Category Archives: Transhuman News

In a July 2015 speech, Stephen Hawking explained "Breakthrough Listen," an initiative aimed at discovering intelligent extraterrestrial life. (Breakthrough Initiatives)

In November, Stephen Hawking and his bulging computer brain gave humanity what we thought was an intimidating deadline for finding a new planet to call home: 1,000 years.

Ten centuries is a blip in the grand arc of the universe, but in human terms it was the apocalyptic equivalent of getting a few weeks' notice before our collective landlord (Mother Earth) kicks us to the curb.

Even so, we took a collective breath and steeled our nerves.

So what if there's no interplanetary Craigslist for new astronomical sublets, we told ourselves, we're human the Bear Grylls of the natural order. We've already survived the ice age, the plague, a bunch of scary volcanoes and earthquakes, and the 2016 election cycle.

We got this, right? Not so fast.

[The Doomsday Clock just advanced, thanks to Trump: Its now just 2 minutes to midnight.]

Now Hawking, the renowned theoretical physicist turned apocalypse warning system, is back with a revised deadline.In "Expedition New Earth" a documentary that debuts this summer as part of the BBCs "Tomorrows World" science season Hawking claims that Mother Earth would greatly appreciate it if we could gather our belongings and get out not in 1,000 years, but in the next century or so.

You heard the man a single human lifetime. Is this nerd serious?

Thanks, Steve.

Professor Stephen Hawking thinks the human species will have to populate a new planet within 100 years if it is to survive, the BBC said with a notable absence of punctuation marks in a statement posted online. With climate change, overdue asteroid strikes, epidemics and population growth, our own planet is increasingly precarious.

In this landmark series, Expedition New Earth, he enlists engineering expert Danielle George and his own former student, Christophe Galfard, to find out if and how humans can reach for the stars and move to different planets.

The BBC program gives Hawking a chance to wade into the evolving science and technology that may become crucial if humans hatch a plan to escape Earth and find a way to survive on another planet from questions about biology and astronomy to rocket technology and human hibernation, the BBC notes.

The cosmologistlives with themotor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's Disease.As the disease has progressed, he has become almost entirely paralyzed. And in 1985, after contracting pneumonia, Hawking underwent a tracheotomy that left him unable to speak. He communicates using the assistance of a voice-producing computer.

In recent months, Hawking has been explicit about humanity's need to find a "Planet B." In the past, he has also called for humans to colonize the moon and find a way to settle Mars a locale he referred to as the obvious next target in 2008, according to New Scientist.

Remaining on Earth any longer, Hawking claims, places humanity at great risk of encountering another mass extinction.

We must continue to go into space for the future of humanity, the 74-year-old Cambridge professor said during a November speech at Oxford University Union, according to the Daily Express.

I dont think we will survive another 1,000 years without escaping beyond our fragile planet, he added.

[Why Stephen Hawking believes the next 100 years may be humanitys toughest test]

During the hour-long speech, Hawking told the audience that Earth's cataclysmic end may be hastened by humankind, which will continue to devour the planets resources at unsustainable rates, the Express reported.

His wide-ranging talk touched upon the origins of the universe and Einstein's theory of relativity, as well as humanity's creation myths and God. Hawking also discussed M-theory, which Leron Borsten of PhysicsWorld.com explains as proposal for a unified quantum theory of the fundamental constituents and forces of nature.

Though the challenges ahead are immense, Hawking said, it is aglorious time to be alive and doing research into theoretical physics.

Our picture of the universe has changed a great deal in the last 50 years, and I am happy if I have made a small contribution, he added.

Some of Hawking's most explicit warnings have revolved around the potential threat posed by artificial intelligence. That means in Hawking's analysis humanity's daunting challenge is twofold: develop the technology that will enable us to leave the planet and start a colony elsewhere, while avoiding the frightening perils that may be unleashed by said technology.

[We would need 1.7 Earths to make our consumption sustainable]

When it comes to discussing that threat, Hawking is unmistakably blunt.

I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race, Hawkingtold the BBCin a 2014 interview that touched upon everything from online privacy to his affinity for his robotic-sounding voice.

