Pyramid of Kukulkan
Lesson From the Maya
The earthly achievements of the Maya are well known and beyond dispute. In fact, at their peak they equaled, if not surpassed, renowned contemporaries like the Greeks and Chinese. Accordingly, it is astonishing, allowing even for the stifling effect of the Spanish Conquest, that Maya religion –long since dismissed at best as mythological, and at worst as demonic- philosophy and ethics are simply ignored by both Western and Eastern thought. By way of proof, when was the last time that their standards were mentioned, much less invoked, in the mainstream media?
We do not suggest adopting Maya religion; the world has plenty of them. But we should be cognizant of the irreconcilable difference between their specific religious commandment “Do not sacrifice human beings” and their universal practice of doing so over hundreds, if not thousands of years. Either that commandment never existed or it was ignored. In either case, it suggests profound –if not bottomless- religious corruption, the one element that governed their everyday lives, and the consequences thereof, self-destruction 600 years before the Spanish Conquest. Accordingly, given today’s predicament –a high and growing risk of thermonuclear war between the U.S. and Russia/China and anthropomorphic climate change threatening to destroy our only habitat, it is long past due that collectively we admit and accept that what we’ve been doing since the advent of the first industrial revolution no longer works and that the status quo is going to succumb, one way or another, before fundamental and radical change. All we can do is make it happen gradually and imperceptibly, and the first step to do so is to deal with today’s abysmal inequality.
Popol Vuh Ethical-Moral Standards
GOD
- Cabahuil is the Creator (other names are Itzamná, Hunab Ku, Hunrakán in various Mayan languages.
- The monotheistic conception is based on the idea of plurality within unity.
- God is omnipotent and the dark forces are only an instrument of His purpose.
SON/DAUGHTER OF GOD
- The birth of the twins Hunahpú (male) and Ixbalamqué (female) took place at dawn in the winter solstice.
- Hunahpú became human, died at the hands of evil demons, and resuscitated in a defeat of evil for the preparation of the world so humans could be created.
- Hunahpú ascended to Heaven.
- The ascension symbolizes the conversion of the dead person into a Divine Spirit that rises to Heaven. He performs the role of Savior, defending humanity against the forces of evil which He annihilates with his magical rays.
- The commandments imparted with divine authority by the Son of God resolve all spiritual problems, fix the duties of the people in general, assure HUMAN RIGHTS as well as institutional stability, and elevate work to the category of a religious obligation.
COMMANDMENTS
Do not lie.
Do not get intoxicated in excess.
Do not be proud.
Do not be arrogant.
Do not have a faithless heart.
Do not be cruel.
Do not be envious.
Do not be indolent.
Be exemplary in self-control.
Do not ask more than three times.
Respect the elderly.
Do not reveal secrets.
Do not kill without a righteous reason.
Do not sacrifice human beings.
RELIGION
Man is eternally in debt to God.
The finality of religious morality is the development of an ethically and esthetically-prepared human being.
The principle of FREE WILL (choice) means that man must ever contribute with his actions and constantly exert himself in order to merit the help of Providence against those forces that oppose him. Cultures use this view of good and bad to rate themselves against others, the reason why an ethnic group believes itself superior to the others, regarding itself as chosen by Divinity because they believe themselves composed of “true” men in contrast with the others who are barbaric.
RITES
Observe the rite of confession.
Make pleas to God with fervor and only after confession.
Man must invoke God, pay homage, feed Him, and abide by the rules of religious ethics.
Use Copal incense to fumigate and overcome evil spirits.
Obsidian symbolized Hunaphú during his stay in Xibalbá (the underworld), and serves as an amulet against conjugations.
A plaque of obsidian, placed in a cup full of water beside the door, reduces the most powerful sorcery to nothing.
Burn Copal incense in front of the corn plants in memory of Hunahpú and Ixbalamqué.
EVIL
The existence of evil potencies explains the eternal antagonism of the messianic forces without detracting from the concept of Divine omnipotence.
Every evil has its limits. God allows it for the purpose of testing His creatures. When the test has been judged sufficient, He says “so far and no further.”
Evil endures for as long as God wishes.
Evil has been overcome but not reduced to impotence.
MANKIND
The ultimate goal for mankind AS A WHOLE is to achieve a high degree of ethical perfection by acknowledging its debt to God. Only then will humankind be able to survive because thanks to the inner communion between Divinity and humankind, that harmony which guarantees the stability of the world will have been established in a manner to impede its destruction by cataclysms such as took place in other epochs.
