Sam Kneller's Blog, page 45

Rainforests or Monoculture? Biodiversity is the Medium of Our Survival

Rainforests, one of the lungs of our planet, (phytoplankton being the other) or monoculture, one of the cancers of Earth. Which shall it be?

Rainforests, one of the lungs of our planet, (phytoplankton being the other) or monoculture, one of the cancers of Earth. Which shall it be?

Massive plants like trees in the rainforests of medium sized plants like corn or a lot of other comestible food plants–each represents a piece in the interconnected puzzle of the chain of life here on Earth

(Audit of the Universe, chapter 5.2)

Medium-sized plants

This is the type of flora we most often rely on as crops, germinate and grow as part of a healthy pollination process. For many species, the bee population is an important part of this cycle. While bees collect nectar from plant flowers, pollen sticks to their legs. As the bees fly to other flowers, they pollinate the new location and allow the plant to reproduce.

For the past five years, bee populations have declined by 25% worldwide in mass die-offs collectively called Colony Collapse Disorder. Although scientists have yet to conclusively identify the cause of CCD, most evidence points to pesticides used in industrial farming as the most likely culprit. If the bee population continues to plummet, it destroys a necessary step in how billions of plants are fertilized each year—with the potential results including extinction for many plants humans rely on. In response, the use of organic pesticides and predator pest control has risen in the developed world in an effort to keep that chain intact.

Enormous Flora at Large

It’s fair to describe the world’s forests as the “other lungs of the earth.” They recycle megatons of CO2 into oxygen each year, supporting the air cycle for breathable atmosphere and reducing the climate-changing CO2 content in the air. The forests aren’t as large as the world’s phytoplankton field, but still vital to keeping the system of our world in balance.

Beyond their role in the air cycle, the large rainforests of the world produce many of the foods we rely on. An incomplete list includes bananas, oranges, peppers, okra, peanuts, cashews, coffee beans, palm and coconut oil, cocoa, sugar, beans and a variety of spices and teas.

On the positive side of the Audit ledger you can also call rainforests the “world’s medicine cabinet” because of the medicinal plants found within its varied species. As of 2014, we derive 120 prescription drugs sold worldwide directly from rainforest products to treat ailments ranging from malaria to heart disease to tuberculosis.

Rainforests are the “world’s medicine cabinet” because of the medicinal plants found within its varied species. Dozens of prescription drugs from rainforests treat ailments ranging from malaria to heart disease to tuberculosis.
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According to the US National Cancer Institute, more than 2/3 of the medicines with cancer-fighting properties come from rainforest plants. These impressive statistics don’t even include manufactured drugs that based their original formula on compounds found in rainforest flora.

Despite their importance to the world environment and our survival, deforestation is a major environmental issue. According to UN statistics, human activity is destroying the world’s forests at a rate of 5.2 million hectares per year. That’s an area about the size of Costa Rica. While this rate has dropped from the 8.3 million annually between 1990 and 2000, it is still a “cancer” of the world’s lungs that inhibits their ability to foster healthy, balanced human life.

Even though mankind is at the center of forest deconstruction by deforestation, many of us humans are also at the center of preventing or even reversing deforestation. Some examples of the most effective efforts include:

Finding alternatives to wood for cooking fuel in developing nations
Programs of payments for reforesting land that was initially deforested for financial gain
National legislation creating protected forests
Stricter regulations on lumber and agriculture interests
Ecotourism programs that bring money into a region only if rainforests remain intact
China’s “Green Wall” project, which is aggressively replanting large regions of forest that were clearcut during their early industrialization.

Enormous Opportunity

The largest living organism in the world is a single mushroom covering 880 hectares of land in the Malheur National Forest of Oregon, USA. It’s the size of 1,665 football fields and larger than 24 nations. Other individual species of the same kind of mushroom have been measured at over 1,000 acres each. The root structure of this massive plant is a hyper-complex network that our scientists are using to expand our understanding of computer networks, supply chains and even our own brain’s neural net.

“I like this giant mushroom,” Galacti says.

“Why is that?” I ask.

“Because I’m such a fun guy. Get it? Fungi?”

“Groan,” I say out loud.

“But seriously folks,” Galacti says, “What happens to your flora happens to your atmosphere, happens to your fauna and happens to you. Flora is an important pivot in the life of your planet, one that cycles the resources and waste of other pieces of the puzzle so that all can survive.” Every link in the chain of life counts and the fungi network is both food and responsible for food production. As such, it is a pivotal link and another piece that must find its rightful place in the complete puzzle picture.

What happens to your flora happens to your atmosphere, happens to your fauna and happens to you. Flora is an important pivot in the life of your planet, it cycles the resources and waste of other pieces of the puzzle so all survive.
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The Power of Biodiversity

Left without mankind’s interference, flora tends to thrive in an automatically balanced cycle. Plants share air and water. Dying plants fertilize the soil for newer specimens. Symbiotic relationships develop between different species in a wild tangle of vibrant growth that may not be as aesthetically pleasing as a tended garden, but requires far less outside maintenance.

One example of this in action is the country of Brunei, located on the eastern island of Indonesia. The entire region is a megadiversity site, although the rubber trade, in most countries of the region, has left its effects on local rainforests cutting into that diversity and limiting it significantly.

Brunei, by contrast, was an oil-producing nation from its inception which meant they never harvested their old-growth timber the way other parts of the region did. Left to flourish unmolested, their rainforests reach heights of nearly 200 feet and are home to vast arrays of land and water wildlife. These species work together in an intricate web that depends on the health and balance of the flora in that forest.

The counterexample is the modern agricultural practice of monoculture: raising only one crop or product without using the land for other purposes. A corn field in a modern Western farm is home only to corn, fertilized optimally for corn, and considers all other plants to be weeds. Monocultural fields are less expensive to plant and harvest than diverse fields, but have several disadvantages.

In monoculture a corn field is home only to corn, fertilized optimally for corn, and considers all other plants to be weeds. Monocultural fields are less expensive to plant and harvest than diverse fields, but have many disadvantages.
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The plants grown there – being of a single species or narrow range of species – are more vulnerable to pests and disease. The arrangement makes inefficient use of resources because the same patch of land could grow and support more than one crop, and fails to provide a rich habitat for other flora and fauna.

As with our efforts against deforestation, we have produced some ingenious efforts to increase and encourage biodiversity to curb the trend toward monoculture farming.

Government and multinational efforts and regulations to preserve species and encourage biodiverse agriculture.
Efforts by agriculture associations to support and make a case for returning to biodiverse farming models.
The general public is becoming more aware of the quality and provenance of their groceries. They’re looking for fresher produce and a more local and sustainable food supply chain.

“So much of man’s relationship with flora is based on food,” Galacti notes. “Flora feeds you directly, or through your eating the animals that eat it. I wonder why so often it seems that you value money over plants? Don’t you use much of the money to buy food?”

Our species has been agrarian since its inception. Has our relationship with food moved from a process based on growing nutrition to a process of growing profits? Are we using fertilizer instead of natural nutrients to grow food as quickly as possible to provide the largest, most profitable yields—quantity over quality?

Humanity has been agrarian since its inception. Has our relationship with food moved from a process based on growing nutrition to a process of growing profits?
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Is pesticide application to produce as much of the harvest as possible a short-term solution? What is the food industry’s responsibility in flora poisoning—depleting its nutritional value and at the same time throwing land and human health out of balance?

This blog post is an excerpt from chapter 5.2 of Audit of the Universe

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Bible Hierarchy of our Two Key Characters: God and humans

There is a hierarchy between God and humankind–just like there’s a chain of command in any organization.

Is hierarchy still a normal part of our day-to-day lives? Do we ask our commander, boss, manager, mom or dad when there’s a necessity?

We’re not finished with the last scene regarding God’s relationship with humanity. There are other basic points to glean so as to gather more comprehension. This is the opening scene between God and humans, and we’re hanging on each word so we don’t miss the slightest implication, the smallest clue that can help us unlock where the narrative is going and its ultimate climax.

(Origin of the Universe, chapter 4.4)

Click here: To follow along with the online Bible - If this is you first contact with this blog.
You can follow along by using the online Bible, the Interlinear Bible, Strong’s Concordance and the Hebrew/Greek Concordance at UnlockbibleMeaning.com

If you’ve come across this blog post for the first time then please know that it is part of a larger work. To see the entire context, which you can read online, click here.


