The Earth Pope

Little Shop of Horrors

Forget GMOs.  Those organisms are small potatoes in the world of freaky things scientists with too much time, money and brains are playing around with.  The new thing that's emerging from the Little Shop of Horrors in universities across the planet is synthetic DNA.  The technology and know how have been around for a few years but recently these scientists have inserted synthetic DNA into cells and replaced the biological DNA, taking over the cell's natural operations. 

What we are talking about here is the creation of lifeforms driven completely by artificial DNA.  DNA that is made by hand, by scientists who dream of eliminating inefficient biological processes and replacing them with the sound and time tested discipline of engineering. And their guru is MIT's Tom Knight.  Mr. Knight views life as a machine and cells as a chassis for the artificial lifeforms he wants to assemble.  His dream is to create standardized parts for building these lifeforms that may produce useful things for humanity.  In fact, he and his colleges have begun developing hundreds of Lego-like components which they have given the catchy name of BioBricks to. 

That's right! Engineers envisioning a world of interchangeable bricks that are alive and building all sorts of weird lifeforms to run amok on the planet, self replicating at will with other BioBricks and forming goddess knows what!  But we shouldn't worry about any of that, right?  Scientists and engineers have done such a good job with chemicals, plastics and gene splicing.  Try imagining a Love Canal in your neighborhood that is not only extremely toxic but is also alive and reproducing!

Now companies have got into the act because as all good economists know, someone has got to gain the monopoly on the "core operating system" and become the Microsoft of the synthetic lifeform market. One such company is Synthetic Genomics which wants to use custom-designed DNA to get living cells to produce fuels, medicine and other useful products. Craig Venter, Synthetic Genomics CEO sees the fuel market alone to be worth $1 trillion.

I know, I know.  You faithful technology worshipers are saying "Wait Earth Pope, you're getting all worked up for no reason.  These companies only want to produce good things and be helpful to humanity."  To which I chortle out loud at the stupidity and naiveté of the innocent consumers of the planet shelling out their hard earned dollars for the latest techno-wonder.

As in most cases only a handful of advocacy groups are out there trying to get this madness on the agenda of other suspicious lifeforms--politicians. These predatory organisms are unfortunately the best line of defense we have to debate and regulate the development and release of software DNA into living cells.  As one group recently stated in a report, "The danger is not just bio-terror but bio-error."

But let's not let those statistically unproven hypothetical scenarios put the brakes on this life changing technological breakthrough.  I mean think about it for a moment.  There is so much biological diversity on this planet, taking up space and consuming precious oxygen, food and water, and very little of that diversity are actually resources for human consumption.  Now, with synthetic DNA all life has the chance to be what God intended to be--resources for human consumption.  With a little reprogramming birds, fish and mammals with no economic value at all can become useful economic units with their own column on the financial spreadsheet of life.

Isn't that worth taking to the bank?

   

Making a Christian Killing

Sometimes the news provides deeper insights into the state of the world, not necessarily by the quality of journalism but by the simple juxtaposition of articles in the paper.  The first story I recently saw dealt with the fact that the Roman Catholic Church in Santa Barbara is ordering nuns out of convents so they can liquidate the buildings to help pay off $660 million owed to the victims of pedophile priests. This is not a pretty picture for the Church.  Kicking out nuns who help the poor while the priests, part of the very brotherhood accused and convicted of molesting children, get to keep their own homes.  But this is an old story of women paying the price for the sins of the man.

The second story concerns the growing movement among ministers and pastors who are using the violent video game "Halo" to lure young, primarily male congregates to their churches.  This video game is violent enough to receive an "M" rating, requiring that the purchaser be at least 17 years old but that doesn't stop the ministers from having boys as young as 12 try to kill each other inside the House of the Lord. 

Do you see a common theme here?  Young males are being molested by the Church, whether physically or mentally violated and it is all being facilitated by men pretending to preach "the good word".  Allowing children to derive pleasure from killing, in any form, is against one of the bedrock commandments of these Christian con men but isn't that how they have always packaged the marketing message of their religion?  Death sells and redemption from sins, especially those associated with "thou shalt not kill" is just too tempting to use to get new blood in the door because the numbers of Christians is on the decline.

Another part of this agenda is evidenced by David Drexlar , Youth Director at the Country Bible Church  in Ashby, Minnesota who says, "We have to find something that these kids are interested in doing that doesn't involve drugs, or alcohol or premarital sex."  Those are the things that really scare the bejesus  out of the clergy and it is really no surprise.  There haven't been any (that I could find) killings of ministers, priests or pastors inside a church but there have been several episodes where these leading Christian figureheads have fallen from grace because of the evils of sex, alcohol, drugs and that evil of all evils, the lust for money.