The ideal of human and social perfection, whether of a culture or of a single man, can be gained only through sacrifices and life-experience.
The soul is immortal, the supreme consolidation of humankind.
The human being cannot raise him/herself up to the perfected state except when the whole community shall also have attained divine perfection.
RULERS
Social and religious rank must be conferred by hereditary right.
Within the order of elders, the hereditary right is not by itself sufficient for the exercise of the post. Besides his birth within the order, the candidate must win the post through personal merit and exemplary conduct.
FAMILY
The grandfather is the father of the whole family.
There is equality of brothers with their first cousins.
Order of march: the children walk ahead of their parents.
Experience is passed on to the offspring through the law of heredity.
MAN/WOMAN
Women: don’t bear children without acknowledging the father.
Men: labor to maintain the family.
Sewing the fields is incumbent upon the man only, because the introduction of the sowing stick into the earth and placement of the seed in the hole it makes symbolizes the role he plays in the sexual act.
Since man learned how to work and to take the social role intended for him, conjugal harmony is absolute because the husband and wife are blended in an indivisible whole. This affirms the principle of duality within unity.
Every creative act must take place during the night so as to concluded by dawn.
JUSTICE
Practice “an eye for an eye”.
Ethics alone leads to a PLANE of salvation that exalts the human being.
WORK
Practice division of labor.
Any reward must first be merited.
WEALTH
The land belongs to those who cultivate it. Any alteration or modification in territorial status must be reflected in that type of inheritance.
Private property must be respected.
The preservation of a stable social order is based upon an equality of rights and obligations. This reaffirms the existence of democracy without the existence of rich or poor.
The type of society goes hand in hand with the customs for the handing on of possessions.
Change must take place imperceptibly, modifying without destroying the structure of the communal clan.
Source: Esotericism of the Popol Vuh, Rapahel Girard
Note: these standards predate the Spanish conquest by thousands of years and are therefore totally unrelated to Old World religious and ethical standards.
Raphael Girard
Maya Ethnographer and Archaeologist
Born in Martigny, Switzerland on October 30, 1898; died in Guatemala City, Guatemala on December 25, 1982. His parents were Joseph Girard, a public works businessman, and Melanie Besse de Girard, elementary schoolteacher, who died when Raphael was 14; although a firstborn child, he had numerous siblings. From an early age he showed intellectual skills. In 1915 he published Le Centenaire Valaisan, followed by Sur le Trim, dedicated to Dr. Zarn, a professor at the Lycée St. Maurice.
In 1918 he served 4th Company, XII Batallion mountain infantry of the Swiss Army.
On January 10, 1919, with the support of Eugene Pittard of Geneva University, prince Roland Bonaparte, Paul Rivet and Alfred Grandidier, he joined the Society of History and Geography of Paris. He then sailed to Honduras, where with the collaboration of fellow anthropologist pioneers Esteban Guardiola, Luis Land, Félix Salgado, Pedro Rivas and Jesús Aguilar founded the Honduran Society of History and Geography. He then completed ethnographic works about the the Hicaques, Payas, Caribss, Miskitos, and Susmus.
In 1935 he graduated as an electrical engineer of the Chicago Institute of Engineering; then, with savings and loans, he started an electric business in Copán, Honduras, followed by similar businesses in Quetzaltepeque and Esquipulas, Guatemala. It was at this time that he was introduced to the Chortí, a Mayan community. In 1949 he published in Spanish The Chortí and the Mayan Problem.
In 1950, with his colleague Lobsiger Dellenbach, he founded the Societé Suisse des Amaricanistes in Geneva. In 1952 he promoted the International Institute of Archaeocivilization seated in Paris, and the International Association for the study of History Religions of Amsterdam. During thses years, on his own, he conducted archaeological excavations in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. In the Honduran Mosquitia he discovered previously unknown archaeological sites and new sculptures in Monte Alto and La Gomera, Guatemala, and the Sierra Apaneca in El Salvador. These discoveries proved useful to definitively establish the cultural horizon of the Maya preclassical period.
In December 1955 he married Peruvian archaeologist Rebeca Carrión Cachot in Lima but moved to Guatemala. Together they collaborated in several ethnographic works; with her support, in 1957 he took an investigative ethnographic trip to the Peruvian Amazon region and published its results the following year.