And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shalt not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shalt surely die. (Gen 2:15-17)
More disclosures from this Garden of Eden scene (Gen 2.15-17):

God is in command
God makes the rules
God gives the instruction
Man is the recipient of this instruction
Man receives the rules
Man has free choice to follow or to not follow that instruction, in other words, follow or not follow God’s rules
There’s no coercion from God… just clear instruction—God is not a ‘bully’

Let’s come down to earth and put government and leadership, any governing body of any organization in the driver’s seat, and apply these same seven principles.

This ‘organization which oversees’, whatever form it might take—top down, collegiate, bottom up—is necessary to establish the orderly conditions that bring ‘peace.’ Peace is not the cause of ‘organization’ and ‘order’, peace does not precede union and stability; it’s the other way round. Organization and order are mainstay reasons for ‘peace’. Orderliness leads to harmony. There is no anarchy, disorder or turmoil in the Garden of Eden, for example.

Organization has a number of clear-cut stages, which we’ll see below. Where these elements are absent, the result is the opposite of peace: chaos. (Of course, some chaos creates drama, as we’ll see later on!)

1. Organization of the Leadership Chain of Command – Hierarchy (of the garden of Eden scene)

God is in command
God decides what to do
Humans are / can be followers… not the leaders

This hierarchy is set… humankind can do and say whatever they like… but in the script of the Bible ‘play’ God is in charge.

I know, in our liberal democratic society there’s room for discussion, debate and compromise and the concept and even the word ‘hierarchy’ sound very overbearing and incongruous. Talking about ‘someone in charge, with the idea of wielding a big stick’ is unacceptable to our minds–especially in light of some of the outrageous acts perpetrated by ‘powerful professional people’ in 2017.

We shall return to this concept of hierarchy and leadership positions with much more explanation because such abuse of power is intolerable. This Bible text is not referring to this brutish authority and control. For now, just read it as part of the Bible story. After all, there are plenty of fiction books and non-fiction real life examples of legends and tales built around powerful, overbearing, authoritarian leaders.

More points to retain from Gen 2.15-17

2. Existence of Rules

There are rules
The Supreme Being who wrote the play makes the rules
These rules are for the benefit of man and woman just like keeping our hand out of fire is a rule, or kids standing back, away from a stove when Mom or Dad is cooking–they are beneficial to us
If humanity follows these rules, there can be short and long-term benefits, if humankind breaks them there can be short and long term consequences.

‘Making the rules’ includes the notion that they are inevitable and unavoidable whether man and woman know them or not. We might not like the term ‘rules’ but even in table games like Monopoly or Risk or in any and all sports be it football or table-tennis, rules are present. We might use other terms to describe them like: decrees, guidelines, laws, orders, precedents or regulations.

The end result is that they establish a behavior which is considered the norm for us to abide by. And the consequences of following or not following those rules occur relentlessly whether man and woman, you and I, are aware of them or not.

Galacti pretends to be hungry, picks a mushroom in the garden and eats it, then shortly thereafter mimics sickness and pain. Even he isn’t sure if the mushroom species is poisonous, but by eating it, he accepts the consequences. He refrains from a ‘stage death’ to make his point: He may have eased his hunger in the short term, but he could have died. There are even rules governing what we can and can’t eat.

We’re drawing fuller meaning, more complete understanding from the author’s description of the relationship between God and Humans. This is what the Bible story tells us:

1. Responsibilities and Consequences for God

Establishing rules

Helpful and effective rules that can be applied by humankind


Making those rules known and teaching them to humankind
Establishing the consequences of following or disobeying those rules: In this scene (Gen 2. 15-17) they are summed up or generalized by short and long term Life and Death.

2. Responsibilities and Consequences for Man

A freely made decision to be open to and listen or not to God’s instruction
A freely made decision to apply or not apply that instruction
A realization that humankind accepts the consequences of its decisions: short and long term life or death

Hierarchy, Rules, Responsibilities, Consequences, Life, Death. We haven’t looked at any details or defined parameters of what they specifically are. Right now, I’m keeping you a little in suspense. I would like you to focus on the overview. There is much more to say, and we are getting there. But, first, as usual, let’s get the big picture.

The first few chapters of Genesis do just that, they give us the backdrop and staging for the interaction between the characters of our play. We’ve seen the beginning of that interplay between God and humanity represented by Adam and Eve.

The next important thing to remember is that these four concepts—Organization, Rules, Responsibilities and Consequences of God and man—are part of the central point of the Bible. Each of these four points has the ‘why, how, when, where, who’ to be looked into and it isn’t what you’ve heard before. I shall expand them and go into details.

For now we’re still setting the stage. Here comes the villain.

This blog post is an excerpt from chapter 4.4 of Origin of the Universe

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From Phytoplankton to Algae – How Humanity Affects Plants

Flora, represented by phytoplankton and algae two of the most prevalent plants on Earth. What impact is humankind having on their well-being?

Amazing algae food and products. Seaweed is a useful resource and humanity can do it right … if it wants to.

“Each plant is itself a wondrous system processing air, water and nutrients to feed all living things,” Galacti lectures. “Together they form a greater and interconnected cycle that becomes the basis for the cycle of life. Air containing oxygen, water cleansed of contaminants, and food carrying vital nutrients all come from plants.

(Audit of the Universe, chapter 5.1)

You also rely on plants for many of your accomplishments. Natural medicines, lumber, clothing and rubber are just a few examples. Without this web of life support, the Earth would be as deadly to man as the coldest depths of space.”

He’s right. Flora forms a pivot point of life on earth, a choke point, a point of vulnerability. It is the intermediary between the air and man, and between us and the Land. It refreshes our oxygen supply and absorbs the nitrogen that makes animal life possible. Everything is interconnected, flora is another puzzle piece that is part of the entire picture. We’re auditing the entire framework of the Universe to see where humanity stands–is the glass of peace and prosperity getting fuller or emptier?

This complex system of flora supports all life, including us humans. The degree to which it remains balanced and healthy is the degree to which human endeavors, civilization and life can be sustained.

Is the system healthy? If not, are we working to repair it? If so, are our actions and decisions contributing to its continued health? Or are we pushing the system out of balance?

All Flora Small and Great

Flora on earth ranges from minute one-cell plant spores to the largest plant with is actually a tentacular mushroom covering almost 1000 hectares or the equivalent of some 1700 football fields. Each plant possesses its own individual challenges and value. Let’s take a closer look and see how they are faring.

Phytoplankton, small, but vital

Phytoplankton is a microscopic flora that inhabits every drop of the top 100 meters of every ocean on the planet. It is the largest field of plant life in the world, alone responsible for drawing as much CO2 out of the atmosphere as all land plants combined. The various species adapt to different climates and conditions, but all of them are being reduced by human pollution and the effects of global climate change.

Phytoplankton, microscopic plants in the top layers of our oceans, is the largest field of plant life in the world, alone responsible for drawing as much CO2 out of the atmosphere as all land plants combined
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The world’s population of phytoplankton has dropped by 40 percent in the past half-century, a fact with alarming implications both for the growing CO2 imbalance and for the ocean animals that rely on phytoplankton as their primary food source. That list includes sea stars, shrimp, snails, many species of fish and even whales.

Humanity has responded to this discovery with funding, research and experimentation into what is causing the phytoplankton to die-off and what we can do about it. We understand the importance of this microflora to the ecological balance of the earth. As of this writing, restoration projects have begun testing hypotheses–but we are just at the beginning of the journey toward a solution.

All About Algae

Algae are a slightly larger, but still very small, flora that can warn observers about the overall health of a water ecosystems. Under healthy conditions, algae provide oxygen and food for aquatic animals while growing in a controlled fashion.

Unhealthy conditions cause algae to “bloom” in a massive slick that destroys the entire local aquatic ecosystem. The slick blocks sunlight from reaching beneficial underwater plants, which can then no longer produce enough oxygen for local fish.

