Wednesday, December 28 at 7:30 pm

The Private Life of Plants

Episode I:  Traveling

by David Attenborough

This first Episode looks at how plants are able to move.  The bramble is an aggressive example:  it advances forcefully from side to side and, once settled on its course, there is little that can stand in its way.  An altogether faster species is the birdcage plant, which inhabits Californian sand dunes.  When its location becomes exposed, it shifts at great speed to another one with the assistance of wind — and it is this that allows many forms of vegetation to distribute their seeds.  While not strictly a plant, the spores of fungi are also spread in a similar fashion.  One of the most successful (and intricate) flowers to use the wind is the dandelion, whose seeds travel with the aid of “parachutes.”  They are needed to travel miles away from their parents, who are too densely packed to allow any new arrivals.  Trees have the advantage of height to send their seeds further, and the cottonwood is shown as a specialist in this regard.  The humidity of the tropical rainforest creates transportation problems, and the liana is one plant whose seeds are aerodynamic “gliders.”  Some, such as those of the sycamore, take the form of “helicopters,” while others, such as the squirting cucumber release their seeds by “exploding.”  Water is also a widely used method of propulsion.  However, most plants use living couriers, whether they be dogs, humans, and other primates, ants, or birds, etc., and to that end, they use color and smell to signify when they are ripe for picking.

This amazing film utilizes time-lapse sequences extensively in order to grant insights that would otherwise be impossible.  Plants live on a different time scale, and even though their life is highly complex and often surprising, most of it is invisible to humans unless events that happen over months or even years are shown within seconds.

Like many traditional wildlife documentaries, this film makes use of almost no computer animation.  The mechanisms of evolution are taught transparently by showing the advantages of various types of plant behavior in action.  The adaptations are often complex, as it becomes clear that the environment to which plants must adapt comprises not just soil, water, and weather, but also other plants, fungi, insects, and other animals, and even humans.  This film shows that co-operative strategies are often much more effective than predatory ones, as these often lead to the prey developing methods of self-defense — from plants growing spikes to insects learning to recognize mimicry.

http://www.bbcearth.com/programmes/the-private-life-of-plants/

To learn more about Film Series held

at Humanist Hall

click here

Some Universal Laws and Rules

1) The universe is not THE Universe. Therefore, we can’t know all the laws.

2) The four fundamental forces (nuclear, weak, electromagnetic, and gravity) are properties of the continuum. Consciousness is a fifth, but partially outside our four dimensional matrix.

3) The three laws of thermodynamics apply only to our macro realm.

1st) Energy is neither created nor destroyed, only transformed.

2nd) An isolated system will gain entropy.

3rd) At absolute zero temperature, entropy is zero.

4) Cosmic evolution proceeds by the survival of the stable.

5) There is no conservation law for information in either the macro or quantum realms. In adjoining realms, there may be.

6) Organisms are open systems which can reproduce.

7) The universe is organismic. But we don’t know if it reproduces.

8( Over time, open systems will self-organize toward complexity (acquire information and store energy).

9) Evolution is bush-like — adapting in many directions, including complexity and simplicity.

10) Life develops holons which tend to survive the extinction of taxa.

11) Higher levels of active consciousness require individuation. The individual is the universe’s microlens.

12) The informational search space of the universe is many orders of magnitude greater than its material components can explore through one universal timeline of evolution. Therefore, free will exists and reality is art.

by

Sterling Bunnell

by

Joel Nakamura

Tuesday, November 9 at 7:30 pm

Evolution Dance!

Presented by Dylan Newcomb

http://www.uzazu.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/EvolutionDancePDF_San_Francisco.pdf

Wednesday, June 30 at 7:30 pm

2012:  Time for Change

by Joao Amorim

Presented by Ashel Seasunz Eldridge

This documentary combined with animation projects a radical alternative to apocalyptic doom and gloom.  The film follows journalist Daniel Pinchbeck, author of the bestselling 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, on a quest for a new paradigm that integrates the archaic wisdom of tribal cultures with the scientific method.  As conscious agents of evolution, we can re-design post-industrial society on ecological principles to make a world that works for all.  Rather than breakdown and barbarism, this film heralds the birth of a regenerative planetary culture where collaboration replaces competition, where exploration of psyche and spirit becomes the new cutting edge, replacing the sterile materialism that has pushed our world to the brink.

This is a feature film starring major luminaries including Sting, David Lynch, and Ellen Page.  And it is an educational film inspiring people to get involved in spreading the message of 2012:  to participate in a conscious movement toward personal and social transformation and to live in harmony with our environment by following ancient and modern practices including permaculture, ecological construction, and bioremediation.

http://2012timeforchange.com/demo/index.html

To learn more about Film Series held

at Humanist Hall

click here

Thursday, March   18   at  7:30 pm

Ecology Emerges:

Evolution of Eco-Activism

Presented by Shaping San Francisco

On Thursday, March 18th, Shaping San Francisco kicks off Ecology Emerges, a four-part public forum, at the Humanist Hall.   Legendary and inspiring examples of Bay Area ecological activism over the past 50 years unfold from a collection of 23 oral histories gathered by local historian Chris Carlsson.

Evolution of Eco-Activism, the first of the four talks, will trace the birth of the modern ecology movement, from conservation and environmentalism, through to today’s recognition of the need for environmental and social justice.  Jon Christensen, Executive Director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University, will host the panelists  –  Jerry Mander, Karen Pickett, and Carla Perez — conversing with them and the audience.  The event will highlight a short video synthesizing the gathered oral histories and imagery from the Bay Area.

Throughout the four evenings of Ecology Emerges, 12 speakers will investigate and speak of their own personal involvement in the evolution of ecological activism, the role of the Bay Area in shaping national and international ecological movements, nature in cities, and the problem of sustainability within a growth-based economy.

This project is made possible, in part, by a grant from The California Council for the Humanities, California Story Fund.  www.calhum.org

This is a FREE event, and donations will be welcome.  Space provided for on-site bicycle parking.

About Shaping San Francisco:

Shaping San Francisco, a project of CounterPULSE, is a 15 year, ongoing multimedia project in bottom-up, participatory history, recovering lost history and sharing the story of daily life in the City by the Bay.  Most recently, together with the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, we launched FoundSF.org a living online history archive.  We offer a regular Wednesday night Public Talk Series and various Bicycle History Tours around the City of San Francisco.

http://www.shapingsf.org/ecology_emerges.html

To learn more about Activist Events held

at Humanist Hall

click here

Sunday Meetings

Sunday, February 21 at 1:00 pm

Evolutionary Biology Today

Presented by David Seaborg

In Honor of Darwin Day

David Seaborg, the Bay Area’s eminent evolutionary biologist, will speak this afternoon on the exciting principles of evolutionary biology.  His talk will be on what science knows about evolution today — bringing in the latest scientific findings, theories, and thinking.  It will cover the evolution of altruistic behavior;  sex;  sexuality and mating behavior;  how much of evolution is due to natural selection as opposed to random factors affecting neutral genes that are not affected by natural selection;  how new species evolve;  mass extinctions;  species interactions, such as competition, symbiosis (alliances between species), and predator-prey interactions.  Adaptations to survive, such as mimicry (an example of this is harmless species resembling poisonous ones), and what determines how fast species evolve, from species that change very quickly to those that do not change for eons, will also be discussed.

David will bring live animals as well as fossils to his talk to illustrate principles of evolution.  Anyone who wants to hold either the animals or fossils will be given the opportunity to do so, but no one will forced to.  David will facilitate a question and answer session following his lecture.

http://www.worldrainforest.org