| Empathy and Compassion: Universe Forelaws The Forelaws Party Digital Direct Democracy "We are particularly interested in the science of prosocial emotions, including moral elevation, compassion, empathy, and altruism." - The Saturn Lab, Sarina Saturn, Director, Oregon State University, USA. "the human brain is the most complex and orderly arrangement of matter in the universe." - Isaac Isamov (1920-1992), professor of biochemistry at Boston University, USA. (not unlike that of all intelligent life of the order of humankind). "A scientific and lay community that understands the neural basis for empathy and compassion and uses newly developed insights and tools to create methods to enhance the ability of humans to practice these mental states." - Center for Empathy and Compassion, University of California at San Diego, USA. "USGS LCI (Land Cover Institute) is a focal point for advancing the science, knowledge, and applications of land use and land cover information." - USGS LCI, USA. NASA's Kepler and Terra missions are leaders in performing breakthrough space research and discovery: Kepler compiling data on Earth-like planets; Terra collecting data on Earth's reflectivity of solar radiation. -------------------------------------------- Empathy and compassion are Universe forelaws accounting for, and defining, humankind and all intelligent life. Part and parcel of naturalist Nature ("everything is connected to everything else"), the forelaws principle and cosmic genealogy coalesce as intelligent life philosophy and cosmology . . . giving rise on Earth to the Forelaws Party and digital direct democracy. In settling the question of why the Universe and intelligent life exist, empathy and compassion underlies - and interrelates, locally and cosmically - intelligent life meaning, purpose and fulfillment. The forelaws principle leading humanity to a compassionate/cooperative global society on Earth - ultimately realized through united albedo regions (challenging concerned leaders across the full spectrum of civil society) - prioritizes empathy and compassion emphasized in early childhood education and in basics of (a) a healthful, sustainable environment for every planetary citizen (free of nuclear weapons/energy), (b) quality health care and affordable housing publicly supported, (c) education for all in accord with individual capability, (d) creative/productive employment available for every planetary citizen, (e) post-retirement security. Humanity's transition to united albedo regions (for benign energy and climate stability) - like the Forelaws Party and digital direct democracy - is a movement whose time has come. Cosmic genealogy describes Universe forelaws of empathy and compassion manifest in cosmic dissemination of intelligent life by intelligent life (CDIL) - sustaining in perpetuity empathy and compassion and intelligent life itself. CDIL takes place in a cosmic setting where no two star systems with intelligent life in terms of solar radiation are exactly the same, which explains the phenomenon of "races" (superficial genomics before amalgamation in the makeup of intelligent life). On Earth, cosmic genealogy as Universe reality is seen in the ongoing merger of astronomy and biology (astrobiology), rooted in the 1970/80s to pioneering research on organic matter in space conducted by astronomers Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) and Chandra Wickramasinghe (currently, director of Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, UK). Since 1996 Brig Klyce, Director, Astrobiology Research Trust, USA, has chronicled this unfolding paradigm change in the website Cosmic Ancestry. The forelaws principle and cosmic genealogy compel heightened interest in cosmic phenomena including particularly the role of comets and related materials as apparent/specific DNA carriers, and in "homeless planets" (that have been ejected from star or were originally formed on their own) possibly outnumbering stars (T. Sumi et al 2011). Earth, as a future parent planet of intelligent life, is certain to welcome humanity's transition beyond nation-states to united albedo regions and a compassionate/cooperative global society. Coming to grips with climate change (as well with nationalism, militarism, war, racism, terrorism, and the culture of capitalism), evolutionary empathy and compassion begins the movement to united albedo regions on Earth. Ending and/or mitigating weather/climate-related phenomena such as (but not limited to) global warming, droughts, desertification, floods, tornados, lightning-induced wildland fires, and ice age, rests upon planet surface reflectivity of solar radiation referred to as planet albedo. The transition to albedoism and united albedo regions . . . optimizing planet albedo for benign energy-weather-climate stability, i.e. albedoism . . . engages, interconnects and incorporates - creatively - the plant kingdom, civil engineering, architecture, urban and rural planning, materials technology, e.g. polymers changing color with temperature changes. Among associations not specifically committed but relevant in the movement to united albedo regions is Washington Geoengineering Consortium: "In this effort, we convene and report on meetings, invite written and other contributions both from important figures representing the full spectrum of views on geoengineering, and support robust public and civil society interactions . . . The definition and use of the term ‘geoengineering’ is not fully agreed upon, and given what is at stake, can be contentious." Reaching out to, and necessarily including former subscribers to racism and