A Philosophical Inquiry William Dixon, CPG-03659
The following discussion is a concept that developed at odd times over several years until the “Aha! moment” arrived. This discussion is envisioned as a preface or foreword for an introductory geology text. But before any publisher would agree to print such a book, the idea would undoubtedly need a reasonable degree of acceptance in the geologic community as well as in the broader scientific community. Please read it through and reply with your comments about the idea. If there is sufficient positive response, I will continue to forge ahead; if not, it’s been interesting mental gymnastics for an aging mind.
I would like to acknowledge the following persons for help- ful input: John Berry, CPG 4032 and TPG Editor, who has patiently offered assistance in clarifying the message; John Lear, a recently retired journalist, for critical review; and Rev. Duane Mevis for sharing with me, a number of years ago, the next to last sentence in the paragraph regarding religion.
LIVING GEOLOGY The whole world is alive; reach out to meet life.
If motion can be accepted as the ultimate requirement for life, then everything around us is alive, from the tiniest sub-atomic particle to the largest object in the universe and including all the plant and animal organisms here on Earth.
At the moment of creation (about 14.5 billion years ago), everything began to move and change if it wasn’t already moving. BANG! The first note of the music of the cosmos! Light emanated as both oscillating waves and moving photons depending on how it is viewed. The light of the world is motion. Mathematics is the great describer or yardstick. Physics and chemistry are alive.
About 4.5 billion years ago, the Earth was formed, and then the crust solidified into crystalline rocks. Subsequently, the atmosphere and oceans began to react both chemically and physically to produce sedimentary rocks. Some of these sedimentary rocks accumulated to such great thicknesses they were heated and transformed into suites of metamorphic rocks. The hills are alive with the sound of music. Geology is alive.
At some point, life originated in the ocean perhaps in close contact with some of the clay minerals. Did a virus precede the first live reproducing cell? What did the first creature eat? Biology is alive.
The development of the five senses in animals led to differ- ent systems of communication between individuals. All of the senses: seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting involve external movement as well as internal nerve stimuli. Human communication evolved into spoken languages with verbal traditions followed by written languages which permitted the accumulation of an expanding body of knowledge.
Early human societies shared certain attributes, and most seem to have had a religion. Our modern societies have adopted several main religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shinto, and Taoism. Many of them proclaim that the Earth was formed by its Supreme Being. Science tells us how he did it. Scriptures should be taken seriously but not always literally. Science and religion are mutually exclusive subjects that should not be confused.
In conclusion, to expand the meaning of the idea “alive/liv- ing” is a thought leap of gigantic proportions. Biologists will probably be the last group to accept the concept. To cushion our thoughts to this shock, we need some new terminology. For biological organisms, I would propose: biologically alive, or “biolive”; for geological processes: geologically alive, or “geol- ive”; for physics: physically alive, “physicalive”; and chemistry: chemically alive, “chemicalive”. Your feedback is welcome.
Operational Reports: identifying best practices to boost inter- national cooperation in the raw materials sector
The INTRAW project consortium recently launched three operational reports providing insights on best practices and weaknesses of raw materials research & innovation, education & outreach and industry & trade in the five Reference Countries: Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States of America.
The EU-funded INTRAW project was launched in 2015 with the aim of mapping best practices and boosting cooperation opportunities related to raw materials between the EU and five technologically advanced non-EU countries (Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States).
The project consortium now presents three reports that focus on raw materials research & innovation, education & outreach or industry & trade, in the five Reference Countries. These three reports underpin the development of a better understanding of the achievements made in these five countries in relation to the entire raw materials value chain. The operational report on research & innovation describes and compares the different innovation systems in Australia, Canada, Japan, South Africa and the United States, comprising – among others - the main role players, institutions and policies that drive research and innovation in the raw materials sector. The raw materials educational context in each of the Reference Countries is mapped in the operational analysis of education & outreach. The report on industry & trade notably includes the characterisation of industrial clusters related to raw materials in these countries and the way these clusters affect trade and global competition.
The findings of these operational reports also contribute to the design of the EU International Observatory on Raw Materials that is to be launched by the end of 2017. The Observatory will be a permanent international body that will remain operational after the end of the project, aiming at the establishment and maintenance of strong long-term relationships with the world’s key players in raw materials technology and scientific developments.
The operational reports and their summaries are available through the project website at
http://intraw.eu/publications/. As a next step, INTRAW will launch, in the coming weeks, three scenarios describing the world of raw materials in 2050.
For more information:
http://intraw.eu 46 TPG •
Jul.Aug.Sep 2017
www.aipg.org
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