Even in healthy quantities, algae can become a hazard when interacting with human behavior. Algae eat and concentrate whatever substances are in the water. If they grow in an area that is taking in a safe amount of sulfuric acid from a nearby factory—say 1 part per million—they will concentrate that dangerous toxin within their mass. The algae can then burn or poison swimmers, pets and livestock that swim in it. When the algae die, the dangerously concentrated contaminant sinks to the bottom of the lake to poison and kill the plants growing there.

Algae eat and concentrate whatever substances are in the water--like sulphuric acid. It can then burn or poison swimmers as well as killing plants and aquatic species that eat it
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Algae blooms happen almost exclusively when we humans impact an area via careless importation or nutrient pollution. Careless importation happens when a species of algae is carried into a new waterway (for example on the bottom of a boat). Each waterway has its own population of plants and animals which has interacted over centuries into a working balance. When a new species of algae enters that balanced system, it can thrive due to a higher nutrient content than it is accustomed to, or from an absence of natural predators. The newly arrived algae bloom, often supplanting or destroying the original population of the waterway.

Nutrient pollution is when runoff from artificial fertilizer used in nearby farms contaminates the water. We discussed the “mixed blessing” of fertilizer in the previous chapter about land, but its effects on the water only illustrate how interconnected the whole system of the world is.

Algae can also be helpful, and demonstrate the innovative ways we can interact with flora to improve the world and our lives – even to help balance some of the most destructive consequences of our often short-sighted decisions.

Algae have a short life cycle, which lets scientists experiment with genetic engineering and selective breeding faster than with many other species. We have used this speedy development to breed algae that eat waste, even hazardous waste, to clean up our mistakes. Microcloeus steenstrupii is just one example of algae grown to eat oil and heavy metals contaminating water, and has been used in spill cleanup worldwide. Another alga—c. moniliferum—can separate strontium from nuclear accidents and trap it where it does no further harm.

Recently, French designer Pierre Calleja has developed a lamp using bioluminescent algae as its light source, lighting urban areas as well as an electric lamp without requiring electricity. Even better, each algae lamp can absorb one ton of atmospheric carbon per year. Several other teams have developed algae that can be used as biodiesels to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.

This blog post is an excerpt from chapter 5.1 of Audit of the Universe

Dig Deeper into The Explanation

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Learn how to play Take Inventory – The Interconnectivity Game (free) that nourishes your neurons and is taking the world by storm. Play a round with family and friends. View the above videos and use the tags at the end of this blog for dozens of ideas to play Take Inventory – The Game.

See the index of the book Inventory of the Universe to find a specific chapter and read it online.

Purchase Inventory of the Universe at Amazon – Purchase the Kindle version

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A Tree, even Two Trees to Represent God’s Intentions for Humankind

A tree, yes a simple tree, even two of them represent the crux of God’s relationship with humankind. They reveal His intentions for each of us.

Two trees in the Garden of Eden. One tree represents Life and the other, Death. There’s a choice to be made.

Scene 3: God gives the Man and Woman Responsibilities and Obligations.

Adam is exploring his new world, and he discovers a magnificent garden. As he looks around in wonder at every kind of plant, God walks onto the scene. No flash of light or thunderclap, no sorcery here. God enters, immediately commands our attention. Adam scratches his head for a moment, but realizes God is someone ‘awesome’. He rushes to greet God. Remember, Adam, although fully formed and an adult male, is a child, only a few seconds old.

(Origin of the Universe chapter 4.3)

Click here: To follow along with the online Bible - If this is you first contact with this blog.
You can follow along by using the online Bible, the Interlinear Bible, Strong’s Concordance and the Hebrew/Greek Concordance at UnlockbibleMeaning.com

If you’ve come across this blog post for the first time then please know that it is part of a larger work. To see the entire context, which you can read online, click here.


God planted a garden eastward in Eden and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground made God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Then God put the man into the garden of Eden saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. (Gen 2.8-9, 15-17)

Our newly arrived Adam learns he is now in what some consider a myth, but it is called the ‘Garden of Eden’. A thousand questions are in his mind, like a child learning about the world. God chooses this moment to have a conversation with Adam.At this point in the Garden of Eden, God is only talking to the man, Adam; the woman is not yet created.

You may eat of every tree, including the Tree of Life but you must not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for in that day you will die. (Gen 2:16-17)

The 2 trees in the the Garden of Eden summarize why God created and how He works with mankind
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This episode of God instructing man is full of significance. It is clear and easy to understand. Probably so easy that it’s been overlooked as ‘outmoded’, ‘silly’, not to say ‘ridiculous’. It summarizes the Creator’s basic intentions, what He has in mind, in short ‘why He created man’. The ‘how He works with man’.

The ‘how’ and the ‘why’ are two fundamental points that man of and by himself can’t guess, surmise, deduce, construe or conclude. By the same token, if this scene reveals the how and the why of what God has in mind for man…it also indicates the how and why of man in relationship to his Creator. This short scene divulges the intimate interconnection between the two main characters (God and humans) in the play.

The ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of God are two fundamental points that man can't know by himself
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The 2 Trees scene divulges the intimate interconnection between God and humankind
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This scene discloses:

The Tree of Life… the fruit of which, if eaten, leads to life

At this point the man is already ‘alive’ and has plenty of ‘food’ so he doesn’t need to eat of a particular tree for life as we understand it.
The ‘life’ represented by this tree might incorporate something to do with ‘physical life’ but it must also include something else to do with a ‘special life’
There are no ‘do’s and don’ts’ about this tree. It was freely available in the garden. In fact it was in the middle of the garden, readily accessible, denoting that the Creator gave them access to this special ‘life’.




The Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, the fruit of which, if eaten, leads to death
Later, as you know or will see, both Adam and Eve ate from this tree and, they did not immediately die, certainly not that ‘day’. Adam lived over 900 years. Just consider this as fanciful exaggeration if you like… it’s part of the story, just like other legends, let’s move on.

The ‘death’ represented by this tree might incorporate something to do with ‘physical death’ that could be immediate, but must also include a period of life prior to this physical death.
The ‘death’ represented by this tree certainly includes something to do with ‘physical death’ but it might also include something else to do with a ‘special death’.


Both trees are freely available for food, they’re out in the open, neither is hidden.
God instructs them as to which is the better and which is the poorer choice.
The man and woman (after her creation and awareness) are free to choose which tree they want to partake of.
God does not impose one way or the other… both ways are equally available to the man and the woman. He allows them to ‘exercise their free choice’
God clearly indicates that the Tree of Knowledge from which they should not eat does have an element of ‘good’.

This is a very important point. God is saying that even certain ‘good’ ends in ‘death’.
Galacti asks: What is the definition of this ‘good’? We shall see.


Certain decisions and practices lead to death, if they’re bad but even if they appear to be good. Certainly we can all agree on bad decisions and practices, but what about good decisions and practices? Many people will have a hard time with this one.
There is a way that leads to life.
There is a way that leads to death.
There are only two ways to freely choose from. These two ways lead to diametrically opposite results: life and death.
This is the essence of drama: a life and death matter.

Whether this is fiction or fact, we’ve got a real drama. A Supreme Being plants two trees, gives His creation, the man and woman a choice, a dilemma, and… drumroll… what will they do?  Will they capitulate or triumph?

This blog post is an excerpt from chapter 4.3 of Origin of the Universe

Dig Deeper into The Explanation

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Learn how to play Take Inventory – The Interconnectivity Game (free) that nourishes your neurons and is taking the world by storm. Play a round with family and friends. View the above videos and use the tags at the end of this blog for dozens of ideas to play Take Inventory – The Game.

See the index of the book Inventory of the Universe to find a specific chapter and read it online.

Purchase Inventory of the Universe at Amazon – Purchase the Kindle version

Google Play – Barnes@Nobles – Kobo – iTunes

Unlock Bible meaning via Biblical Hebrew … with no fuss. The free video course that puts you in the driver’s seat to navigate the Bible as never before. Join now

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The post A Tree, even Two Trees to Represent God’s Intentions for Humankind appeared first on The Explanation with Sam Kneller.

Waste Everywhere – Is Recycling Preserving our Throw-Away Society?

Waste, waste everywhere – built-in obsolescence versus recycling and more ecological use of our land resources. Which is progressing?

