BBC looks at Guyana

Our oil prospects seem to have attracted attention this month. One report starts:

"South America's second poorest nation is bracing for an oil boom that could catapult it to the top of the continent's rich list - and beyond. But can Guyana avoid the so-called oil curse and ensure that its newfound riches benefit all Guyanese?"

This links to an Assignment report (podcast):
"Guyana - bracing for the oil boom"

Meanwhile some are urging caution in the light of changing future prospects of fossil fuels. An article in Stabroek News by Melinda Janki warns:

"Even if the present economics of oil added up (and they clearly don’t) the urgent need to halt global warming means oil will cease to be viable within a few years."

There is general agreement that there will be a time of 'peak oil' after which world demand will drop. Some say it will occur around 2025, other not til 2030s or 2040s. If we wish to curb global warming we had better wish for an early date.

National Baha'i Convention 2019

The Baha'i community held its annual National Convention at the end of May to elect the national Baha'i council for Guyana (the National Spiritual Assembly) for 2019. Delegates from across the country consulted, prayed and voted. The election took about an hour and a couple of hours to count. No campaigning. No contention. Some humour.

The rest of the two-day event was spent consulting. Interestingly most of those elected were women. The photo shows some of those attending the sessions.

Massive solar storm found - but long ago

Solar storms usually cause no more than aurora which are unknown to us here in the tropics. But if they are really bad they can disrupt electrical and communication systems all over the planet. Evidence has been found of a really big one some 2000 years ago. There was another big one which is well known about 150 years ago. According to a BBC report:

"Scientists have found evidence of a huge blast of radiation from the Sun that hit Earth more than 2,000 years ago.
The result has important implications for the present, because solar storms can disrupt modern technology.
The team found evidence in Greenland ice cores that the Earth was bombarded with solar proton particles in 660BC.
The event was about 10 times more powerful than any since modern instrumental records began."

We are now reaching the point of being able to detect storms heading our way from the sun. Protecting our technology against these rare events is difficult so shutting down is likely the only option.

See also 'Solar storm' in Wikipedia

Race - Baha'i viewpoint

This must be one of the most misunderstood issues of our time. Here is an article outlining the Baha'i view which is consistent with science and reason. There are many supplementary articles on the same site.

Essentially we are all migrants and the only race is the human race. Most religions clearly teach that God is responsible for all of us being here. Science also agrees that we are all one race. What most people are talking about when they mention race is a cultural thing not a hard reality. And it is always changing. We do create trouble for ourselves... 😊

The living world under our feet

Recent discoveries have shown that we need to realise that there are many living things in the earth and rock below us going far down (kilometers) into the earth. Textbook writers take note!

According to a report from the Guardian:

The Earth is far more alive than previously thought, according to “deep life” studies that reveal a rich ecosystem beneath our feet that is almost twice the size of all the world’s oceans.
Despite extreme heat, no light, minuscule nutrition and intense pressure, scientists estimate this subterranean biosphere is teeming with between 15bn and 23bn tonnes of micro-organisms, hundreds of times the combined weight of every human on the planet.