When Are We Due For It?

History has seen the rise and fall of many large and powerful cultures. Romans, Mayans, Akkadians, none of these historic empires have lasted in much more than memory and artifacts. But their decline and eventual disappearance is often a source of intense study and speculation, since many of them don't have clear records of their declining years. However, recent evidence has shown correlations between shifts in the local climate and the disappearance of these large civilizations.

The Mayan empire existed in Central America for around 2000 years before it faded back into the mists of time. The reason? Well, that is still a matter of speculation, to some degree. However, there are some theories that are particularly prominent.
"Some believe that by the ninth century the Maya had exhausted the environment around them to the point that it could no longer sustain a very large population. Other Maya scholars argue that constant warfare among competing city-states led the complicated military, family (by marriage) and trade alliances between them to break down, along with the traditional system of dynastic power. As the stature of the holy lords diminished, their complex traditions of rituals and ceremonies dissolved into chaos. Finally, some catastrophic environmental change--like an extremely long, intense period of drought--may have wiped out the Classic Maya civilization. Drought would have hit cities like Tikal--where rainwater was necessary for drinking as well as for crop irrigation--especially hard."
 If you take some additional time to look at these theories, it is easier to see that they could all be part of the same sequence of events. If we start with the drought, then that would lead to the exhaustion of agricultural supplies and means, as well as drinking water and possibly a primary means of transportation. No longer able to sustain the population that exploded with the preceding period of high rainfall and agricultural windfalls, the land began to lose potency, and the people began to suffer. This situation usually leads to civil unrest, and considering the leaders of the culture were also holy figures, they might even be seen as part of the cause of the people's misery. This would lead to the breakdown of government and trade alliances, as people stop listening to distant authorities, and start keeping supplies that might have been previously sent to the capital. As you can see, these possible causes don't have to be mutually exclusive, and in fact become more plausible when combined. This particular series of events has seen increased scientific evidence to its viability as well, with the time of the drought correlating with the time frame of the Mayan civilization's decline. As this hopefully demonstrates, a shift in the climate patterns can have a sudden and drastic impact on a society, to the point that it collapses.

Another example of such shifts in climate causing a societal collapse is the Indus (or Harappan) civilization that was established in the area of modern day "Pakistan, northwestern India and eastern Afghanistan." However, climate shifts also contributed to the establishment of the civilization, since the region was formerly inhospitable due to extreme weather and flooding that was strong enough to sweep away what people would try to build. However, as the monsoons responsible for this extreme weather became more gentle over the years, the flooding became gentle enough that it became an integral part of the farming process in the region. However, this process continued instead of halting in this "Goldilocks status," and since the river that supplied and nourished the region was apparently only fed by rain, with no large body source, the decline in rainfall also meant a decline in available water. In this case, as the river dried up, many people moved to other regions. Some were able to continue farming, since the rains still came, they just would not have been able to produce enough food to feed the city populations that had peaked during the prosperous period of the civilization's history. In this case, the fall of the civilization was a matter of time and circumstance. Unfortunately, without much cause to notice the gradual (oh so very gradual!) change in the weather patterns over the years, and no records to provide a warning (writing was developed during its time, but not from the start), the civilization was doomed to fall as the climate continued its drying trend. So, it becomes difficult to blame the fall of the civilization on their lack of foresight, when they didn't have much hindsight either. Besides, the society lasted for around 2000 years, which would probably span hundreds of generations of people, who didn't have any reason not to take advantage of such a pleasant, fertile region. At least their activities (supposedly) didn't contribute to the climate shift, since it was already part of an established trend.

Which brings up my last point- if a society can collapse due to climate shifts that are already occurring due to shifts in global temperature currents and the like, what will happen when something like this happens on a global scale? Unlike the Harrappans, we won't have anywhere to go if we are managing to afflict the climate processes of entire regions of the globe. We have already seen some of the warning signs of radical changes in the weather- the drought over the summer, Hurricane Sandy's impact on a region that normally doesn't see such violent weather, and generally rising temperatures. Unlike the civilizations of the past, we can tell what is driving the shifts in the climate now- heck, we can even identify contributing factors to their climate shifts. The question is, will we do anything about it, to prevent a permanent shift in global habitability, or will we simply continue along our current path of self destruction?