international terrorism, the movement to united albedo regions - uniting all members of humanity in a cause and goal for the common good - portrays a compassionate/cooperative global society successful in addressing among other challenges: nuclear weapons/energy disposal - freshwater and food shortages - fossil fuels and excessive CO2 emissions - the specter of international trade wars - overpopulation - energy conservation and global energy sufficiency, the latter supplied by solar energy on a global grid system - hydrogen produced by solar energy - natural (unmodified)/organic foods including stevia, a plant replacing refined sugars. Albedoism, ethnicity revisited, astrobiology merging astronomy and biology, and discovery thus far of over 3000 exoplanets, provide tangible evidence of human capability for a compassionate/cooperative global society grounded by generational science progress and awareness patterned after evolutionary empathy and compassion and the common good. Residents of Beijing, China's capital, could be drinking freshwater from desalinated seawater within five years. As part of China's eleventh five-year plan, this source could become a main supply in efforts to deal with the water shortage (National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) People's Republic of China.) Eminently in order on a global scale, national and international five-year plans aimed at satisfying freshwater needs, at job creation, and environmental sustainability through seawater desalination - intermediate and integral to United Albedo Regions on Earth - address, additionally, climate change and rising sea-levels. The current growth rate of desalination at coastal locations bodes well for strategic and direct transport of freshwater to inland points such as Beijing. Mandated and coordinated by progressive efforts the world over, dramatically accelerated, expanded and sustained seawater desalination - receiving important impetus from the International Desalination Association - ensures (1) globally plentiful freshwater and food surpluses, (2) relief for low-lying communities vulnerable to sea-level rise, (3) stabilization of ocean shorelines, (4) enlarged land mass/biomass on Earth, (5) replenishment of aquifers, (6) freshwater storage in areas which include those where once resided coal and petroleum, (7) global water equilibrium (the state of balance between amply available freshwater worldwide on one side and, on the other, relative constancy in planet saltwater sea-level.) Global water equilibium on Earth envisages a growing network of overland pipelines (new &/or converted to freshwater use) carrying freshwater from desalination plants - and from seaports (forwarding points for freshwater transported by tanker ships) - to interior locations for local and regional needs including irrigation and replenishment of aquifers. Interport transportation of freshwater converted from seawater can be expected to take advantage of surplus marine tanker capacity coincident with ongoing trends to green energy sources. The same is true with respect to existing overland pipelines (in the future a medium for the transport of freshwater) now used in moving petroleum and petroleum products. In this and all stages of global water equilibrium, from seawater desalination to rolling back desertification, products made from industrial hemp - and industrial hemp itself as a growing plant - will make a major contribution. A plant requiring no genetic modification, industrial hemp can be cultivated with and without irrigation in countries like Afghanistan, Columbia, Mexico, and the USA - and processed into upwards of 10,000 useful products which include paper, food and building materials. Any product made from petroleum (not excluding high octane gasoline and plastics) can be made from industrial hemp. Industrial hemp seeds can produce food such as bread, hempburgers, milk and ice cream. Hemp fiberboard has been demonstrated to be twice the strength of wood fiberboard. "Hempcrete" blocks, "lighter, stronger and easier to work with than masonry concrete", have been manufactured at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota (start-up costs were under $10,000.00.) "Among U.S. states, Maryland, Virginia, and DC are exceptionally vulnerable to climate change. The states have more than 5,000 miles of Chesapeake and Atlantic shoreline, almost every inch of which would be degraded or inundated completely by the projected sea-level rise of up to three feet." - Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Underscoring both a landmark and hallmark in digital direct democracy - unifying all generations present and future, and the way forward - empathy and compassion ranges from the Forelaws Party - to veganism and non-GMOS - to global education reform, particularly in early childhood education - to a compassionate/cooperative global society (free of nuclear weapons/energy) - to global water equilibrium - to united albedo regions on Earth (for benign energy/climate stability - to activism in cosmic genealogy. Advancing, enhancing, and sustaining Universe forelaws of empathy and compasson on Earth presupposes a geopolitical vehicle in league with the DEMOCRATHON option, with values, pursuits and goals consistent with the forelaws principle and the common good - namely, the Forelaws Party. The DEMOCRATHON option ("people power") - functioning in unison with the Initiative and Referendum currently available in some form in 24 States in the USA and continuing to grow worldwide (with prospects and efficacy significantly more practicable and widespread since the advent of