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Biocatastrophe Lexicon Biocatastrophe Lexicon An Epigrammatic Journey through the Tragedy of our Round-World Commons Ephraim Tinkham Engine Company No. 9 Radscan-Chemfall Est. 1970 Phenomenology of Biocatastrophe Publication Series Volume 2 ISBN 10: 0-9769153-9-1 ISBN 13: 978-0-9769153-9-3 Davistown Museum © 2010, 2013 Third edition, second printing Cover photo by the Associated Press Engine Company No. 9 Radscan-Chemfall Est. 1970 Disclaimer Engine Company No. 9 relocated to Maine in 1970. The staff members of Engine Company No. 9 are not members of, affiliated with, or in contact with, any municipal or community fire department in the State of Maine. This publication is sponsored by Davistown Museum Department of Environmental History Special Publication 69 www.davistownmuseum.org Pennywheel Press P.O. Box 144 Hulls Cove, ME 04644 Other publications by Engine Company No. 9 Radscan: Information Sampler on Long-Lived Radionuclides A Review of Radiological Surveillance Reports of Waste Effluents in Marine Pathways at the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company at Wiscasset, Maine--- 1970-1984: An Annotated Bibliography Legacy for Our Children: The Unfunded Costs of Decommissioning the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station: The Failure to Fund Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal at the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station: A Commentary on Violations of the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act and the General Requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for Decommissioning Nuclear Facilities Patterns of Noncompliance: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company: Generic and Site-Specific Deficiencies in Radiological Surveillance Programs RADNET: Nuclear Information on the Internet: General Introduction; Definitions and Conversion Factors; Biologically Significant Radionuclides; Radiation Protection Guidelines RADNET: Anthropogenic Radioactivity: Plume Pulse Pathways, Baseline Data and Dietary Intake RADNET: Anthropogenic Radioactivity: Chernobyl Fallout Data: 1986 – 2001 RADNET: Anthropogenic Radioactivity: Major Plume Source Points Integrated Data Base for 1992: U.S. Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Inventories, Projections, and Characteristics: Reprinted from October 1992 Oak Ridge National Laboratory Report DOE/RW-0006, Rev 8 An excerpt from Essays on Biocatastrophe: Phenomenology of Biocatastrophe Publication Series Volume 1: “The feed stocks for most endocrine disrupting chemicals are derived from the production of coal, oil, and natural gas… It is clear that endocrine disruption, like climate change, is a spin-off of society’s addiction to fossil fuels. Setting aside the effects of endocrine disruptors on infertility, and just considering their influence on intelligence and behavior alone, it is possible that hormone disruption could pose a more imminent threat to humankind than climate change.” (TEDX 2009, http://www.endocrinedisruption.com/endocrine.fossilfuel.php). Biocatastrophe Lexicon -------- An Epigrammatic Journey Through the Tragedy of our Round-World Commons -------- Volume 2 Table of Contents PREFACE .......................................................................................................................................................................II I. PHENOMENOLOGY OF BIOCATASTROPHE ................................................................................................... 1 BIOHISTORY ................................................................................................................................................................. 1 HUMAN HISTORY ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 FLAT-WORLD – ROUND-WORLD INTERFACE ............................................................................................................... 2 MESSAGES IN MANY BOTTLES ..................................................................................................................................... 3 WORLD WATER CRISIS ................................................................................................................................................. 4 THE SOCIOLOGY OF BIOCATASTROPHE: ANGER BECOMES RAGE ................................................................................. 5 II. LEXICON .................................................................................................................................................................. 7 PART I - BASIC DEFINITIONS: NATURAL ECOLOGY AND HUMAN ECOLOGY ................................................................. 7 PART II – THE LABYRINTHS OF BIOCATASTROPHE: OP EDS, NEWS BITES, ETC. ......................................................... 57 PART III – MEASUREMENTS, CONVERSION TABLES, ACRONYMS, AND ABBREVIATIONS .......................................... 122 III. BIOCATASTROPHE PIE CHARTS AND TABLES ...................................................................................... 131 i Preface This is the second volume in the three volume Phenomenology of Biocatastrophe publication series. This publication series explores the biohistory of the imposition of human ecosystems (industrial, social, political, and economic) on or within natural ecosystems. This series is, in essence, the narration of selected stories about what humans are doing to the biosphere. The essays, definitions, databases, editorial opinions, etc. in these texts explore the impact of human activities on the viability of natural ecosystems in our vulnerable, finite, World Commons. No environmental issue is more important than the unfolding tragedy of the depletion of potable water supplies and the contamination of the atmospheric water cycle. The concomitant spectacle of developed, and now aging, western market economies in crisis is intimately connected with the evolving tragedy of the mad rush to oblivion of an out-of-control global consumer society in a biosphere with finite natural resources. This is the hard copy edition of our frequently updated online series. Suggestions, corrections, and additional information are welcomed. Please send your feedback to the editor at: [email protected] The changing text of the Phenomenology of Biocatastrophe three volume series may be accessed at: www.biocalert.org Printed and eBook editions of this three volume series may be purchased from: amazon.com Printed editions may also be purchased from: www.davistownmuseum.org/publications.html ii I. Phenomenology of Biocatastrophe Biohistory Biocatastrophe is an historical event that occurs over a period of time – not days or years but centuries – as a result of the unique imposition of industrial civilization within a biosphere with a limited capacity to support its ever-growing human communities. Unfortunately, the evolution of biocatastrophe as a natural response of living ecosystems to the impact of human activity is nearing the final decades of its denouement. This climatic moment, ironically, one of disequilibrium rather than equilibrium, is not the apocalyptic final end of the world as described in the last book of the New Testament. Human civilization will continue to exist, but a significant decline in the population of human communities will occur unless radical changes evolve in the interaction between human ecosystems and natural ecosystems. The fundamental question implicit in the biohistory of man’s relationship with his environment is how quickly, and utilizing what strategies, will innovating humans adapt to a rapidly deteriorating biosphere with a vulnerable atmospheric water cycle and finite natural resources? As illustrated by the Chernobyl accident and many other anthropogenic cataclysms, nature has an amazing resilience. The ideology of human ecology, as well as the core values of all world religions, offers the hope, or should we say the prayer, that humanity can achieve a sustainable equilibrium with the natural biogeochemical cycles of our Round-World Commons. As with the evolution of the phenomenon of biocatastrophe, this post-apocalypse eventuality will occur over a period of time – probably centuries – if human society is to survive its current predicament. Human History Specific historical events, important landmarks in the epic of human history, the significance of which are broadly understood, characterize the phenomenology of biocatastrophe: the first use of atomic weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the assassination of president Kennedy, the reign of the era of Reaganomics and laissez faire free enterprise finance capitalism, the 911 attack, and the global financial crisis of 2008. Natural events, which have enhanced human impact on natural ecosystems due to increased population densities and sophisticated, if vulnerable, information and transportation technologies also characterize the phenomenology of biocatastrophe: hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, the Nashville flood, to mention a few recent natural disasters. The volcanic ash-jet engine interface is now a component of every European school child’s awareness of the vulnerability of complex technological systems to unexpected disruption by natural events. The unfortunate saga of the Gulf oil spill disaster, a post peak-oil event illustrating our pathetic dependence on obsolete and unsustainable fossil fuel technologies, is a specific historical event with yet to be 1 determined impacts and outcomes. The Gulf spill graphically illustrates the synergism of the ecological, economic, political (note the silence of the Tea Party
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