Happy Spring, fellow wayfarers!
I apologize for the long delay! April is the beginning of testing season for the public school system, and while I don't have to take the tests, administering them in accordance with each child's IEP and 504 really takes it out of you!
I attended a fascinating lecture at the National Museum of Natural History the other day and I want to share it with you all. The lecture was offered as part of the Castle Lecture series and was entitled "Ethics in the Anthropocene". [www.si.edu/consortia/castlelectureseries]
Here is a basic definition of terms to get you started;
Anthropocene: The age of humans, wherein humanity is seen as a geological force. It is being proposed that this term be used to describe the age that we are living in now, at the end of the Holocene. Characterized by collective human domination of nature fed by a large population and correspondingly large levels of consumption, as well as power of and reliance on technology which make action at spatial and temporal distance possible. [as proposed by Dale Jamieson, Reason in a Dark Time]
Ethics: a code or series of codes of behavior and/or conduct by which one lives one's life.
Ethics of the Anthropocene: now that it has been proven that humans are/have altered the planet, what are the new responsibilities we have as the dominant species on the planet to preserve and protect it?
Dale Jamieson proposed a new code of ethics for this epoch which he named the "Green Ethics" consisting of:
- Preservation, couched in Humility
- Rehabilitation, couched in Temperance
- Creation, couched in Mindfulness, Cooperativeness, and Respect for Nature.
He proposed these ethics in light of his belief that Morality needs to be revised in order to catch up with the times, such as in the areas of civil rights, animal rights, and the rise of capitalism.
This latest lecture was given by Dale Jamieson and had a panel response consisting of Dr. Rick Potts, Connie Bertka, Elliott Dorff, Fred Edwords, David Haberman, Betty Holley, and Nancy Howell.
In the Classroom: This information dovetails with current public school lessons in a number of ways. I've listed a few below and would be very interested to hear your thoughts and reactions. (I don't mention private schools simply because I have no experience teaching at them. I'm sure that similar lesson plans could be made to accommodate these needs.)
School-wide
- the importance of recycling programs, and the recent rise in popularity of school gardens and composting
- the importance of being global citizens, and what that means
- taking responsibility for your actions
- careful consideration of what job you will have one day, and how that job will affect the stability of our world
Science
- studying the changing chemistry of our world to see how it has been affected
- studying the changing chemistry of our world to see how we can repair the damage
- examining the adaptations of plants and animals to this new environment
Mathematics
- calculating the rate at which the planet's atmosphere is changing
- calculating the rate at which the population is growing and the amount of resources we consume
- calculating the rate at which we would need to replace those resources and the probability of doing so
Biology
- examining the changing morphology in human beings over the ages
- can we predict what changes will occur next?
- what animal species have we already lost?
History
- has this phenomenon happened at any other time in history?
- is there a historical precedent?
- what can we learn from the past to impact the future?
Language Arts
- how do we talk to each other about what has happened?
- do we need to create new terminology?
- we need to learn how to calmly and rationally approach this issue and look for solutions.
The question I would like to leave you with is this: In light of our new information on the effect humanity is having on the planet, do our ethics and moral codes need revision? Or are there already moral codes in place that account for these changes?
The lines are open - let discussion abound!
Showing posts with label #dirtiscool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #dirtiscool. Show all posts
Friday, May 1, 2015
Friday, March 13, 2015
Dovetailing Discoveries!
Greetings, Fellow Wayfarers!
There have been some fantastic developments in Archaeology this week!
Thousands of Bodies from Bedlam
While digging for a new rail line, archaeologists in England uncovered a large gravesite with around 3,000 bodies, all interred during the 16th and 17th centuries AD, putting them directly in the swath of the bubonic plague. The worst of its kind to ever be seen, the bubonic plague (more commonly referred to as The Black Death, owing to the color of the pustules it left on human bodies in its wake) ultimately killed 1/3 of the population of Europe at that time.
This latest discovery coincidentally comes on the heels of a recent joint study done by Cornell University and Columbia University that found that it may not have been the rats that spread the bubonic plague, as was common belief, but in fact the fleas on rats who are responsible. Fleas on Rats are to Blame. These same fleas have also been found to carry typhus and Barontella germs, as well as a host of other fun little friends. These fleas can be linked back to the Oriental fleas which were responsible for bringing the bubonic plague to Europe from Asia, using the Silk Road trading routes as a pipeline.