Internet communication) - is a strategic and effective political-educational-fundraising tool, potentially instrumental as a forelaws party cornerstone. "People power" on behalf of local and global needs can achieve important changes in controversial areas where legislatures have failed to act. “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” – His Holiness the Dalai Lama. "It (darwinism) proclaimed that our true relation is that of competitors and combatants in a struggle for mere survival . . ." - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), socialist, author, playwright, vegetarian. "To suppose that Earth is the only populated world in infinite space is as absurd to believe that in an entire field sown with millet, only one grain will grow." - Metrodorus of Chios (Greek Philosopher, Fourth Century BC). "In less than 20 years, we have gone from not knowing if any other planets exist in the universe, to being able to look out at the night sky and realize that essentially any star we can see has at least one planet, and a good number of those are likely to be habitable." - Alan Boss, Science Working Group, NASA Kepler Mission. "The historian of science may be tempted to claim that when paradigms change, the world itself changes with them." - from The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Thomas S. Kuhn, 1962, 2nd ed. 1970). Every 230 million years Earth and its occupants and the Sun (our star) orbit the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way is the galactic home of humankind and untold numbers of fellow counterparts, many if not most - in affirming Universe forelaws of empathy and compasssion - eternalize empathy and compassion both locally and cosmically as active members in the cosmic community of intelligent life . . . in an unbounded universe composed of myriad galaxies typical of the Milky Way. Intelligent life exemplifies life procreation and Universe forelaws of empathy and compassion, remaining from infinity to infinity a gift with indefinable promise and potential. ----------------------------------------------------------- "Whatever you can do . . . . . or believe you can . . . . . begin it Boldness has magic . . . . . power . . . . . and genius in it." Johnne Goethe . "The prerequisite for solving the deepest problems this country and the world now face is a commitment to a very ancient idea whose time has urgently come: the common good." - James Wallis, Emeritus Professor, Philosophy, University of Illinois, USA. "Life comes from space because life comes from life." - Brig Klyce, Director, Astrobiology Research Trust, USA. "Universities throughout the world are beginning to see astrobiology as a way forward to understand our place in the Universe." - Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, UK. "There is no such thing as a B12 deficiency, even in 100% raw vegan food eaters. They do not have to eat dirt, animal products, or take pills to secure coenzymes of B12. Bacteria in the intestinal tract make it for us, and the metabolically usable and necessary forms of coenzyme B12 are contained in unprocessed, fresh natural plant foods, particularly in nuts and seeds. The real problem in so-called B12 deficiency is a failure of digestion and absorption of foods, rather than a deficiency of the vitamin itself . . ." - Virginia Vetrano, D.C., hM.D., D.Sc. "Mathematics addresses only a part of human experience. Much of human experience does not fall under science or mathematics but under the philosophy of value, including ethics, aesthetics, and political philosophy. To assert that the world can be explained via mathematics amounts to an act of faith." - Richard Hamming (1915-1998), American mathematician and computer scientist. "Ethics is nothing other than Reverence for Life." - Albert Schweitzer. "I suspect that the cosmic quality of microbiology will seem as obvious to future generations as the Sun being the centre of the solar system seems obvious to the present generation" - Sir Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) - "The Relation of Biology to Astronomy". "But the climaxing observation appeared in year 2002. How exceedingly ironic that 30 years after Fred Hoyle pointed to NGC 7603 as a crucial system which must force out acceptance of the existence of discordant redshifts - after a generation has passed - the luminous link between this active Seyfert and its appendage is observed to have two high redshift, quasar-like objects in it." - Halton C. Arp, American Astronomer, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, and author of Seeing Red, Apeiron, 1998 (refuting "Big-Bang" theory.) "The first message from an intelligent extraterrestrial civilisation may not emerge from a radio telescope but, instead, from a DNA sequencing machine." - John Walker, Fourmilab Switzerland. "We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race." - Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General. ------------------------------------------------------------------- "We are therefore led to inquire into the social arrangements that are conducive to people's rights and welfare, and to fulfilling their just aspirations - in brief, the common good." - Noam Chomsky, Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "I look forward to working with the Steering Committee, Second Nature, and our growing network of universities and colleges to tackle society's most difficult climate challenges." - President Wim Wiewel, Portland State University, USA (Chair, Steering Committee, American College and University President's Climate Commitment.) "After I had given just a