Land resources are at a premium, How are we using them: Built-in obsolescence and waste or quality and recycling?

Many of the troubles with our waste come from the use of the Land not from the amount of available resources, but how we choose to distribute what is available. As a species, we are wasteful of the Land’s gifts.

(Audit of the Universe, chapter 4.3 )

In the developed world, we waste:

61% of the energy generated in the United States alone (enough to power the entire UK for 7 years)
40% to 50% of food produced for consumption
35 million cell phones and 350 million printer cartridges
10 liters of water for each sheet of A4 paper produced
7,000,000 tons of solid waste dumped annually into the ocean

The immense scale of our waste doesn’t just come from consumers choosing to throw things away rather than repair or fully use them. Much comes from the producers who take raw materials from the Land and craft them into our wondrous comforts.

Land resources - how are we using them: Built-in obsolescence and waste or quality and…
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The term “planned obsolescence” is manufacturing jargon that means building a product at lower quality than is possible, specifically so it will break and force consumers to buy replacements rather than live with a working product. When you buy an umbrella or a pair of shoes from WalMart, they will not last as long as they might have lasted even if manufactured at the same cost. The manufacturer designed and built them to wear out so you would come back and buy a new one.

All of that waste has to go somewhere. Thalifushi Island in the Maldives is one of those places. Although called an “island,” Thalifushi is technically a lagoon filled with rubbish until the garbage heap has risen above sea level. The artificial landmass of some 500 thousand square meters, (the area of Vatican City) is the regional dumping ground for rubbish and food waste, but also the final resting place of batteries, mercury products, computer components and other items that leach toxins directly into the sea. Open burning on the island pollutes air for kilometers in every direction, and rubbish floats into the open sea with every outgoing tide.

More than a few unscrupulous producers opt instead to dispose of the waste by dumping it in remote areas of the Land or Sea, where it seeps into the water table, or simply hire space in a developing nation with a less stringent (and therefore less expensive) set of environmental laws. International agencies and action combat such antics but it isn’t easy to patrol the world.

The Best Laid Plans

Even when regulation is strict and scrupulously observed, human wonders can lead to unintentional disaster. The design and human errors behind the Chernobyl nuclear disaster rendered over 150,000 square kilometers of land unavailable for many years, and the epicenter will not be safe for us to re-enter for another 20 millennia. When earthquake damage opened the core of the Fukushima plant in Japan, radiation was detectable in small amounts as far away as Alaska and Northern California.

Even these disasters simultaneously stimulated the resourcefulness that makes us what we are at our best. A team at Michigan State University has discovered and tested a bacteria that eats radioactivity and excretes electricity – a discovery they are even now putting into play to aid cleanup efforts at Fukushima.

We cause the Chernobyl crisis, we make bacteria that eats radioactivity and excretes electricity
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Solutions for Our Solutions

In a further example of our contradictory nature, we humans have found ways to counter the destructive effects of our mistakes. In Africa, solar ovens and lamps generate light and heat without using polluting energy sources like wood and rubber or even dangerous ones like scavenged jet fuel. The Wello venture, founded to create a wheel that holds water, allows people to roll rather than carry larger loads of water from the local well or river. This equals greater productivity and better sanitation that impacts entire communities throughout Africa and Southeast Asia.

The automobile industry demonstrates another example of this trend to curb the profligate waste of the mid-and-late 20th century. Building a new car from scratch takes massive amounts of energy and materials, and recycling those materials to build new cars has been a multibillion dollar industry for decades. Recently, car manufacturers have addressed the recycling issue more holistically. Volvo and Toyota now make cars out of 95% recycled parts, and most major manufacturers include steps in their design intended to make their vehicles easier to recycle than before.

There’s the conundrum of producing hybrid cars which is more pollution intensive than production of conventional cars. The incorporated innovative technology and rarer resources call for more expensive production and disposal costs—not only from a monetary point of view but composite components are not accepted by regular waste handling companies, and frequently transported by workers who are both under-trained and poorly equipped.

Our consumption of fossil fuels has led to acid rain, smog and global warming even in countries with advanced emission regulations. In response to those dangers, we have begun investing significant money and manpower into developing safe, renewable sources of energy including wind, tidal, solar and biofuels.

Some cities have begun fighting pollution and improving the quality of urban life by installing community gardens where people from the neighborhood work to produce some of the vegetables they need. Besides feeding locals, these gardens create green space to lower temperatures and improve air quality throughout the city. Most cities with such programs also give tax rebates and other benefits to companies that build or occupy offices with lower energy footprints. This is a worldwide movement, including cities in Germany, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Sweden, Denmark, The United States, Canada and Iceland.

People are also working to use the gifts of the Land more effectively. In Indonesia, Germany and the United Kingdom, companies are recovering wood from fallen trees and turning them into beautiful furniture without having to contribute to the global deforestation epidemic. Throughout the developed world, entire movements including the “Freegans” and “Voluntary Simplicity” choose to live while consuming as little as possible, and by reusing and recycling as much as they can. One company has built a world-spanning business out of turning recycled water bottles into fleece outerwear, recycling 80 million plastic bottles each year.

We have always tried to curb some consequences of our consumption through recycling. From our earliest history, we gave food scraps to livestock to turn food waste into more food. We smelt down used glass and metals, melt plastics and recast paper into newly usable materials. We have even invented ways to recycle used oil into reusable lubricant, and toxic sludges into stable and safe materials.

Striking a Balance?

“Impressive,” Galacti says, “our audit of land is finished—for now.”

On one hand, man grows immense amounts of food from the Land, while on the other we let so much go to waste. With mineral resources, we build great structures and wondrous technologies, but we won’t open the windows to let in fresh air because we prefer expensive air conditioning.

We can grow vast amounts of food from the Land, and let so much go to waste
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“Your agile mind daily crafts planet earth so you can play, work and eat better. And, parallel to that, there is a downside to this progress, for which you are admittedly finding or trying to find solutions.” Galacti produces a glass of water, the line of its contents filling it exactly halfway.

The glass is both half full and half empty. The real question is: are we filling it or emptying it?

As we contemplate the question, we must consider this not just for the land itself but for the plants that grow on the land. What happens with the Land directly affects what happens with the Flora—which directly affects everything else on Earth.

This blog post is an excerpt from chapter 4.3 of Audit of the Universe

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The Main Characters of our Play: Presentation of God and Humans

Presentation of the key characters that will take center stage of this Bible drama.

The curtain rises on our Bible drama. Let’s present our first characters.

Scene 1: God as Creator (1st character)

The opening frame of the movie shows heaven appearing. In our bird’s eye view at the moment, all we can distinguish is this vast space and a planet–Earth. God is present, but He chooses to show himself in His work. He is keeping a bit of the mystery, not appearing yet as a personage. The Bible’s depiction is simpler—very basic stage direction.

(Origin of the Universe, chapter 4.2)

Click here: To follow along with the online Bible - If this is you first contact with this blog.
You can follow along by using the online Bible, the Interlinear Bible, Strong’s Concordance and the Hebrew/Greek Concordance at UnlockbibleMeaning.com

If you’ve come across this blog post for the first time then please know that it is part of a larger work. To see the entire context, which you can read online, click here.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen 1.1)

So begins the Bible, plunging us into a science fiction scenario, stating the origin of what we often take for granted, what is above and beneath us.

This opening statement takes the following points for granted:

God exists
He can create (he is the writer, producer, director, and entire production staff on this story)
There was a point when the heaven and earth did not exist
There was a beginning at some past point in antiquity

This, of itself, merits a lot of explanation which is forthcoming—for now, think about Inventory of the Universe and chapter 1, Expanding Finity. From the very opening statement this ‘coming into existence’–even if we don’t know how–is a ‘given.’ There’s no asterisk to an appendix or Wikipedia to explain Who or What God is. In this initial statement He just is and He has the power to create. Even from a literary point of view, this is the scenario and I think these are logical conclusions. We will expound these point in due time.

Genesis 1.1 God exists, He creates, heaven & earth didn't always exist, they had a beginning
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There is a corollary to this introductory phrase that I’d like to draw your attention to: God was on the scene prior to this creation. Logically He must’ve been there ‘somewhere’ before this beginning. The opening line of Genesis is not the beginning of God but of the heaven and the earth. It doesn’t tell us where God comes from, how He got there or how long He’s been around. Apparently, at this point in the story, those points are not of vital importance.

