The parable of the tribes

Summary The parable of the tribes offers a theory of social evolution to explain why civilization has developed as it has, in particular, why its major transformations of human life have not better served human needs. It challenges the commonsense view that people have freely chosen among the many cultural options. Another selective process has operated, one not under human control and not a function of human nature. Before civilization, all life was governed by a complex, biologically-evolved order. For a creature to develop culture to the point that it can invent its way of life appears to offer freedom, but this freedom is a trap. For what is freedom for any single society is anarchy in an interactive system of such societies. Anarchy — unprecedented in the history of life — makes inevitable a struggle for power amongst societies. This ceaseless competition, combined with open-ended possibilities for cultural innovation, inevitably drives social evolution in an unchosen direction: ways of life that do not confer sufficient power, regardless of how humane intrinsically, are eliminated, while the ways of power are inexorably spread throughout the system.Reference to the book from which this article by Dr Andrew Schmookler was extracted, was made in a recent Book Review inThe Environmentalist (Vol. 5, p. 315) and in the Editorial (pp. 241–243) in the same volume. Schmookler, a graduate of Harvard, undertook this work for a post-graduate thesis at the University of California at Berkeley. He has produced an interesting thesis on the forces controlling mankind's evolution and social behaviour. The article represents only the slightly modified first Chapter of Andrew Schmookler's bookThe Parable of the Tribes and is reproduced here by kind permission of the University of California Press.     

SIMULATION OF WATER POLLUTION GENERATION AND ABATEMENT ON SUBURBAN WATERSHEDS1

ABSTRACT: Computer simulation and model calibration of three “suburban” watersheds near Salt Lake City, Utah, indicate that coliform bacteria and suspended solids are produced mainly by the presence of people, domestic animals, vehicles, disposal systems, and other constructed faclities. The importances of each of these activities is investigated and pollution abatement procedures are outlined for purposes of improved watershed management.     

Dermal Insecticide Residues from Birds Inhabiting an Orchard

The US Environmental Protection Agency conducts risk assessments of insecticide applications to wild birds using a model that is limited to the dietary route of exposure. However, free-flying birds are also exposed to insecticides via the inhalation and dermal routes. We measured azinphos-methyl residues on the skin plus feathers and the feet of brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in order to quantify dermal exposure to songbirds that entered and inhabited an apple (Malus x domestica) orchard following an insecticide application. Exposure to azinphos-methyl was measured by sampling birds from an aviary that was built around an apple tree. Birds sampled at 36 h and 7-day post-application were placed in the aviary within 1 h after the application whereas birds exposed for 3 days were released into the aviary 4-day post-application. Residues on vegetation and soil were also measured. Azinphos-methyl residues were detected from the skin plus feathers and the feet from all exposure periods. Our results underscore the importance of incorporating dermal exposure into avian pesticide risk assessments.     

Public health benefits of compliance with current E.U. emissions standards for municipal waste incinerators: a health risk assessment with the CalTox multimedia exposure model

The Angers municipal solid waste incineration plant, in operation since 1974, was upgraded in 2000 to comply with new European standards. This article discusses the risks associated with past and present emissions from the incinerator and its nearby furnace. Emissions of SO(2), HCl, particulate matter, lead, mercury, cadmium and dioxins were studied. We characterised the risks associated with exposure via inhalation and ingestion of locally grown products, before and after the upgrade. Emissions were estimated from regulatory measurements, and ambient air concentrations estimated with a Gaussian dispersion model. The CalTox multimedia model was used to calculate concentrations in the food chain. Food intake rates came from a nationwide survey. Inhalation exposure to respiratory irritants produced a hazard ratio less than 1 in all scenarios, except for SO(2) in the immediate neighbourhood of the incinerator, before the change in furnace fuel and in case of high-pressure weather conditions. The individual excess risk of cancer was less than 10(-6) and the hazard ratios for metals were less than 1. Before compliance, the average dioxin exposure attributable to the incinerator accounted for roughly one quarter of the average total exposure from traffic and other combustion activities. Although the corresponding hazard ratio was less than 1, the individual lifetime excess risk, assuming no change in emissions, was 2 x 10(-4). After compliance, all hazard ratios and future individual lifetime excess risks appear minimal. These results are consistent with environmental data and other studies, but many uncertainties remain, such as intermedia transfer coefficients for dioxins. Nevertheless compliance has vastly reduced the probability of health effects.     

Corrections for measurements of tritium in subterranean vapor using silica gel

Hazardous contaminants buried within vadose zones can accumulate in soil gas. The concentrations and spatial extent of these contaminants are measured to evaluate potential transport to groundwater for public risk evaluation. Tritium is an important contaminant found and monitored for in vadose zones across numerous sites within the US nuclear weapons complex, including Los Alamos National Laboratory. The extraction, collection, and laboratory analysis of tritium from subterranean soil gas presents numerous technical challenges that have not been fully studied. Particularly, the lack of moisture in the soil gas in the vadose zone makes it difficult to obtain enough sample (e.g., >5 g) to provide for the required measurement sensitivity, and often, only small amounts of moisture can be collected. Further, although silica gel has high affinity for water vapor and is prebaked prior to sampling, there is still sufficient residual moisture in the prebaked gel to dilute the relatively small amount of sampled moisture; thereby, significantly lowering the ??true?? tritium concentration in the soil gas. This paper provides an evaluation of the magnitude of the bias from dilution, provides methods to correct past measurements by applying a correction factor (CF), and evaluates the uncertainty of the CF values. For this, 10,000 Monte Carlo calculations were performed, and distribution parameters of CF values were determined and evaluated. The mean and standard deviation of the distribution of CF values were 1.53 ± 0.36, and the minimum, median, and maximum values were 1.14, 1.43, and 5.27, respectively.