few talks about the climate, I realized that the action I was suggesting to my listeners to take, while essential, were not a match for the problem." - Marshall Saunders, Founder, Citizens Climate Lobby, USA. "The dialogue is now shifting gears from climate science to climate action. There's still a lot we need to learn about the science, but the events of the past year have ended much of the lingering debate and controversy." - Jane Lubchenco, former administrator of The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2009 to 2013; currently a distinguished professor in the department of integrative biology at Oregon State University, while serving as adviser to the university on marine studies issues. "Location, topography, and the exchange of radiant energy between the sun and Earth ultimately determine weather" (from Retrieval of Surface Albedo from Space, December, 2002.) - John Maurer, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Terra Mission (NASA, 1999) . . . "carries five instruments that observe Earth's atmosphere, ocean, land, snow and ice, and energy budget. Taken together, these observations provide unique insight into how the Earth system works and how it is changing." "As a joint initiative between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and NASA . . . . . Landsat represents the world's longest continuously acquired collection of space-based moderate-resolution land remote sensing data. Four decades of imagery provides a unique resource for those who work in agriculture, geology, forestry, regional planning, education, mapping, and global change research. Landsat images are also invaluable for emergency response and disaster relief." - NASA Landsat Science. --------------------------------------------------- "Research shows that young children’s earliest learning experiences can have powerful long-term effects on their cognitive and emotional development, school achievement, and later life outcomes." - Stand for Children, Portland, Oregon, USA. "We believe that scientific study of the developing mind and brain is the next great research frontier and that discoveries in the next decade will be comparable to those in genetics, biotechnology, and informatics." - Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington. Create a multi-disciplinary environment whereby compassion and altruism studies are supported and legitimized within the broader scientific community." - Vision of The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Stanford University. "The MBE program's broadest mission is to create a new field of mind, brain, and education, with educators and researchers who expertly join biology, cognitive science, and education." - Kurt Fischer, Director of Mind, Brain and Education Program, Harvard University. "Research projects cover a wide variety of fields, including neuroscience, psychology, political science and economics." - Human Neuroimaging Laboratory, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Read Montague, Director. “…respect for oneself, understanding and compassion for others, and a sense of responsibility for the world, its citizens and its future.” - Mary Gordon, founder of Roots of Empathy and author of Roots of Empathy: Changing the World, Child by Child (2005.) --------------------------------------------------- "CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A new approach to desalination being developed by researchers at MIT and in South Korea could lead to small, portable desalination units that could be powered by solar cells or batteries and could deliver enough fresh water to supply the needs of a family or small village. As an added bonus, the system would also remove many contaminants, viruses and bacteria at the same time." . . . . . Source: “Direct Seawater Desalination by Ion Concentration Polarization,” by Sung Jae Kim, Sung Hee Ko, Kwan Hyoung Kang, and Jongyoon Han. Nature Nanotechnology, March 21, 2010. - from MIT News 23 March 2010. ". . . we have found a way to make a membrane (for use in seawater desalination) that can produce higher amounts of water compared to the commercial membranes being used today, while using the same process." - Mohammed Rasool Qtaishat, Water for All. "Concerns about global warming, energy consumption and increased demand for potable water sources are causing a dramatic expansion of the desalination industry. These changes present an exciting opportunity for IDA to play a more centralized role in speaking for the industry to increase public awareness of the many benefits of desalination, including drought-proof reliability, expandability, availability and potentially unlimited production." Lisa Henthorne, International Desalination Association. --------------------------------- Protection from Internet malware, such as ongoing Conficker which has infected millions of computers since 2008, is fundamental to realization of a compassionate/cooperative global society on Earth. "That leads me to my next point, which is how we can more broadly engage each of you – students, educators, researchers, engineers, and the larger academic community – in our nation's cybersecurity efforts. To meet the challenges I've discussed, DHS needs a world-class cybersecurity team – a strong, dependable pipeline for the future." - Janet Napolitano, former Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, at San Jose State University, April 16, 2012. "This is one of the defining battles of our age, one that takes place for the most part out of the public eye." - Mark Bowden, author of Worm: The First Digital World War (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2011.) "The