Extra links:
Roman Empire studies
http://www.groundwatergo.com/blog/the-top-5-ancient-civilizations-destroyed-by-climate-change/
Decline of Akkadian Empire at start of 300 year long dry spell

Jamming Cultural Frequencies

Culture jamming is an interesting phenomenon. It's a way to challenge how the public views the world as it is, a way to challenge the status quo. By definition, it is "a tactic used by many anti-consumerist social movement to disrupt or subvert media culture and its mainstream cultural institutions, including corporate advertising." I am inclined to believe that this definition could be easily broadened to include hoaxes that are intended to challenge cultural norms and trends. The term is somewhat derived from the term "radio jamming," which is when radio frequencies get taken over or scrambled by a third party between the broadcaster and the recipient. The difference is that culture jamming is typically a way to share a message, usually counter to the original message in a way that the consumer might not be able to tell the difference. It most often works through the same mediums as the messages they are trying to challenge, though often in a way that doesn't get noticed at first.

An organized example of this is the Billboard Liberation Front. While some of their "improvements" to signs are small enough that they might not get noticed at first, they significantly change the message that a sign is trying to convey. An interesting example I noticed on their front page was a neon sign advertising Camel cigarettes having certain sections blacked out and a modified portion to make it read "Am I Dead Yet?" Being organized online, and with their members largely secret, they work in a guerrilla fashion to improve the advertisements of their "clients" in such a way that they "unlock" messages that would have otherwise been "hidden" in the advertisements. To look at it a bit more objectively, they seem to have a strange sort of tongue-in-cheek humor in their approach to changing advertisements, with a manifesto that tells of the Advertisement as a ubiquitous idea permeating our consciousness to a subliminal level, and affecting out views of the world and ourselves... okay, that's actually the case, but they say it in an almost awe-inspired way. The last part of the manifesto states: "Each time you change the Advertising message in your own mind, whether you climb up onto the board and physically change the original copy and graphics or not, each time you improve the message, you enter in to the High Priesthood of Advertisers." They don't necessarily say that one has to physically change the sign- just that it is best to view it in such a way that you are capable of seeing through the veil, and not being suckered in by what they are trying to say, and to not view it with the eyes of a "consumer," but as an independent mind capable of using it to share their thoughts, or spread a message that is typically counter to the initial Advertisement.

Media hoaxes are also an example of culture jamming, though they may often focus on how people act and work to try and change how people are approaching their lives and interpersonal reactions, as compared to focusing on the media outlets and corporations. A legacy example of this type of culture jamming is a man by the name of Alan Abel. In 1958, he started with a campaign called "The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals," or S.I.N.A. for short. He successfully managed to keep the hoax going for 5 years before Time magazine blew the whistle on the campaign, which was run on about $20 a week, with a fake office that was a broom closet with a plaque on the door. The hoax itself was a commentary on censorship, poking fun at the type of people who would ban and burn books and records for "moral" reasons. The campaign was run very successfully with a small group and most of its public appearances being enabled by the news media, which had various "members" of the group come on to talk about the campaign, as well as interviews with the "president," G. Clifford Prout (really a comedian friend of Abel's named Buck Henry) on major news outlets. The hoax captured the public in a way that is hard to describe- people actually joined newsletters and sent in donations (One woman from Santa Barbara, CA actually sent in a check for $40,000!) to support the "cause." The money that people sent in was returned, but anyone who didn't see the initial outing of the hoax was continuously duped for a few more years through the newsletter. It was a very elaborate prank at times, too: there was apparently a song for the group, that was performed a capella on a show, as well as a coat of arms. While it doesn't seem that the public reaction to the reveal of the hoax was ever really recorded, I would hope that those who learned about it after supporting it had a moment where they really thought about what it was they had been trying to support, instead of simply becoming angry. But then again, the type of people who would send in money for such a cause probably aren't open-minded enough to have a reaction besides anger. Abel has continued to pull various media pranks over the last 50 years or so, with the goal of giving people a swift "kick in the intellect." His work has probably had mixed results over the years, but there is one thing that is certain: the man is dedicated, and very good at this particular form of social commentary.

So, whether it be by hijacking the advertisements of the corporations, or trying to make people think at least a little bit harder about the way that society treats certain actions, or about how information is being presented to them, there are people out there who are working to subvert the monopoly on the public mind that various powers-that-be have on the populace. And I am inclined to say: best of luck. People need all the help they can get on that front.