How can we forget names like Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker who were all removed from their positions of religious power for illicit sex and, in some cases, drug use or accounting fraud.  It seems that the repression of sexual urges can burst out and tarnish the names of even good Christian men causing them to betray their partners, their flock and their entire TV ministry.  Damn the sins of the flesh!

But I have the answer for all of these Christian denominations.  It will raise boatloads of money, attract the attention of young boys and help with the healing process for the thousands of children traumatized at the hands of men of the cloth.  And it might just make the nuns feel a bit better about the world at the same time.  Here's the idea--create a violent video game where abused children hunt pedophile priests in the corridors of giant cathedrals from around the world.  Think about it.  For a small fee teams of players representing different churches could hunt child groping priests as they seek shelter in churches in different countries.  It would be educational and deeply satisfying.  The church with the most "kills" wins.

One of the best parts would be that there is no sin in this business model.  The dead priests would be forgiven by their God for the sins they have made on Earth so there is no down side there.  The shooters don't even have to worry about sinning since, as Kendrick Kenerly, founder of Christian Gamers Online points out, "I'm not walking up to someone with a pistol and shooting them.  I"m shooting pixels on a screen." 

All that is needed is a super hero replacement for their own Christian super hero--Jesus.  I have no doubt that out there somewhere some capitalist Christian has created an entire enterprise around a bible thumping super hero.  It's just a matter of time.

Something fishy going on

Recently, yet another report was published detailing the tremendous technological prowess we have to totally destroy the life support systems of this marvelous planet.  This particular document paints a very bleak picture for the future of the world's fisheries.  According to these researchers the world will be out of fish within 50 years.  That's right, we have the ability to catch them all whether we want them or not and as it turns out, we don't want most of what we catch.  We even have a catchy term for this enormous amount of death and destruction--bycatch.

Now one would think that such dire predictions would stimulate the leaders of the world to take action to protect the oceans and the biodiversity that lives there.  As a species dependent on this biodiversity for our very survival one would assume that such negative actions would be halted before severe unintended consequences were unleashed.  If not for the altruistic motivation to help other species at least to save our own collective asses.

But no, unfortunately the best that could be done is yet another gathering of multi-representational stakeholders under the United Nations direction.   These folks negotiated, communicated and gesticulated but in the end could not agree to the banning of any of the devastating methods trawlers use to wipe out life in the oceans.  They just wanted to remain gracious so that lines of communication could remain open and they could continue to hope that sometime in the near future an agreement could be reached.

Let's put some perspective on this for the average American and European who just wants to eat their tuna and doesn't want to think about what is going on in the oceans.  The next time you go shopping at the local grocery store drive a D9 Caterpillar tractor down the aisle to scoop up a can of tuna.  Make sure that everything else in that particular aisle is crushed beyond use.

When you get to the cashier, who will be standing there wide eyed and stunned by this shopping display don't apologize for anything.  Just call a meeting, sit down calmly and explain that the purchase of the tuna was critical to global economic viability and that the broken and crushed stuff as just byshop.  And then, if the store owner and shoppers get upset and begin to make demands do what is always done--call for the study of the situation and promise a detailed report in the near future.

Because as we all know, words speak louder than action.

Laboring Reality

Wasn't it nice of them?  I mean all of the papers this past weekend providing such a detailed overview of the plight of the American worker.  What with Labor Day and all I guess the media decided that it wouldn't be too much to have a few articles about the condition of the working class here in the good ole US of A.   

A good example was the piece by Hubert B. Herring in the Sunday NY Times.  It provided the almost comical comparison of what the average teacher makes and what the average CEO of a Fortune 500 company makes.  Mr. Herring provided us with the fact that the CEO makes in one day what the average teacher does in one year!  Mr. Herring does note that it is the teachers who provide the captains of industry with educated workers.  New flash!  Young children are much more than potential workers.

Preceding the long weekend was the Dupont announcement that they were cutting back on pensions for workers. After 2007 new employees will not be eligible for any pension or health care or life insurance after retirement. All of this so that the shareholders will receive an expected 3 cents increase per share.

When are the workers of the world going to see the light?  We are working harder, working longer hours and not taking vacations.  We are plugged in, accessible 24/7, on line while we are towing it.  And for what?  We are making less money, carrying more debt and for those of us fortunate enough to have a home, we are borrowing against our castle in an attempt to make ends meet.

It is all connected.  Until workers get a larger slice of the pie commensurate with their productivity they will not have the "peace of mind" to worry about the state of the environment, even though it is in their best interest to do so. When they are so concerned about putting food on the table, keeping the utility bill paid and getting medical attention for their 7-year old's asthma condition, they will never do anything about global warming.

It is a sorry state of affairs when the CEO of a Fortune 500 company makes more in one day then a teacher does in one year.  Who has the most responsibility for investing in the future of this country? If this isn't an indictment against our present capitalistic system I don't know what is.