hazard of fission products persists for a time that is longer than any I can conceive." - Larry Bogart (1914-1991), Anti-Nuclear Activist. ------------------------------------------------------- "Of course, today, for science in particular, electronic communication makes possible communities of individuals from all corners of the world. The most direct evolution toward an enlightened science is for these groups to just go about supporting each other in doing science free of disproved, official assumptions." - Halton C. Arp. "Without in any way ceasing our direct attack upon the institution (war), we may well consider the effects if we cut the umbilical cord to its mother evil, the animal abattoir." - from The Recovery of Culture (Diet and War) by Henry Bailey Stevens, 1949. "A human being is part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." - Albert Einstein. "It would be good to prevent the vast suffering and countless violent deaths caused by predation." - Jeff McMahan, Department of Philosophy, Rutgers University. "Win-win sees life as a cooperative arena, not a competitive one. Win-win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions." - Author Steven R. Covey (1932-2012.) “From the right to know and the duty to inquire flows the obligation to act.” - Sandra Steingraber ("Rachel Carson of the 21st Century"), author of Living Downstream (1997, 2010.) “A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants.” - Arthur Schopenhauer. -------------------------------------------------------- "D. But greatest of all would be the effect upon our ethical and aesthetic culture if we made ourselves consistent with that primate nature which was built over long ages into our very genes. We have tried to operate a church and a schoolhouse at one end of the street and a slaughterhouse at the other, to fill our minds with kindness and our stomachs with tortured flesh; to teach peace and eat like beasts of prey. But we have overlooked the moral in the story of Diomedes. Each generation has run amok and torn us to pieces in turn for the ugly lies which it has been taught - viz. that animals must be killed for food and people for military objectives." - from The Recovery of Culture (Diet and War) by Henry Bailey Stevens, 1949. "We believe that everyone deserves an informed choice about whether or not to consume genetically modified organisms." - The Non-GMO Project. "If you are just learning about GMOs for the first time, we know you have many questions. We have compiled some resources for you." - Moms Across America. ---------------------------------------- "The Red Robinhood Global Foundation for Kids (Non-Profit) "The mission statement of the camp is to work with inner-city kids and teach them essential basics of early childhood education. Empathy and compassion to the younger generations shall make a tremendous difference in their lives. Academics, survival skills, languages, horseback riding, camping, and diet, will fulfill their young lives. Different facets of our camp will change the young lives of these kids, and make them become leaders among their peers. Baseball, basketball, tennis, soccer, and other non-contact sports, are many activities in which children will participate. After many different processes and classes, the children will become an aid to a special needs child, and they will learn many things from them being all they can be. We will instill the importance of early childhood education. Early childhood education is the key because it will provide a positive foundation and a secure future for children. On graduation weekend parents will attend all of the classes and activities throughout the weekend, ending in a graduation ceremony by candlelight. This camp will change the lives of children all over the world. All food at the camp will be prepared non-GMO." Proposal by Edwin Lee Holland (1958-) ----------------------------------------------------------- "To ignite a passion for inquiry, innovation and investigation that will instill a compassionate commitment to enrich the quality of life in school, community and country and make an enduring difference to our world." - Mission of the Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science. "I endorse wholeheartedly The Forelaws Principle" - Brig Klyce, Director, Astrobiology Research Trust, USA. "The initiative already has led to six completed science textbooks in Tibetan and English, with two more textbooks in various stages of completion." - from the Robert A. Paul Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, Emory University. ". . . Which then means that everyone has their own perception or version of `reality'. That's because each of us `physically' perceives the external world slightly differently, and each of us carries a unique baggage of a life-time's concepts and assumptions which further influence those perceptions." - Ray Dickenson, Editor, Perceptions. ". . . herald a new worldview that I hope will unite the many nations and races of people that inhabit our planet. To realize that our life is only a minute component of an all pervading cosmic living system, and the knowledge that our genetic brothers and sisters still lurk amidst stars will, I hope, change the way we look at our trivial differences and ourselves." - Dr. Chandra Wickramasinghe, director, Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, UK, whose works include Evolution from Space (1981) co-authored with Sir Fred Hoyle (1915-2001). ----------------------------------------------------------- Forelaws on Board Forelaws_on_Board@forelawsonboard.net |