Despite its current usefulness, he cautioned, further developing A.I. could prove a fatal mistake.

Once humans develop artificial intelligence, it will take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate, Hawking warned in recent months. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and would be superseded.

Thanks again, Steve.

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Stephen Hawking just moved up humanity's deadline for escaping Earth - Washington Post

In wintertime, the soundsof nature are so subtle they're almost imperceptible: The whistling of the wind thoughcraggy mountaintops, the whispering branches of the trees; the soft, delicate patter of an unseen animal's paws across snowy ground.

It's a really quiet experience, saidRachel Buxton, recalling a recent winter hike in southwest Colorado's La Garita Wilderness. You're almost hearing your own heartbeat.

But every 30 minutes, a jet flew overhead, shattering the fragile calm. It's shocking, right? she said. Youre in the middle of nowhere, yet you still cant escape the sounds of humans.

That's the trouble with noise pollution, continued Buxton, an acoustic ecologist at Colorado State University: It really doesnt have any boundaries. Theres no way of holding it in.

This problem pervades wilderness areas across the United States, Buxton and her colleagues reported Thursday in the journal Science. Using a modelbased on sound measurements taken by the National Park Service, they found that human noisesat least double the background sound levels at the majority of protected areas in the country. This noise pollution doesn't just disrupt hikers; it can also frighten, distract or harmanimals that inhabit the wilderness, setting off changes that cascade through the entire ecosystem.

When we think about wilderness, we think about dark skies, going to see outstanding scenery, said Megan McKenna, a scientist with the National Park Service's Natural Sounds and Night Skies division and a co-author on the report. We really should think about soundscapes, too.

Measuring noise pollution is a tricky task. Unlike smog or light, sound can't be detected from a satellite. To take stock of the soundscape of a specific site, Park Service scientists need to hike into the wilderness and set up a listening station by hand.

Each station includes a sound level meter and a recorder that runs for 30 days, collecting every birdsong, thunderclap and rumble of cars on the road. The Park Service has taken these measurements at hundreds of sites ranging from the remote Hoh Rain Forest of Olympic National Park to thecrowded running trails of Washington's Rock Creek Park.

The resulting recordings werethen analyzed by acoustic specialists, who can pick out each sound in an audio clip and categorize its source. McKenna said that some of her colleagues are perceptive enough to distinguish between different types of jet engines.

[These pesky caterpillars seem to digest plastic bags]

Using data from more than 400 sites across the country, the researchers figured out which sounds are associated with a range of geographic features elevation,annual rainfall, proximity to cities, highways and flight paths. These associations were then built intoa model that can predict noise levels at anygiven spot in the country. By subtracting out the natural sound sources at sites, the scientists found the expected amount of noise pollution for the wilderness areas they studied.

The findings were mixed. Buxton said that protected areas had much lower levels of human-caused sound than the adjacent"buffer zones of unprotected land suggesting that these buffer zones really do insulate parks from unnatural sounds.

But 63 percent of protected areas experienced at least a three-decibel increase in sound levels caused by noise pollution(because decibels are logarithmic, this has the effect of doubling the level of background noise).

More than afifth of protected areas experienced 10 extra decibels of human noise a tenfold increase in the level of sound. The majorityof areas considered critical habitat for endangered species were among the regions that dealt with at least an extra three decibels of sound, and 14 percent of critical habitats were in the 10-decibel category.

The noise can come from a wide array of sources visitor center HVAC systems, air traffic overhead, growlingcar engines, children shrieking nearby, mining and drilling taking place miles away.

Andthe effects of this racketcan be far reaching, Buxton said. Animals rely heavily on their ability to hear minute natural noises the movement of predators, the trickle of a stream. Noise pollution may cover up those sounds, putting wild creatures at risk. Noise from human activity is also frightening and distracting; it can change animals' behavior with consequences for the entire ecosystem. A recent paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B found that noise pollution makes it more difficult for plants to reproduce because human sounds scares away the birds that help distribute seeds and increase the activity of seed-eating rodents.