Once again, nobody is asking you to believe this any more than you believe Star Wars or Harry Potter. If you like, just take it as a literary work that we’re analyzing–just like you’d do in a literature class.

Scene 2: Humans in the form of Man and Woman (2nd character)

Following the initial statement the Bible runs the creation scenario, coming to the sixth day when Man and Woman are created. The animals and creepy-crawlies were also created earlier this same day. As a screenwriter would in the first ten minutes of a movie, we’re setting up the key characters and their relationships, so we’re skipping some context, to which we will return later.

The fish and the fowl populate the earth. Squawking, swimming, squirming. But God has plans beyond just the animals.

Like a master craftsman, He carefully, but effortlessly, creates people, strange and new individuals with bare flesh. Limbs, hair, eyes, chest, breasts, face. These are humans: man and woman.

God said, let us make man in our own image, in our own likeness…. male and female… and let them have dominion over the fish… the fowl… and every living thing that creeps on the earth (Gen 1.26)

Genesis 1.26 Humans have the image of God and dominion over all the fauna on earth
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Notice that ‘God’, in this context, takes a plural pronoun: ‘let us…’ We’ll come back to this.

They (God) create man with their own ‘image and likeness.’ No lengthy explanation here, even if it merits one. Suffice it to say it is very clear that there’s a rather special relationship between God and Man (of both sexes). Animals were not made with this divine ‘image and likeness’; not only does man possess this distinction but we see that man is also given dominion or ‘governance’ over the animals.

Ever heard this: ‘You’re the spitting image of…’ or ‘When you do that, you are just like…’  With this one short clear ‘resemblance statement’ in Gen 1.26, we are given two basic principles that give us insight into the kinship of God, humans (man and woman) and animals. God created both humans and animals, yet humans have a special close relationship with God; moreover, God does not have this relationship with animals.

Man does have a relationship with animals; specifically, he has ‘dominion’ over the fauna. Most people find the connotation of ‘dominion’ dreadful and we will clarify its meaning shortly, let’s say here that man is put in charge of taking care of the animals. In the chain of command animals are ‘under’ man. Be assured that the translation ‘dominion’ does not mean man can do whatever he wants with animals.

Galacti gently nudges us to look at the man. Surprises on the stage! What is Man doing?

This blog post is an excerpt from chapter 4.2 of Origin of the Universe

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Learn how to play Take Inventory – The Interconnectivity Game (free) that nourishes your neurons and is taking the world by storm. Play a round with family and friends. View the above videos and use the tags at the end of this blog for dozens of ideas to play Take Inventory – The Game.

See the index of the book Inventory of the Universe to find a specific chapter and read it online.

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The Land: Industrial Fertilizer or Organic Farming and Rare Earth Metals

The Land: Which way are we headed? Industrial Fertilizer or Organic Farming and Rare Earth metals

For the Land, what cultivation method should humanity choose: Industrial Fertilizers or Organic Farming?

If we put the land first and make it the priority, then choices should become simpler. There are all sorts of opinions and debates but is the tide turning to a more saner way of eating?

Fads of the Land

Food fads happen when we place more importance on one kind of food than on others, and choose to eat out of balance with what is available or healthy. As wheat and corn became unpopular in Western countries, the grain quinoa came into vogue in restaurants and bakeries.

(Audit of the Universe, chapter 4.2)

This created a boom where prices for quinoa seed multiplied 20 times in Bolivia, the source of nearly half the world’s supply of this grain. Although this improved the quality of life for some Bolivian farmers and broadened our options at restaurants and in grocery stores, the benefit did not come without an unconsidered cost.

Quinoa demands so much water that farmers had to suspend growing on half or more of their land. This extra demand has also threatened llama farmers in the region, as well as the wild plant and animal populations. The short-term gain has created an unstable situation that harms the Land and disrupts the human communities inhabiting it.

By happy contrast, some farmers in the developed world are once again embracing organic agriculture. Farms embracing this movement end the cycle of destructive chemical farming and begin the process of rebuilding a natural population of worms and bacteria that fertilize the soil naturally. These farms have an impact on local farm life, and produce food that is higher in nutrients and micronutrients than their industrially farmed counterparts. Although less than 5% of the food we produce is organic, this might indicate a positive tendency to rebuild the Land rather than destroy it.

Failing With Phosphorus

We once considered phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers the cure for hunger worldwide. They provided the most essential nutrients instantly before we had to wait for the land to regenerate them over months and years. Using these technological marvels makes the Land significantly more productive than a traditional schedule of crop rotation and natural compost.

But that fertilizer kills the bacteria and worms that make soil sustainable over time. As we deplete our mined reserves of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and those fertilizers become more expensive, farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to continue this “modern” farming. It takes years for chemically fertilized fields to restore their natural fertilization, meaning farmers could go broke in the interim. Diminished food supplies and displaced populations are other real risks of a breakdown in this practice of farming.

As we deplete our mined reserves of NPK those fertilizers become more expensive
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It’s a question seemingly without an answer. Absent modern fertilizing methods, the Land can feed approximately 6 billion people according to recent estimates. Using nitrogen and phosphorus lets us feed the current and growing future populations, but puts us at risk of bigger problems.

“It’s a challenge,” I admit to my companion, “but we are already rising to it.”

The Other Side of Fertilization

Vittel, France, has been known for centuries as a place with pure and even curative mineral waters. Wishing to protect that asset, the local government decided to ban the use of industrial fertilizers and pesticides during the 1990s when scientists first started to learn about the pollution associated with them. Over the past two decades, their water sources have again become untainted by chemical contaminants and the region profits both by selling that water worldwide and with healthy agricultural practices. All around, land quality is much improved.

Vittel, FR banned use of industrial fertilizers & pesticides. Land quality is much improved.
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A second, though accidental, example happens in Wales, one of the poorest parts of Great Britain. When chemical fertilizers first became popular Welsh farmers couldn’t afford them. After decades of not using those pollutants Wales has the purest coastal waters in the region and can now export both bottled water and sea salt popular among consumers and professional chefs alike.

“It doesn’t solve every problem from chemical fertilizer,” I say, “but as a start it makes for a tasty steak.” An excellent example of protecting coastal zones (Inventory, chapter 3), both seaside and landside.

Yes, there are plenty of examples, encouraging and discouraging, regarding the state of our water and land resources. When we add it all up—and come to the bottom line—are we more on the positive or negative side of peace and prosperity? We’re making an Audit of the Universe.

Land: Supporting Human Endeavors

The Land has not provided merely for our survival. Mineral resources have permitted every accomplishment and creature comfort we have ever enjoyed. We build homes of concrete and brick using mineral resources, heat our homes with coal and oil and uranium. We make tools from silex and iron, and ornaments of gold, silver, diamond and sapphire.

Everything you buy and use was made from one kind of natural resource or another, even the most technically advanced toys. Modern consumer societies have built a system around this: a cycle of creating things out of natural resources for money to buy something somebody else created. All of it begins with using the gifts of the Land.

At our best, humankind’s use of natural resources has been wondrous. In recent years, we have developed amazing things:

Hydrophobic plastics and fabrics that repel water to make surfaces cleaner, safer and more resistant to corrosion
Glass that changes shape and texture in response to an electrical current
A “skin gun” that regrows skin onto burn victims, turning healing time from months of painful treatments with high risk of infection to just days of recovery
Hand-held devices that can understand what we say and correct our grammar

“These are impressive accomplishments,” Galacti states, instantaneously aware of all we have accomplished for good or ill. “But I wonder: do the costs and benefits balance out? Or does one outweigh the other?”

Rare Earth Metals

Rare earth metals, so-called, not solely for their relative scarcity, but because they are difficult, dangerous and expensive to extract from their natural home deep within the earth.  Few natural resources demonstrate our ability to turn the raw materials of the Land into high-tech wonders like our usage of rare earth metals.

