Movie review: Monsters

A synopsis of the plot: The story is set six years after NASA discovers the possibility of alien life within our solar system and as a result launches a probe to collect samples. The probe crashes upon re-entry over Central America and thereafter, new life form begins to appear resulting in half of Mexico and a small part of the US being quarantined as an 'Infected Zone'. The American and Mexican military struggle to contain these new life forms. A young US photo journalist agrees to escort his bosses daughter home through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border. Much of the film is focussed on this journey home.

What starts with a good novel idea and excellent scene setting, progresses very little with a very small number of action scenes and a preoccupation with the self interested perspective of the two main characters (the journalist and his companion, the bosses' daughter). Much of the film is spent as these two contemplate their lives when they return to the US and only occasionally is their attention drawn to the dangerous predicament in which they find themselves. In many respects the dialogue resembles 'Dumb and Dumber' meets 'Ferris Buellers Day Off'. The cgi special effects are deftly and sparingly used to good effect however the lack of action events in suspenseful moments undermines the dramatic impact of the film.

Wikileaking....

The role and impact of a site such as Wikileaks generates considerable controversy and various levels of animosity predominantly in Government circles. How useful are the thousands of documents being released for serving the public interest? In general terms while these may useful for an insight into US Government policy and international relations, the impact of Wikileaks is limited as other major world powers are not affected in the same manner. The United States is one of several key players with Russia, China and India being also critical to international relations and power plays. A number of smaller powers such as Israel and Pakistan also hold critical positions in world hot spots. In this sense Wikileaks is limited in its scope and arguably of limited value with only US material.

Searching for ET - a flawed perspective

Within some astronomy circles there is a view that searching for extraterrestrial life in the universe is a good and worthy goal, both from a scientific point of view and the resources needed to carry out such research. Hollywood films such as 'ET', 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' and 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' paint a picture of higher intelligence being understanding and interaction with people on this planet being one of positivism or curiousity. But on what basis would an assumption along these lines bear any resemblance to reality? The recent release of a muddled mess of a film called 'Skyline' presents a different view of aliens. In this film they are portrayed as overtly hostile and their arrival on earth is aggressive with humans seen as resources to be harvested. In 'Skyline', the human race is not successful  at beating off the invaders and succumbs to the more powerful alien force. It should not presumed that any life form outside of this planet would subscribe to the same values, beliefs or behaviour often recognisable to homo sapiens. The Universe in fact is a highly hostile and volatile environment and should any intelligence be found which has the capacity to reach this planet, it is unlikely to have benign behaviour or adherence to ethical and moral values.

Nuclear Power and radioactive waste

The environmental community remains split on the virtues or otherwise of the use of nuclear power to replace reliance on coal fired generators. On the positive side, nuclear energy does not produce the level of carbon emissions and greenhouse gases although it does remain reliant on the mining and processing of uranium. On the negative side, it produces highly radioactive waste that remains potent for thousands of years. Around 14 % of the world's electricity is produced from nuclear power plants and around 12,000 tonnes of waste. One theoretical proposal being canvassed in experiments in Europe and Japan is to saturate plutonium, uranium with neutrons which cause the isotopes to become unstable, then decay into material less problematic for disposal. How realistic is this proposal given the number of existing nuclear power stations and those proposed for replacement or new construction? Can the quantity of waste be effectively managed with such a process which in itself carries risks. Any solution which is found to be viable remains decades away and in itself, it is unlikely that nuclear power will produce the trump card to enable a clear removal of fossil fuels for power generation.  

Silent Spring - has the lesson been learned?

It's now 48 years since Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring' was published and marked a foundation point in defining the inherent risk of uncritical acceptance of  pesticides impact on the enivronment. Released by Houghton Mifflin on 27 September 1962,  the book itself is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement and documented the detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment, particularly on birds. Carson who was a scientist, said that DDT had been found to cause thinner egg shells and result in reproductive problems and death. The chemical industry was criticised for spreading disinformation with public officials accepting industry claims uncritically.