Even life that lacks ears may be affected. Spiders don't hear sound,but they can feel its vibrations, and research suggests that they act differently when bombarded withhuman noise.Likewise, plants have been found toextend their roots in the direction of acoustic vibrations from running water. Though a recent study found that garden peas can distinguish between real nature sounds and a recording, scientists don't know whether plants may be confused by therumble of a passing car.

We're realizing more and more just how delicate sound is, and how essential it is to things you wouldn't expect, Buxton said.

[The pediatrician who exposed lead in Flint, Mich., water will march for science]

McKenna said that parks are taking steps to alleviatethe impact of human sounds. Some implement shuttle systems to reduce the number of cars within their boundaries. Muir Woods National Monument, a forest of cathedral-like old-growth redwoods on the California coast, took the simple step of posting library-style quiet signs and reported a dramatic reduction in noise pollution.

The most problematic type of noise pollution traffic sounds from cars and planes is not so easily mitigated. But Buxton said that parks can look intoquiet pavement, which muffles the sounds of tires rolling down a road, and establish noise corridors that align flight paths with highways on the ground.

These efforts aren'tjust for the animals' sake, the researchers say. We have all this research about how important it is to our human health and well-being, Buxton said, referencing studies thatlink listening tonature soundswith reductions in stress, improvements in mood and other markers of good health.

Also it enhances our experiences in protected areas, Buxton continued. Imagine walking in Yellowstone, seeing beautiful vistas.Youve got bird songs filling the landscape. You might hear a pack of wolves howling on your way home at night.All these things are really magnificent. That's something that deserves protection.

Correction:A previous version of this article misstated recent findings about the effect of noise pollution on plants. Noise pollutionmakes it more difficult for plants to reproduce byfrightening away birds that distribute seeds and increasing the activity of rodents that eat seeds.

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Human noise pollution is everywhere, even in the national parks - Washington Post

During the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council (which ended in late March), a cosponsored resolution on Sri Lanka was passed. The resolution which deals largely with human rights and transitional justice is the fifth country-specific Sri Lanka resolution since 2012.

Leading up to, during and after the session a range of commentary has been published on this topic and one thing really stands out. Many have referred to Sri Lanka being granted more time to move ahead with its transitional justice process. We have been told that Colombo has been given more time or been allowed to proceed.

Its true that the Council will monitor Sri Lankas transitional justice process for another two years. However, something truly odd is going on here. Why are people intimating that there was some other (more drastic) option looming during the Councils 34th session?

The passage of another resolution on Sri Lanka was basically staged theater, a foregone conclusion before the session had begun. More resolute action simply wasnt on the table.

In a recent Washington Examiner piece, I looked at Sri Lankas relationship with the Council in more detail. Heres a paragraph from the article:

Sri Lanka has basically been disregarding Council resolutions for the past five years. The current administration is more than happy to keep this dance at the Geneva-based body going, because its ensures that they can at least for an international audience remain publicly committed to a lot of reforms that they have virtually no intention of ever implementing.

The inescapable reality is that the international community, particularly the U.S. and its allies, have completely caved. Colombos promises have not been met with significant tangible action and the smart money says things wont look that different in the coming years.

The current state of affairs in Sri Lanka is being manipulated for various reasons: including the desire for a success story, perceived geopolitical exigencies and fundamental misunderstandings about the country.

So, lets be clear and candid about whats happening.

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The Human Rights Council Can't Handle Sri Lanka - Huffington post (press release) (blog)

Malibu is ready to take a stand against human trafficking.

I think this is the hottest ticket in town! said emcee and event organizer Lori Lerner Gray as she kicked off a free community forum on human trafficking to a capacity crowd of about 220 people last week.

The event, co-hosted by the Malibu Jewish Centers Sisterhood group and the Malibu Film Society, featured special guest speaker State Senator Henry Stern, representatives from New Light India Anchal project, Courageous Girls India and Nepal project, and a showing of the feature film Sold.

The purpose of the forum was to educate residents about what human trafficking is, and the fact that it happens all over the world, including Southern California.

When you think of human trafficking or sex slaves, you tend to think of places like India or Thailand, but no country is immune to this growing epidemic, Gray said, introducing the subject. Its now the second biggest criminal activity in the world drugs are number one and in the U.S., California is No. 1 in terms of the number of criminals and victims.

