicerefreezingsea-sonbeginning,willtheagenciesthattracktheArctichavetheintellectualcouragetoissuepressreleasesonthepossibilityofanewrecordrefreezethisyear,orwilltheykeep promoting the global warmingalarmismofAlGore?

Climate ‘Alarmism’ Has Become ‘Enviro Terrorism’

WilliamAlexander,ProfessorEmeritusoftheUniversityofPretoriainSouthAf-ricaandaformermemberoftheUnitedNationsScientificandTechnicalCommit-teeonNaturalDisasters,accusedclimate

alarmists of turning to terrorism to ad-vancetheircause.Writingintheonline“CO2Sceptics”(http://co2sceptics.com/news.php?id=1724),hesays,“Whiletheglobewasstillwarmingandenvironmen-talistclaimsweremodest,theIPCCscasewasimpregnable.Inthesemoderntimes,theenvironmentalistsfedthemediawithscare stories in order to advance theircause.Themediainturnhadlittleinterestinrepeatingthesamewarningsmonthaf-ter month. So, climate alarmists wereforcedtoincreasethelevelofalarmism.Environmentalterrorismistheresult.”

“Thesealarmistpredictionshaveback-fired,” Alexander wrote. “Environmentalextremism, and now plain terrorism, iscausingtremendousdamagetotheimageofscience.Itisexacerbatedbythefailureofconscientiousscientiststoraisethealarm.”

“TheIPCCwarningsofclimatedangersarebasedoncomputermodels,”Alexan-dersaid,“thatcanonlygenerateanswersbased on the inputed assumptions.” Ofthemodels’credibility,hewrote:“Ihaveno more faith in global climate model(GCM)predictionsthanIhaveinallthoseemails from Nigeria advising me that I

have won the Lotto, or those proposalsfromrichwidowsinDubaiwhohavejustlosttheirhusbands,orfromthelessfre-quentemailsfrommybankaskingforde-tailsofmybankingaccount.TheseGCMsaremathematicaldinosaurs.”

New Focus: AdaptationDr.Alexanderalsosaidthatiftherewere

afailuretocometoanagreementat theAccraClimateConferenceinAugust,thatwould spelldoom for the IPCC,and theglobalwarmerswouldhave to switch toadaptationasthesolution.ThislastpointisveryinterestingbecausethatAccraConfer-encereachednoagreementsonanything,andtheSept.6issueoftheBritishRoyalSociety’s journal, Philosophical Transac-tions of the British Royal Society A,isdedi-catedtotheideaofadaptation—geoengi-neering.Theleadarticleofthejournal,infact,iswrittenbyglobalwarmingmaniacStephen Schneider, “Geoengineering:couldweorshouldwemakeitwork?”

So is “adaptation” the new warminghobbyhorse,sincetheplanetisfailingtowarmastheircomputermodelssay,andastheyarefailingtogetagreementstocutemissionsforthedevelopingworld?

GLOBALWARMINGUPDATE

Global Warming UpdateContinued from page 9

The GreatGlobal WarmingSwindleEverything you’ve ever been toldabout Global Warming is probablyuntrue. This film blows the whistle onthe biggest swindle in modern history.We are told that ‘Man Made GlobalWarming’ is the biggest ever threat tomankind. There is no room for scientificdoubt. Well, watch this film and make upyour own mind.

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Feature-length documentary plusadditional interview material with some ofthe world’s leading climate scientists.

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