We turn platinum into fuel cells and devices to reduce pollution in cars
We use yttrium to create lasers, superconductors and the filters that make microwave ovens safe for use in homes
Dyspropium and neodymium are in the magnets for MRI scans, and used in building safe nuclear reactors
Terbium is found in safer fuel cells, many portable electronics and in sonar systems that allow us to explore the sea and the human body
Lanthanum is a key component of every hybrid car on the road
Promethium makes x-ray imaging, and all of the medical advances resulting from it, possible

Rare Earth metal scarcity and they are difficult, dangerous and expensive to extract
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As another example of human resourcefulness, these rare earth metals are part of the technologies we use to reduce our impact on the Land. They allow for cleaner cars, abundant energy, more efficient commerce and reduced pollution – all using gifts of the Land to improve our stewardship of the source of those gifts.

But this support may be a short-term solution as world supplies of many rare earth metals run short. Countries short on these resources, researchers and companies are scrambling to come up with viable solutions, from recycling to alternative minerals. The race is on to find more abundant sources, more efficient extraction methods and efforts to thwart steeply rising prices for these rare earth resources.

This situation is not limited to rare earth metals. Three-quarters of the world’s phosphorus supply, which you now know is vital for modern farming techniques feeding the world’s seven billion inhabitants, is found in Morocco. This creates a vulnerable “choke point” for the world’s food supply and forces both dangerous fluctuations in food prices as conditions change in this one small corner of the Land.

There are definitely two sides to each of our stories.

This blog post is an excerpt from chapter 4.2 of Audit of the Universe

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Learn how to play Take Inventory – The Interconnectivity Game (free) that nourishes your neurons and is taking the world by storm. Play a round with family and friends. View the above videos and use the tags at the end of this blog for dozens of ideas to play Take Inventory – The Game.

See the index of the book Inventory of the Universe to find a specific chapter and read it online.

Purchase Inventory of the Universe at Amazon – Purchase the Kindle version

Google Play – Barnes@Nobles – Kobo – iTunes

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Human Methods and Divine methods to obtain Peace and Prosperity are Different

Human methods and Divine methods are diametrically different … even though both parties want the same outcome for humanity: Peace

Humankind and the Supreme Being want the same thing: Peace. But human methods and God’s methods to reach this goal are totally opposite.

I’m interested in giving you and Galacti an overall picture: The ‘Coherent Completeness’ theorem. The Explanation of the ‘why, what, when, where and who’. A coherent complete summation of what the Powerful Being is planning. Galacti is nodding, because he relates to theorems. He, and you, can take my explanation, run it through the wringer and see if it holds water or not. Maybe it’ll help you see (or not) the value of the Supreme One and His Words.

(Origin of the Universe 4.1)

If you don’t understand why I’m talking about a s/Supreme b/Being and such ‘sacred revelation,’ then I suggest you read this about extra-human information and sacred books.

A key point I want to share with you: I don’t go to a Church, Synagogue or Mosque, I’m not religious or practicing and have no intention of telling you to become this or that, go here or there, or even do this or that.

At the time of my original Bible study in 1967 I was alone, not following any group or individual, it was me, myself and I, an independent doing an independent study. Today as I sit here in a small apartment, where I’m spending a few days writing in Cannes (note: this goes back a few years), I’m also an ‘independent’. I don’t owe anything to anyone (in that sense), belong to anything or practice anything.

That said, I’m not an agnostic anymore. I put the puzzle together between 1967 and today. This book is exposing bits of the puzzle, little by little. They are not intended to be ‘proofs’. Galacti doubts this: haven’t we just explored science together? Isn’t that all about theorems and proofs?

‘It’s much more about free will’, I say. ‘In my approach, you see if the pieces fit together, you do with it what you like, you take it as far as you want to go’.

‘These flickering images I see, are they part of the puzzle?’ Galacti asks. ‘A cross, a Buddha, a Star of David, a mandala, various denominations that call themselves Christian’.

‘Without story, the images are meaningless’, I say. ‘And to me, there’s only one story. I’m going to run the reel, press the Play button and show the film. Reality is stranger than fiction. We’re going to tell an untold story: Coherent Completeness’.

‘How can a theorem have a story and a plot?’ asks Galacti. ‘Is it one of those documentaries, on climate change, for example?’

‘It’s much more. It’s the beginning to end story of Humanity’, I say. ‘The larger picture and infrastructure that transform the pieces into a picture of why Humankind is on Earth’.

This is an interactive experience in some respects. As we go through this, keep in mind our overall goal, the quest: How to establish ‘peace and prosperity on earth’. This can be stated in many different ways depending on how far we want to take this concept. For instance, ‘Goodwill amongst all men’. The term ‘Salvation’ both in a physical and spiritual sense would sum it up for some.

Putting it another way, if we were to ask human beings, no matter what their state or rank in life is, what would you wish for humanity? We can poll all the nations of the world instantaneously, and I hear the answers coming in now.

The response from the globe: ‘Harmony!’ ‘Prosperity!’ ‘Health’.  ‘Happiness’. ‘Fulfillment’.

‘Let’s apply the most favorable motives to politicians, scientists, teachers, doctors, administrators and simply say: this is the kind of world they want to build. Each decision, parliamentary law is to advance towards this goal’.

‘But, Sam, you have just been saying the world doesn’t look like that’, Galacti says.

‘There’s a reason for this’, I answer. ‘If we could sum it up in a short phrase, how about this: The Plan of Humanity. Human propositions to attain this ambitious objective. Can we say that this is what our world leaders are out to accomplish?

In other words humanity is out to accomplish exactly what the Supreme Being wants to do: The Plan of this Being. We’re going to see this theme over and over again… On the one hand, a Human Plan and on the other hand a Supreme Being’s Plan. Both with an identical goal: Peace and Prosperity, in the largest sense possible to include body and mind, physical and spiritual, men and women, families and nations, individuals and the whole world, even the universe. However, Human methods and the Supreme Being’s methods are different! This is the essence of the book we now see before us. It’s reflected in the story of Genesis’.

Humanity is out to accomplish exactly what the Supreme Being wants: Establish Peace on Earth
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Human methods and the Supreme Being’s methods are different! This is the story of Genesis
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I’m asked to elaborate, and so I do.

How to Read the Bible

As we look into some Bible contexts, consider this. Let’s just look at it as ‘literature’… like Alice in Wonderland, War and Peace or a Shakespeare play. There is every color of approach under the sun with regard to the Bible, considered a farce and a lie at one end of the spectrum all the way to the inspired Word of God at the opposite end.

Wherever you stand, think of it this way: The Bible is a story. It’s the story of mankind.

Wherever you stand, think of it this way: The Bible is simply a story: The story of humankind
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This might be asking a lot, but try and put your personal feeling and religious upbringing, if any, aside for the time being and take a look at the Bible as a ‘story’, just as you would Alice in Wonderland, War and Peace or Hamlet.

All three of these examples are stories. They all have characters in conflict, a goal, a desire, and a plot with adventurous episodes played out by the characters generally climaxing in the attainment of the goal. So does the Bible.

Like a work of literature, having a beginning, a middle and an end, so does the Bible.

Galacti warns against giving away that ending–even though this is one aspect of our journey in which Galacti cannot see through time. Although the Bible was, in the beginning, alien to Galacti, he has drifted back in time and watched the scribes copy the Hebrew language Old Testament.

Our Bible story proposes two main characters and a secondary player who likes to place himself in the limelight. You have your Good Guy named God, of omnipresent and omnipotent spirit stature, with overwhelming powers. His protégé is almost diametrically opposed, with physically and spiritually weak stature: Humanity. The third role goes to the inevitable villainous Bad Guy: the Devil. He too, like God, is a powerhouse spirit being but with lesser powers than God. A plot wouldn’t be a plot without a villain to play against the hero, and this story is no different.

Our story has two main characters and a secondary player who likes to appear in the limelight
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The second character, Humanity, is caught in between God and the Devil. Humanity is used here to represent humankind, all men, women, children and babies that ever lived on planet Earth. Each human being has a role to play both individually and collectively. In the Bible story, man walks a tightrope, trying to keep his balance, sometimes tipping over to God’s side but generally falling into the Devil’s lap.

Humans try to keep balance, sometimes tipping over to God, oftentimes falling for the Devil
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Although God has the principal role, man takes center stage in this play. Every good story has a central question that must be resolved, and moreover, we as the audience must care about the outcome. In Hamlet the central question is, ‘Will Hamlet overcome his indecision to avenge his father’s murder?’