She explained that her Sisterhood group is dedicated to tikkun olam, Hebrew words for repairing the world, which they carry out through social actions and the pursuit of social justice.

Im especially inspired by my daughter Rachel, who made two trips to India through the New Light organization, Gray continued. She came home with stories of women and children living in a world where they can still be sold.

State Senator Henry Stern, who represents Malibu in Sacramento, talked about the updated Human Trafficking bill SB 225 he introduced in the wake of a major human trafficking sweep in California a couple of months ago that yielded 474 arrests and identified at least 55 survivors.

If Sterns bill passes, all state hotels, motels, inns, B&Bs and transient lodgings (other than personal residences) will be required to post human trafficking hotline numbers that the public or victims can call or text to seek help or report unlawful activity. He says the ability to text would help empower millennials and Generation Z, because hotlines dont work for those age groups.

Ever since I arrived in the State Senate, Ive found that battling issues like this is a lonely business, Stern said. The people who live in the shadows dont have lobbyists and super PACs behind them ... Each of us has a role to play with an issue like human trafficking, because these issues are right under our nose, not just in India. Its very easy to not notice, but if you happen to be in a hotel lobby in a place like Canoga Park and see two people go off to a room together and it looks suspicious, do something.

California is the conscience of this nation, and we have to say were not going to be a culture based on misogyny and our baser instincts, Stern added. The victims in California tend to be [girls] ages 12 to 14.

The feature-length 2014 film Sold was based on the critically acclaimed and fact-based eponymous novel by Patricia McCormick. It was executive produced by Emma Thompson, stars Gillian Anderson and David Arquette, and directed/written by Oscar winner Jeffrey Brown. Screenings of the film help support the nonprofit Courageous Girls, and tell the story of a young girl from a mountain village in Nepal who is sold by her father and ends up in a nightmarish and brutal brothel-prison in Kolkata, India.

We set out to make a movie to change the world, Samantha Kinkaid, a local representative of that organization said. We wanted every person who saw it to feel compelled to do something. She said the global average age of trafficked children is 12, and that most come out of it with tremendous PTSD issues. Her organization helps them to re-enter society, overcome stigma and find employment.

Malibu native Rachel Gray, who inspired her mother to organize this program, has been to India several times first in a study abroad program, and later to make a documentary as part of a traveling for social change program for the nonprofit New Light.

New Light fosters children whose parents are sex workers and creates opportunities for women who have been sex trafficked, Rachel said. Traveling to India completely changed my world view... It planted a seed for me about doing meaningful work and being involved.

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Human Trafficking Forum Draws Capacity Crowd - Malibu Times

Police are investigating after a severed human foot was found an the Charleston City Marina this week.

Officers were called at 1:35 p.m. Monday to 17 Lockwood Drive between docks J20 and J22, according to an incident report.

"The complainant notified employees at the marina that a shoe has been sitting on the dock for approximately six days with possible remains of a human foot inside of it," the report said.

The shoe a teal size 9 Adidas sneaker had a black sock inside of it, the report said. An object believed to be a human bone was seen inside the shoe and sticking out of the top.

A Marina official declined to comment.

Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten said the foot was brought back to her office and examined by a forensic anthropologist.

Investigators believe the shoe and foot inside were floating amid some debris in the marina for some time, Wooten said. Someone cleaning the debris threw the shoe onto the dock where it sat for six days.

At this point, investigators have not been able to determine the individual's age, sex, ethnicity or pin down how long the foot has been severed from its body, Wooten said.

The foot has not been matched to any missing persons reports.Authorities have also reached out to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources for information on boating accidents in the area.

"It's determined to be human," she said. "We know so little. Without (an identification) we're pretty limited."

Wooten urged anyone who might have information about the foot to call the Charleston Police Department at 843-743-7200, Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111 or the Charleston County Coroner's Office at 843-746-4030.

Reach Gregory Yee at 843-937-5908. Follow him on Twitter @GregoryYYee.

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Severed human foot discovered inside shoe on Charleston City Marina dock - Charleston Post Courier