Nina Lerman sent us a notice about a new database of potential interest to envirotechies: Documenting Louisiana Sugar 1845-1917 at http://www.sussex.ac.uk/louisianasugar/

“Documenting Louisiana Sugar provides historians and social scientists with an innovative tool for examining plantation economy and agrarian society in the American South. Utilizing exceptionally detailed annual crop returns and additional census records, Documenting Louisiana Sugar makes available two fully searchable databases that allow users to examine in micro and macro detail the evolution of one of America’s definitive plantation crops, namely cane sugar. These are available at the Download Center on this website.

For over seventy years, agrarian economists in Louisiana diligently recorded economic and production data on each sugar producing estate. These remarkable records provide an unbroken time series of data; indeed, no other plantation crop in the American South was so meticulously recorded for such a long period of time as was Louisiana sugar. This project makes these sources available for rigorous analysis and provides users with the query functions capable of tracing people and plantations through time. It enables users to study the economic performance of an entire industry, to consider business consolidation, capital acquisition, technology transfer, and the shifting dynamics of plantation land use. The built in search functions enable researchers to limit or expand their enquiries by year, parish, crop output, technology, and even gender. Users can track persistence and change among the plantation elite, trace landholding and economic performance among both large and small cane farmers, examine the effect of the American Civil War, and assess the transition from slave to free labor on Louisiana’s plantation economy. And for those interested in the late nineteenth century, the databases track the rise and fall of American sugar during U.S. imperial expansion.

Former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass described Louisiana’s sugar country as a “life of living death.” These databases do not tell the story of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who labored in the cane fields through the nineteenth century, but they tell the story of an industry where the exploitation of land, capital, and labor was central to business success.

Funding for this project was made available by research project grants awarded by The Arts and Humanities Research Council of the United Kingdom, The Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and by the University of Sussex and the University of Toronto. Many of the images on the website are used with the permission of Shadows-on-the-Teche, a National Trust Historic Site, New Iberia, Louisiana.”

Dear Colleague,

The new Jacques Loeb Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel, supports advanced research covering all relevant topics related to the life sciences. The Centre is named after German-American physiologist Jacques Loeb (1859-1924), one of the legendary experimentalists and seminal thinkers in the history of biology. His passionate promotion of biology as an exact experimental science and his opposition to vitalistic concepts prevalent at the time had a major impact on the development of the life sciences, where he strongly influenced the work of Otto Warburg, Thomas Hunt Morgan, Hermann Muller, and Herbert S. Jennings, among others. Loeb took a deep interest in philosophical and political issues and was in contact with major figures of science, philosophy, and history, among them Svante Arrhenius, Albert Einstein, Ernst Mach, Leonor Michaelis, Wilhelm Ostwald and George Sarton.

The Jacques Loeb Centre is engaged in pursuing a wide range of investigations into the modern experimental life sciences. Research topics include: analysis of scientific progress and research practices involved; metaphysics in science and ethics of research; the influence of politics and various ideologies on the conduct of science; industrial hygiene and the environment; and the nature of the connections between bio-scientists and industry.

The Centre organises annual workshops and guest lectures. The inaugural workshop, “Philosophies in Biology”, on the role that different philosophical concepts have played in the development of the modern life sciences, will take place on 4-5 March 2008.

The Centre is headed by Ute Deichmann (director) and Anthony S. Travis (deputy director).

The Centre offers post-doctoral and graduate fellowships in the history and philosophy of modern biological, biochemical and medical sciences, commencing during 2008. Posts will be allocated for one or two semesters. There are opportunities for collaboration with faculty in the departments of philosophy, medicine and philosophy, with other divisions at the university, and active participation in seminars.

Applications are invited from recently qualified PhDs wishing to undertaking further research and from graduate students in the final stages of completion of their doctoral theses.

Applicants should provide the following (in English): CV, research proposal, two letters of reference, evidence of research and writing proficiency, either the sample chapter of a PhD thesis or publication(s).

In cases of languages other than English, please contact the Jacques Loeb Centre.

Applications for the academic year 2008/2009 should be received by 1 March 2008.

Address and email:

Jacques Loeb Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
Department of Philosophy
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
P.O.B. 653
Beer-Sheva 84105
Israel

travis@cc.huji.ac.il

The Vol. 4, No. 1, January 2008 issue of the Solidarity, Sustainability, and Non-Violence (SSNV) Research Newsletter has been posted.  The theme this month is: “Religious Dimension of Sustainable Development.”