From the opening scene to the finale, the central question is, ‘Will Humanity have a good outcome?’ Other people of faith, such as clergy, might phrase this question as, ‘Will Humanity be ‘saved’? What will be his outcome? Will they live happily ever after?

From opening scene to finale, the central question is, ‘Will Humanity have a good outcome?’
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At the end of each act, man is hanging there in expectation–actually fighting the good and bad pulls of his own human nature, trying to keep his balance. On some occasions he’s taken a nosedive, lying prostrate in disarray and has to be helped up to continue his expedition. I wrote this scenario of humankind in Audit of the Universe, the upward urge and the downward drag, the simultaneous filling and emptying of the glass, the never-ending struggle of humanity that has led us into the 21st century and this crucial time in the history of humankind. These are the twists and turns and dramatic reversals of our plot.

This scenario of humankind is in Audit of the Universe: The upward urge and the downward drag
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Galacti, in his role as ‘casting director’, introduces you to each of these characters, their traits and their relationships with each other. You’ll meet them as the curtain rises on the opening scenes. Understanding these characters sets the stage as we take time to introduce them properly. Each plays out his role in this palpitating story of humanity until the drama reaches a stunning and surprising climax and the curtain closes on this episode in the story of the universe.

Whether you’ve read the Bible or not, or whatever your feeling about this book, it has ‘characters’, who have a relationship one with each other and there’s a drama being played out. Even from a purely literary point of view. So, just consider it from that point of view and let’s acquaint ourselves with their portrayal, based on the source material: the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament (OT).

This blog post is an excerpt from Origin of the Universe chapter 4.1

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Learn how to play Take Inventory – The Interconnectivity Game (free) that nourishes your neurons and is taking the world by storm. Play a round with family and friends. View the above videos and use the tags at the end of this blog for dozens of ideas to play Take Inventory – The Game.

See the index of the book Inventory of the Universe to find a specific chapter and read it online.

Purchase Inventory of the Universe at Amazon – Purchase the Kindle version

Google Play – Barnes@Nobles – Kobo – iTunes

Unlock Bible meaning via Biblical Hebrew … with no fuss. The free video course that puts you in the driver’s seat to navigate the Bible as never before. Join now

Since you read all the way to here… you liked it. Please use the Social Network links just below to share this excerpt of Inventory of the Universe, Human Methods and Divine methods to obtain Peace and Prosperity are Different

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Fertile Farmland of Paramount Importance, Especially in Third World Countries

Fertile farmland is a primary concern worldwide. Countries in North Africa bordering the Sahara are learning to push it back with the Great Green Wall.

Farmland from the desert. Progress is being made along the Great Green Wall in the Southern Sahara to recuperate land, grow crops and fortify communities.

We consider the Earth once again.

An apple of fire and pressure with a skin capable of supporting life, its crust a narrow band of habitable temperature on a tiny ball in a narrow band of habitable orbital range. A pinpoint speck of the universe supports everything we eat, do, create and dream. Savannas, forests, farmland, swamps and deserts house all the people and plants and animals of the Earth. Swatches of land grow all the food we eat. The rocks beneath provide every raw material necessary to support our endeavors and industries.

(Audit of the Universe 4.1)

With a wave of his hand, our guide Galacti moves our perspective to several hundred miles above the Earth.

“I like much of what you have done with the place,” he says, experimenting with human slang which he seems to find amusing. “You have found abundance in even the remotest areas, and turned those resources into creations even a being like me finds impressive.”

“Thank you,” I say on behalf of all mankind. “We do try.”

“You have even flung parts of this Earth far away, cast them out into space to find new lands to inhabit. Or should I say conquer?”

Another wave of Galacti’s hand and portions of the globe glow a warm, comforting green. “Here,” he says, pointing to the cities of Abu Dhabi, Las Vegas and Bombay. “Here you have turned desert into paradise through nothing but the ingenuity of your minds and the works of your hands. And here he indicates cities on the Italian coast, beaches in Malaysia and expansive farmland in Denmark and Holland “you have captured land from the sea itself.”

A third wave and the green disappears, replaced by blotches of angry red scattered across the globe. “But your accomplishments have come at a cost. You have turned lush jungle into desert, former farmland into waste, entire lakes into poison. Though these are also impressive in their own way, I wonder at the wisdom of it.”

Humanity has great accomplishments but many of them have come at a cost. Is the glass filling…
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I think to explain that those scars on the land are not intentional, that they are but side products of the wonders Galacti mentioned, but I realize he already knows that.

“Both are true,” I say instead.

“Let us look closer,” Galacti says. “You have accomplished much, and have proven you can repair much of what you break in your race to make those accomplishments. In the end, have you done more good or more harm to this fragile home of yours?”

Land: Supporting Human Life

Land is supremely valuable to us humans. With the exception of a few dozen astronauts, everything mankind has ever done, seen, felt tasted or smelled comes from the Land. We feel that value when we step from a plane or a boat onto the earth. Our language itself underscores the importance with phrases like “On solid ground” or “Salt of the earth” describing safe situations and trustworthy individuals.

From a human perspective, our most important use of the Land is agriculture. Without farmland and the food that it brings us, nothing else we attempt would be possible for longer than it takes to die of hunger.

Agricultural Advancement

The first real use we humans made of the Land was to eat the food that grew from it. After a time, inhabitants of the Earth moved from eating what they found to growing what they ate. Later, this change led to the formation of cities, to specialized experts and technological advancement.

Early man learned the basics of agrarian farming, how to plant with the cycles of the seasons, to fertilize our fields with the remains of previous crops, and to rotate crops in ways that kept the fields fertile and productive. In the East, cultures growing rice discovered that keeping fish in their rice paddies fertilized the soil while simultaneously reducing pests and growing a population of easy protein sources.

The Netherlands, of which 1/8th is below sea level, first farmed on artificial hillocks. They later built a system of dykes that protected the region’s flood plains to make the area habitable and arable. Most of the region wouldn’t exist without that network to keep the salt water sea away. It provides over 11,000 square kilometers—the area of Jamaica—of arable land the Dutch use to feed themselves and export food to other nations.

Disappearing Farmland

You don’t see the word desertification much on the news, but it is a major crisis that results from our use of the Land. The term means agricultural land that becomes unsuitable for farming, often changing into barren rock or arid waste. A June 2009 report by the United Nations identified desertification, amplified by global climate change, as the most significant environmental challenge of the current epoch.

We discussed the Aral Sea in the previous chapter as one example of the speedy, accelerating pace of human-caused desertification. Lake Tchad in Africa is another. Between 1970 and 2010, the lake has shrunk from 25,000 square kilometers to only 5,000 due to a combination of water overusage and reduced precipitation to refill the lake. The entire body of water is in real danger of vanishing, and with it the ability to farm for every community at its edge.

According to UN reports, approximately 1/3 of the human population live in arid zones, and 60 million inhabitants of Subsaharan Africa have had to leave their homes because the water supply no longer supports local farming.

“You consume more than you create, and it leads to suffering. You can say it was unintended, but you can’t pretend it was not forewarned,” Galacti says.

“But we solve our problems,” I object. “If we do anything well, it’s rising to the occasion and overcoming trouble.”

“That is true,” he responds. As he speaks, a warm green line appears in sections along the southern border of the world’s largest and most famous desert.

The Great Green Wall movement developed as an attempt to curb desertification in Subsaharan Africa by developing and planting genetically engineered trees which develop roots quickly and require very little water to thrive. Workers plant these trees along the border of the desert, where they take root and begin fixing arable soil in place. The Wall “holds the line” against the advancing desert, and stage two will plant a second Wall advancing into the Sahara itself. This movement spans multiple countries and required cooperation among multiple scientific disciplines and the breadth of a continent. It is truly a wondrous project that celebrates the best of what humans are capable of.

As of 2017, more than 80% of the original planted trees have died. You might think this has brought an end to the program. To the contrary it had the virtue of focusing populations on a major problem and human ingenuity has now come to play a large part in recovery and upswing. The idea being to work with and encourage nature. Planting continues but bigger emphasis has been placed on working with trees that naturally sprout and grow. Indigenous knowledge of past conservation practices with regard to water by building retaining plateaus and protecting trees and shrubs have been put to better use

“Impressive,” Galacti allows, “but how often have your solutions caused their own set of problems?”