Bedlam Cemetary opened in 1569 to take in the overflow from the city's other cemetaries. So far this dig has been Christmas for archaeologists: included among the bones are bison and mammoth bones, Roman horseshoes, medieval ice skates as well as the remains of a Tudor manor house. This cemetary is also the origin of the word 'bedlam' referring to insanity or chaos.
About 60 archaeologists, working 16-hour days in shifts, spent a month excavating the bones to a laboratory. After analysis the bones will be reburied on Canvey Island in the Thames Estuary. The Crosslink railway station to be built on the site is scheduled to open in 2018.
As an archaeologist, you tend to form a connection with the land and the artifacts that you are spending so much time in such close proximity with. When excavating in Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall in 2013, one of my finds included a finely wrought gold bracelet. I started immediately wondering about the woman who had worn it. Was it a gift from her husband? An engagement present that was returned? The part of the fort we were excavating included the barracks of the Roman soldiers stationed there. Why would someone leave something so valuable behind?
Bones have an even more powerful pull on you. As these archaeologists start cleaning and running tests, they won't just be tracing a historical plague bacteria. They will be witness to the lives that these people lived. Our bones serve as a catalog of everything that has ever happened to us - what we ate, where we traveled, what we did for work, etc. Examining bones like these almost feels like the corpse is trusting you to write an accurate account of what their life was like. All this and as scientists, archaeologists still need to be able to add verifiable data from our discoveries. Whew!
The Smithsonian Institution has produced two excellent exhibitions in the last few years on modern archaeology and what we can learn from bone analysis. I can tell you from personal experience that both exhibits are tremendous. They cover the depth and scope of the materials while simultaneously presenting it at a relatable level to the general public. I would encourage everyone to read and/or make sure you see both. The Hall of Human Origins is a permanent exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History.
Hall of Human Origins Traveling Exhibition
Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake
Written in Bone
There have been some fantastic developments in Archaeology this week!
Thousands of Bodies from Bedlam
While digging for a new rail line, archaeologists in England uncovered a large gravesite with around 3,000 bodies, all interred during the 16th and 17th centuries AD, putting them directly in the swath of the bubonic plague. The worst of its kind to ever be seen, the bubonic plague (more commonly referred to as The Black Death, owing to the color of the pustules it left on human bodies in its wake) ultimately killed 1/3 of the population of Europe at that time.
This latest discovery coincidentally comes on the heels of a recent joint study done by Cornell University and Columbia University that found that it may not have been the rats that spread the bubonic plague, as was common belief, but in fact the fleas on rats who are responsible. Fleas on Rats are to Blame. These same fleas have also been found to carry typhus and Barontella germs, as well as a host of other fun little friends. These fleas can be linked back to the Oriental fleas which were responsible for bringing the bubonic plague to Europe from Asia, using the Silk Road trading routes as a pipeline.
Bedlam Cemetary opened in 1569 to take in the overflow from the city's other cemetaries. So far this dig has been Christmas for archaeologists: included among the bones are bison and mammoth bones, Roman horseshoes, medieval ice skates as well as the remains of a Tudor manor house. This cemetary is also the origin of the word 'bedlam' referring to insanity or chaos.
About 60 archaeologists, working 16-hour days in shifts, spent a month excavating the bones to a laboratory. After analysis the bones will be reburied on Canvey Island in the Thames Estuary. The Crosslink railway station to be built on the site is scheduled to open in 2018.
As an archaeologist, you tend to form a connection with the land and the artifacts that you are spending so much time in such close proximity with. When excavating in Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall in 2013, one of my finds included a finely wrought gold bracelet. I started immediately wondering about the woman who had worn it. Was it a gift from her husband? An engagement present that was returned? The part of the fort we were excavating included the barracks of the Roman soldiers stationed there. Why would someone leave something so valuable behind?
Bones have an even more powerful pull on you. As these archaeologists start cleaning and running tests, they won't just be tracing a historical plague bacteria. They will be witness to the lives that these people lived. Our bones serve as a catalog of everything that has ever happened to us - what we ate, where we traveled, what we did for work, etc. Examining bones like these almost feels like the corpse is trusting you to write an accurate account of what their life was like. All this and as scientists, archaeologists still need to be able to add verifiable data from our discoveries. Whew!
The Smithsonian Institution has produced two excellent exhibitions in the last few years on modern archaeology and what we can learn from bone analysis. I can tell you from personal experience that both exhibits are tremendous. They cover the depth and scope of the materials while simultaneously presenting it at a relatable level to the general public. I would encourage everyone to read and/or make sure you see both. The Hall of Human Origins is a permanent exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History.
Hall of Human Origins Traveling Exhibition
Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake
Written in Bone
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