The link is: http://www.pelicanweb.org/solisustv04n01.html

The summary (abstract) is pasted below.  I would be grateful for any feedback (positive/negative/in-between). Please let me hear from you.

With best wishes for a good 2008,
Luis
—————————————————————–
SUMMARY

The theme of the month is “religious dimension of sustainable development.” There is a religious dimension to the United Nations’ “Millennium Development Goals” (MDGs), and there is a religious dimension to human nature and everything we do. Religion is both indispensable and dangerous. It is indispensable to attain full human development beyond the physical, biological, and intellectual levels. It is dangerous when it degenerates into fanatical delusions about the absolute superiority of any particular religion, and then leads to religious intolerance and religious violence.

Many consider religion to be a controversial topic. But, after millennia of misconceptions about religion, we now have scientific evidence (initially via the Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung) that religion is essential for human beings to become fully human. This being the case, our 2007 analyses of the MDGs is incomplete as long as some insight of the religious influences on the implementation of the MDGs is not provided. A difficult subject, but it cannot be avoided.

In particular, religion is often an incentive (positive or negative) for the transition from patriarchy to solidarity, sustainability, and human development. Granted that financial gain (or loss) will probably remain as the key incentive for people to change behavior during our lifetime, futures research entails considering all conceivable possibilities. For instance, Abraham Lincoln once stated: “When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” Lincoln’s “religion” many not qualify as religion in some quarters, but it points to the fact that, deep in the human psyche, there is the voice of conscience; the voice of God who abides in us but is bigger than us.

After a brief summary of the MDGs (or “MDGs+1” when religious development is considered), evidence is presented that a cultural transition is needed to support both social justice and environmental justice at all levels. This cultural transition will entail changes in human behavior that often cannot be accomplished even when there are financial incentives. Indeed, it is hard to imagine any such transition happening without incentives that are stronger than financial gain and/or resources for domination. Since the power of religion as incentive for changing human behavior (for good or bad) is pervasive, it seems reasonable to research this angle next. This religious dimension has not been absent from any of the previous issues of this newsletter, but now it will become central.

Incentives from a religious perspective are discussed for overcoming patriarchy and fostering social solidarity, environmental sustainability, and human development. In considering this material, it is essential to distinguish between “religion” and “religious institutions.” Authentic religion is the expression of our relationship with God, and it is “good, good, good.” Institutionalized religion can be “good, bad, or some mix of good and bad.” Some specific religious institutions are mentioned. The intent is never to deny the significant amount of good done by those institutions. However, nothing human is above criticism. Religious institutions often need reformations, just like all other human institutions often need reformations. Some religious persons may feel uncomfortable. As always, we shall adhere to the principle of analysis based on objective evidence. Updates of the SSNV-MDG knowledge taxonomy and links database continue as time permits.

The current version shows the links sorted by mega-disciplines, and within each mega-discipline by MDGs. This is “work in progress” but you are cordially invited to take a look at this resource and download it (free) for your own use (two options: HTML Web Page or EXCEL Spreadsheet).

This month’s invited paper is “Two Wings of a Bird: The Equality of Women and Men,” a reflection by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States, published in 1997. The Baha’i religious tradition emerged in Persia (now Iran) in the 18th century. It is the first major religious movement that explicitly includes gender equality as a core belief.

The Vol. 3, No. 12, December 2007 issue of the “Solidarity, Sustainability, and Non-Violence (SSNV) Research Newsletter” has been posted.  The theme this month is:

“Review of the 2007 State of the Future Report”
http://www.pelicanweb.org/solisustv03n12.html

OUTLINE
1. The UN Millennium Development Goals
2. The WFUNA Millennium Project
3. State of the Future & Global Challenges
4. State of the Future Index
5. Education and Learning 2030
6. Environmental Security Issues
7. The Future Started Yesterday
8. Prayer, Study, and Action
9. Links to Archived Newsletters

INVITED PAPER
“Socioeconomic Democracy and Sustainable Development”
http://www.pelicanweb.org/solisustv03n12george.html
by Robley E. George, Director, Center for the Study of Democratic Societies

In January 2008, the SSNV Newsletter will start a new series on “Incentives for Solidarity & Sustainability.” Please forward this notice to friends and colleagues who might be interested in the global transition to a new culture.

Sincerely,
Luis

Luis T. Gutierrez, PhD, PE
The Pelican Web ~ http://pelicanweb.org/ SSNV Newsletter ~ http://pelicanweb.org/solisust.html
Email: pelican@pelicanweb.org