“More often than not,” I admit. “But in  Subsaharan Africa headway is being made for the benefit of many communities.”

This blog post is an excerpt from chapter 4.1 of Audit of the Universe

Dig Deeper into The Explanation

Join The Explanation Newsletter to stay informed of updates. and future events. No obligations, total privacy, unsubscribe if you want. Your gift is a free pdf of The Explanation and a free pdf of Answering the Big Questions in Life

TheExplanation.com

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you're human:

Learn how to play Take Inventory – The Interconnectivity Game (free) that nourishes your neurons and is taking the world by storm. Play a round with family and friends. View the above videos and use the tags at the end of this blog for dozens of ideas to play Take Inventory – The Game.

See the index of the book Inventory of the Universe to find a specific chapter and read it online.

Purchase Inventory of the Universe at Amazon – Purchase the Kindle version

Google Play – Barnes@Nobles – Kobo – iTunes

Unlock Bible meaning via Biblical Hebrew … with no fuss. The free video course that puts you in the driver’s seat to navigate the Bible as never before. Join now

Since you read all the way to here… you liked it. Please use the Social Network links just below to share this excerpt of Inventory of the Universe, Fertile Farmland of Paramount Importance, Especially in Third World Countries

The post Fertile Farmland of Paramount Importance, Especially in Third World Countries appeared first on The Explanation with Sam Kneller.

Bible Tools to Unlock Bible Meaning – Using Biblical Hebrew with No Fuss

Bible tools for personal study or attending a Bible study … which shall it be? Both are important, but let’s answer a question with a question: Is it better to give a hungry person a fish or teach them how to fish?

On this website you’ll find free access to four basic Bible tools: 1-King James Bible, 2-Interlinear Bible, 3-Strong’s Concordance, 4-Hebrew/Greek Concordance. These Bible tools will help you Dig for Bible Meaning.

You now have your answer to the above question. Personal Bible study to Unlock Bible Meaning … a method for deepening your understanding of Bible Meaning is the way to growth. Sure, if someone gives you a ‘Bible answer’ it’s helpful, but going fishing and pulling in that Bible answer is more rewarding and helpful. In the end, or I should probably say, the beginning, you need to learn how to fish for yourself.

(Origin of the Universe, chapter 3.4)

Now, if you just happened to click on a link that brought you to this page you might very well be wondering what this is all about. I would suggest that you take a few moments (it won’t take long) and go back to the beginning of this section by reading, in order: Why Theology?, Sacred Books, The Bible and Biblical Hebrew, Strong’s Concordance. This will give you the overview to put you at ease and allow you to follow along with the development of this important subject.

Yes, you need guidance … but not to point you to Bible verses … you need guidance to learn how to find those Bible verses for yourself. One of the keys to deeper Bible Meaning is learning how to use Bible tools. It involves rolling up your sleeves and learning how to do it.

This is a whole lot different from just ‘reading or quoting the Bible’

How many Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Snapchat and Twitter sites and groups are there with thousands of members and basically all you see are Bible verses displayed with beautiful backgrounds and borders? How many people just read the Bible? Don’t get me wrong, reading is essential, it is definitely helpful, very necessary … but what about going a little deeper, doing some searching study and growing in knowledge and understanding?

How many are studying their Bibles but are bored? Or have hit a brick wall? Or have questions that haven’t received satisfactory answers? Or have been funneled into a belief because they haven’t asked the right questions?

In France, where I live, there’s a campaign called ‘mangerbouger‘ which I could translate by ‘eatmove‘, the idea being to ‘eat right’ and ‘get some exercise’. Well, we could apply that exact same slogan to our spiritual study lives: Proper Bible diet and proper Bible gymnastics with proper Bible tools.

Maybe it’s time to expand your horizons by upping your Bible diet and doing some Bible Gymnastics. When was the last time you did a real ‘Bible workout’ rather than sitting in front of a ‘Bible screen’ watching someone preach at you or pretty scriptures scroll by?

When was the last time you did a ‘Bible workout’ rather than sitting in front of a ‘Bible…
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The Explanation is all about active, participative learning.

On this website you’ll find free access to four basic Bible tools:

King James Bible
Interlinear Bible for the original Biblical Hebrew Masoretic text with its counterpart King James’ translation
Strong’s Concordance is a multi-function Bible tool that fundamentally helps find various translations of the same Hebrew word and locate those words elsewhere in the Bible. Along with other functions it will help us Dig for Bible Meaning.
An ‘Englishman’s Concordance’ that I’m calling the “Hebrew/Greek Concordance’. It will help you locate all instances of the identical Hebrew/Greek word throughout the Bible. Hence, you can easily group and read all the contexts where this same word is used–and see how the KJV translators rendered it.

Just click here, right now, and you can immediately start using these Bible tools.

These Bible tools help you find all instances of the original Biblical Hebrew word along with its translation in the English King James Version. This is known as the Englishman’s Concordance which I’m call the Hebrew Concordance.

My goal is to show you how to use these tools together to Unlock Bible Meaning. It is to show you how to enhance your study and comprehension by using not just our native language (English, French etc) but to actually be able to look at the Biblical Hebrew and see what it says … in comparison to whatever language we speak.

Hence the need for basic Bible tools: the Interlinear Bible and Strong’s Concordance.

Free #Bible tools: KJV, Interlinear, Strong’s and Hebrew Concordances www.UnlockBibleMeaning.com
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This is not to learn Hebrew, although you are going to learn some points you are not aware of. This is not to memorize vocabulary or speak the language. Using these tools will help you better understand the meaning of the words of the Bible and therefore the plan of its a/Author.

My intention is to help you learn how to fish. You need to go fishing for yourself, but you need a method so you can catch edible, healthy, nourishing fish. I don’t want you dieting on misunderstood and twisted vocabulary. That isn’t positive for your mental and spiritual health. It’s like mushrooms, they all look good on the outside but you absolutely need knowledge and insight before you decide which ones to eat. With mushrooms it is a matter of health and sickness and even life and death. Your spiritual health is that important, undoubtedly even more so.

This teaching method is designed to help you think about points that you’ve never thought of before. As one wise man said, ‘That which I see not … teach thou me.’ Fortunately, or unfortunately there are many things and especially many questions we don’t see. The teaching method I’ll employ is designed to help you ‘learn how to learn’ … and at the same time freely give you all the tools you need to be able to do just that.

Coming soon:

Watch a preview of 7 Keys to Master Biblical Hebrew— a Study Method to Unlock Bible Meaning. A FREE course you can sign up for
Free interactive Biblars (Bible webinars)

Looking into the original Biblical Hebrew-with no fuss–is a proven method to dig for deeper Bible meaning and it will help you open new exciting doors to verify your Bible understanding.

This blog post is an excerpt from chapter 3.4 of Origin of the Universe

Dig Deeper into The Explanation

Join The Explanation Newsletter to stay informed of updates. and future events. No obligations, total privacy, unsubscribe if you want. Your gift is a free pdf of The Explanation and a free pdf of Answering the Big Questions in Life

TheExplanation.com

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you're human:

Learn how to play Take Inventory – The Interconnectivity Game (free) that nourishes your neurons and is taking the world by storm. Play a round with family and friends. View the above videos and use the tags at the end of this blog for dozens of ideas to play Take Inventory – The Game.

See the index of the book Inventory of the Universe to find a specific chapter and read it online.

Purchase Inventory of the Universe at Amazon – Purchase the Kindle version

Google Play – Barnes@Nobles – Kobo – iTunes

Unlock Bible meaning via Biblical Hebrew … with no fuss. The free video course that puts you in the driver’s seat to navigate the Bible as never before. Join now

Since you read all the way to here… you liked it. Please use the Social Network links just below to share this excerpt of Inventory of the Universe, Bible Tools to Unlock Bible Meaning – Using Biblical Hebrew with No Fuss

The post Bible Tools to Unlock Bible Meaning – Using Biblical Hebrew with No Fuss appeared first on The Explanation with Sam Kneller.