So the next time you read about the plutocracy and their wealthy contributors remember that all  of that wealth is made on the backs of the working class.  A working class who will not be able to enter the privileged ranks of the 1%, no matter how many "up by the boot straps" stories they are fed.  A working class that will continue to pay the way for rich and greedy, until they decide enough is really enough.

Lunar Litter

If ever there was a mistaken acronym it is the so called SMART-1.  What is so smart about a bunch of engineers sending a $140 million spacecraft into orbit around the moon and then having it crash onto the surface?  I realize that this is the European Space Agency's first lunar mission and the new propulsion system has demonstrated its effectiveness but if they can't get the craft to return to Earth, just how successful can it really be?

Like a bunch of galactic NASCAR junkies, astronomers around the planet trained their telescopes on the moon's surface hoping for a chance to glimpse the crash.  Newspapers hyped the spectacle to the point that everyone was suffering from "space crash" envy, hoping to get to the local planetarium to see the deliberate destruction on the big screen.  They can dress it up as much as they want with the cleaver label "impact science" but in the end it is still just littering the moon.

How smart can we be sending a message out to the universe that humans are linear thinking creatures that only know how to leave their junk in space, without any consideration for other species?  Any observation of our planet will reveal our insensitivity, not only to other species that we share the planet with, but even other humans.  We truly are morons with thumbs.

Our own home is littered with space junk.  More than 9,000 pieces surround the earth like a trash halo giving warning to all other inhabitants of the heavens that we have yet to develop any kind of galactic ethic, or for that matter an earth ethic.  By leaving junk, trash and space litter on the moon and around our own home we are demonstrating we are not the SMART-1 but in fact the DUMB-1.

Highend Waste

Let me share something with you.  Many of the confessions I hear or read come from business people who are realizing that their way of life is contributing to the demise of the planet.  It is not the business they are in necessarily, but instead they are becoming aware of the resources they personally consume and waste during a standard business trip.  Let me give you one example. 

One of the congregation, a man I’ll call Ryan, travels about 160 days per year.  He almost always flies and he always stays in nice hotels.  During his recent stay in a 5-star hotel in Chicago he happened to be having breakfast and reading the New York Times.  One of the headlines that day was a story about hunger and the effects it has on a country. 

Ryan suddenly found himself asking the waitress about what the hotel did with the food waste. The waitress said she didn’t know but introduced him to the hotel operations manager who was having breakfast two tables away.  The operations manager extended his hand to introduce himself.  “I’m Terry,” he stated, pulling out a chair next to him.  After introductions, Ryan put forward the question, “What do you do with all the food waste?”

Except Me Nation

Last week I wrote about the "Thank You" nation and how this mindset of politeness is really a barrier to the kind of active participation by individuals that is needed in order to move this country away from environmental neglect and degradation and onto a path of sustainability. 

In thinking more about this unnoticed phenomenon and having some stimulating conversations with  insightful members of the Earth congregation I came to the realization that there is another aspect of this "politeness affliction", or better yet the "politeness reflex", that adds to the inability of most Americans to take small individual action to live in balance with Earth's systems.  For lack of a better term I have labeled this the "except me" syndrome.

I am sure that we can all relate to this psychological disorder.  It is the one in which all rules and regulations, both man-made and natural are designed for everyone else except me.  It is not necessarily due to the fact that anyone of us is any more special than anyone else, although that certainly is an aspect of the disorder. I believe that the bigger aspect of the disorder is the fact that most people believe that since most everyone else is doing something about a particular issue there can't be much  harm if they are the only exception. 

This disorder is most easily observed in the driving habits of Americans.  The most blatant example is on the freeway where the speed limit is posted at 65 mph and everyone is traveling at 75 mph plus.  Each driver knows that the limit is 65 mph but they also know that limit is for everyone else, except them.  The result is that everyone is flying along ignoring the speed limit, burning fuel like crazy and increasing the odds of having a major accident.  Everyone on the road is contributing to an environment of increased risk and liability.

The exact same thing is true for environmental issues.  By not addressing the "except me" syndrome individuals will continue to waste water, throw away recyclables and leave lights on in the privacy of their homes.  This inaction is multiplied a million times across the nation and the result is that we increase the risk and liability of environmental degradation, not just for ourselves, but for every living being on the planet.

I call on the sisters and brothers of this planet to let go of the "except me" syndrome and embrace the "accept me" philosophy.  I want each of you to accept the fact that your individual actions, no matter how small they may seem to you, are in fact parts of a much bigger movement towards not only a sustainable culture but a culture of restoration.  I want each of you to accept the concept of becoming a planetary healer simply by living your life more in balance with the Earth's natural systems. 

Most of all I want each of you to accept responsibility for the gift of life.  It is indeed wondrous and it is the natural right of all living beings.