Even with greater awareness, controls and regulation, high level risk continues. The Californian Condor, an endangered species, appears to be the next potential victim of contamination producing eggs with dangerously thin shells. A possible culprit is exposure to DDT through the food chain as condors feed off sea lions who in turn eat contaminated fish from an offshore dumping ground.
[New Scientist 20 November 2010]

Shades of Grey and Life's Momentum

Life has become compressed in the 21st Century and more focussed on the absolutes of black and white rather than shades of grey which actually characterises the bulk of life's events. Thus observed prominent and sometimes controverial Australian photographer and artist, Bill Henson, at the Art Gallery of NSW last night. Presenting the final talk of the photographic series 'My Favourite Things', Bill Henson observed the speed at which events, moments and decisions are reached, often with insufficient consideration and often less understanding.   

Henson's photographic work reflects an interest in ambiguity and in particular, transition. His photographs often resemble the texture and composition of a painting rather than a photograph. With this perspective he is well placed not only to observe change but to arbitrage between new technology and  retaining a passion for earlier, more measured forms of creative expression in music, film and other art forms. Music is one such linear transition he commented moving from vinyl to tape to CD and now to MP3 digital capture, yet condensing does not always guarantee retention of content or value. An obervation well placed.

Native cuisine - alternative diet

Over the past two decades there have been various experiments with changing Western culinary habits by introducing additional species to the human cuisine most often being native species as an alternative to the domestic cattle, sheep and farmed birds. In Australia this has included kangaroos, emus and water buffalo. This has met with only mixed success but of these species, kangaroos have offered the most likely option for adoption into diets. A strong incentive for the uptake of kangaroo can be seen with the following data.

Tonnes per head per year (carbon equivalents)

• 0.003 - Kangaroo
• 0.14 - Sheep
• 1.67 - Cattle

Fat Content per 100kg of raw meat

• 6.3g - Beef (lean fillet)
• 5.8g - Lamb (trimmed steak)
• 1.5g - Chicken
• 1.3g - Kangaroo

[Source: New Scientist No 2781 9 October 2010]

Global warming - facing an unpopular truth

The second Festival of Dangerous Ideas was held at the Sydney Opera House over the October 2010 long weekend featuring an array of topics in 24 separate panel debates and individual presentations. From a climate change perspective, the message remained clear with a projected grim outlook for the planet from 2020 onwards. Of note, the session titled 'We are all Climate Change Deniers' presented by Clive Hamilton, Professor of Public Ethcis at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics demonstrated the stark reality that global warming is occuring and is on a trajectory for a major impact within this century. Even the 2 degree C target would still result in Artic summer ice, Himalayan Tibetan glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet melting. The evidence now shows a temperature rise of between 2 and 4 degrees C which will result in the loss of Amazon rainforest (one of the World's main oxygen generators) and the West Antartic ice sheet as well as many other effects. Yet despite the evidence, there remains vocal and powerful interests that seek to deny there is any risk as well as nullify any debate.

Life beyond in the stars?

The recent pronuncement that Gliese 581g, a planet orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581 may be suitable for life should not come as any surprise. Located approximately 20.5 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Libra, the planet is located in the middle of the "Goldilocks" zone, or what is defined as a habitable part of space near its parent star. The existence of liquid water is considered a strong possibility and this condition is generally considered a precursor for life. The planet was discovered by the Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey following a period of over ten years of observations. Gliese 581g is believed to be the first Goldilocks planet ever found being the most earth-like planet with the potential for harboring life. The search for life in the universe continues both through optical astronomy and radio astronomy (the SETI program). The question remains, if life is found, what would the human race do?

Ozone layer recovering following CFC reduction

Some positive news for the environment comes with confirmation from the UN Environment Program (UNEP) that the ozone level in the Earth's upper atmosphere is recovering following the removal of harmful ozone depleting substances from use in human activities.

As UNEP advises "..The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was adopted in 1987 to protect global ozone and, consequently, protect life from increased ultraviolet (UV) radiation at Earth’s surface. Chlorine- and bromine-containing substances that are controlled by the Montreal Protocol are known as ozone-depleting substances (ODSs). ODSs are responsible for the depletion of stratospheric ozone observed in polar regions (for example, the “ozone hole” above Antarctica) and in middle latitudes. The severe depletion of stratospheric ozone observed in the Antarctic has increased UV at the surface and affected climate at southern high latitudes..'.

This is a long overdue bit of good news and demonstrates the World's capacity for taking the necessary steps when a clear course of action was needed.