Extra Links:
http://www.adbusters.org/

Hoax saying the Alberta tar sands would be a setting for Mordor in "The Hobbit"

http://depts.washington.edu/ccce/polcommcampaigns/CultureJamming.htm Excellent article, with even more links

Recounting of an interesting request for customized Nikes

An interview with Alan Abel

http://theyesmen.org/ A particularly famous Culture Jamming group

The Pebble Project: Trying to Make a Molehill Out of a Mountain

In Alaska, a project that could determine the fate of a large region in the south is currently being hotly debated. Called the Pebble Project (for the Pebble Partnership that owns the mineral rights) it is a mining project that is still waiting for approval, since the mineral rights were first obtained in 2001 by the initial member of the Pebble Partnership (Klare, Ch.5). The claim, located near Iliamna Lake, is possibly the biggest gold mine and the second largest copper mine in the US, as well as containing respectable amounts of silver and the rare element molybdenum. However, it is located within a very sensitive ecologic region, with major watersheds and hundreds of rivers and streams moving through the area. But the concern about these waters being contaminated is more specific than the usual concern about downstream contamination and ecological poisoning: the region is home to the most prolific salmon fishery in the world. These fish are a keystone species for the region, being the staple diet for many creatures, as well as many Native American communities that rely on them to provide a large portion of their food supply each year. They are also important commercially- 12,500 people are employed in the $100 million per year industry. If toxins from the mining project were to enter this system, even if the fish didn't experience mass die-offs, the toxins would become concentrated in their bodies and make them unsuitable for safe consumption, still managing to ruin the lives and livelihoods of all who depend on them. With these considerations in mind, the resistance to the plan becomes easier to understand, despite the payload that would be taken from the ground and the jobs that it would generate.

The controversies aren't limited to just the nature of the project either. Currently, an independent panel set up by the Keystone Group is supposed to be partaking of a review of data gathered by the company that wants to do the work, but already two members have left the review panel. One left voluntarily, due to personal problems with the process as it was taking place, and the fact that they were supposed to perform the review based on conditions in the region, and without a proposed plan for them to consider in the process. The other was "excused" from the panel, due to a paper he had helped co-write on the fisheries and possible impacts of mining on the region, and this made it seem that he would be biased during the review process. While the second reviewer, Daniel Schindler, believes that both sides of the debate need to be analyzed for scientific accuracy, his contributions to research about the ecosystems of the research were viewed as "acts of advocacy." While it may be easy to see how the connection to be made, the fact that he holds both sides of the debate to standards of scientific accuracy should be enough to make him a valuable member of a review panel, and the fact that he has done research on the matter should support that claim, instead of branding him as being a sympathizer with one side. The one other matter for consideration is that if a plan for the mine had been submitted along with the data for the region (supplied by the Pebble Project) as the first reviewer would have liked, he may have been able to offer specific input based on his previous research.

Even with the possible benefits that the mine could offer to the region, there are many who believe that the impact would be too great to be offset by the benefits, especially since they will last much longer than the jobs that will be supposedly created by its activity. Many are worried not only what will happen to the communities that already populate the region, but about the generations who will come after, and be the ones who have to suffer most for any mistakes made at this time. As was already mentioned, most people who live in the region rely on the land for their food, since getting food delivered is too expensive for the local economies to handle, and many have learned the skills to do so effectively enough that they can fish, hunt, and gather resources to sustain themselves and their families. There are some who do it due to circumstances, and others who do it by choice, and probably some who do it with a mix of the two stimuli. But if a large industrial project were to be inserted into the environment, there would no longer be an ecosystem capable of sustaining these enterprising spirits, as game would most likely be frightened off, and the land would be changed so that various plants would be harder to find. And if the mine isn't able to live up to its promise to maintain the project in such a way that no contamination of the surroundings occurs, a promise that has never come to fruition by any mine that has similar conditions to the Pebble Project (even with claims that technology has advanced enough for them to do so), the fish and streams will be forever changed in such a way that the local culture and ecosystem will be irreparably damaged.

Perhaps the only way for this particular project to be done safely would be to develop a completely novel method of resource extraction that takes away the need for tailing ponds. Perhaps either tailings could be treated and recycled as the process proceeds, simultaneously reducing the quantity of material needed and the risk that comes with having ponds of toxic waste sitting out in the open. Or another method of removing the target resource from the ores can be developed, that wouldn't rely as much on chemical extraction. Whatever the case, I don't think that the mining should be done as most projects are done. The people and ecosystem of the region should not be put at such high risk to satisfy the greed of a world that has managed to squander a good portion of its resources when they could have found ways to reclaim them for reuse, and thus reduce the need to find ever increasing quantities of raw materials. While it may not be easy, the people of the region have a means to be self-sustainable, which in many ways is a greater boon to their existence than having a high per capita income. Those from outside shouldn't be allowed to take that from them for the sake of temporary (and to some degree, unneeded) boosts in production.