Honors: Guatemala: Order of the Quetzal, Distinguished Neighbor of the City of Guatemala; El Salvador: Order of Matías Delgado; Honduras: Order of Francisco Morazán; Nicaragua: Order of Rubén Darío. Martigny, Switerland: Prize of the City of Martigny. Honoris Causa Professor of the National Central Institute for Boys of Guatemala; Order of the Sun of Perú (1965); in 1977 the Writers Association of Guatemala, the Theosophical University of Pasadena, CA, and the Swiss Valaisanne Association proposed that the Swedish Academy of Literature nominate Girard for the Nobel Literature prize. In 1978, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., the Organization of American States awarded him the Diploma of Merit for his more than 50 years of research and publication.
Source: Wikipedia
Inequality
War
Foundation
1- “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” – Confucius
2- “There have been only 268 of the past 3,421 years free of war.” -Will Durant, 1885-1981, American historian & philosopher
3- “There never was a good war or a bad peace.” -Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790, American politician & writer
4- “All wars are made for the acquisition of assets.” -Plato, 427-347 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher
5- “Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac.” -George Orwell, 1903-1950, British writer
6- “Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.” -Ernest Hemingway, 1899-1961, American writer
Admonishments
7- “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” -Matthew 26, 26:52.
8- “There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.” -Sun Tzu
9- “Preventive war is like committing suicide for fear of death.” – Otto von Bismarck, 1815-1898, German chancellor
10- “Who wishes to fight must first count the cost.” -Sun Tzu
11- “War is young men dying and old men talking.” -Franklin Roosevelt, 1882-1945, American President [1936-1945]
12- “When the rich make war, it’s the poor that die.” – Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905-1980, French philosopher
13- “Either Man will abolish war, or war will abolish Man.” -Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970, British philosopher
14- “If we do not abolish war on this earth, then surely one day war will abolish us from the earth.” – Harry Truman, 1884-1972, President [1945-1953]
15- “Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” -John Kennedy, 1917-1963, President [1961-1963]
16- “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” -Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, German-Jewish physicist
17- “The only way to win World War III is to prevent it.” -Dwight Eisenhower, 1890-1969, American general & President
18- “Imperialism and terrorism are two dinosaurs that will be confronted in the near future with tragic consequences for humanity.” -Mikis Theodorakis, 1925-2021, Greek composer & politician
Peacemaking
19- “…a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” -Ecclesiastes 3:8
20- “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” -Matthew 5:44
21- “It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy.” -Sun Tzu
22- “Plan for what it is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.” -Sun Tzu
23- “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” -Sun Tzu
24- “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” -Sun Tzu
25- “Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.” -Sun Tzu
Numbers
June 29, 2023
Background
According to the 2017 U.S. Climate Science Special Report if yearly emissions continue to increase rapidly, as they have since 2000, models project that by the end of this century global temperature will be at least 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 1901-1960 average, and possibly as much as 10.2 degrees warmer. If annual emissions increase more slowly and begin to decline significantly by 2050, then temperatures would still be at least 2.4 degrees warmer than the first half of the 20th century, and possibly up to 5.9 degrees warmer. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest trends can be viewed here.
A Watershed Event
Watershed events include the invention of the wheel, the control of fire, the invention of agriculture, the migration from wood to fossil fuels, the first industrial revolution, the discovery of germs and viruses, the internal combustion engine, the conquest of flight, mastery of nuclear fission (fusion is an ongoing effort), the advent of the digital world, and artificial intelligence. The recent discovery by University of Adelaide scientists of a low-cost, non-precious catalyst for use in a commercial electrolyzer to split natural seawater into oxygen and hydrogen with nearly 100 percent efficiency, which cannot be overstated, should be included in that elite group. In a nutshell, it makes it economically feasible to use solar energy to produce hydrogen from the ocean. As both raw materials –seawater and sunshine- are in the public domain, readily available, pollution-free, and have the pivotal ability to yield precious pure water as a byproduct, they may well undo the fossil fuels industry as we know it. As a result, polities that have heretofore relied on fossil fuels as mainstays of their economies will have to either adapt and join the unfolding reality or wither away into irrelevance.
China’s Importance
By 2030 China is expected to become the world’s largest importer of green hydrogen, to the tune of 13 million tons per year. Europe (10 million tons), Japan and Korea (7.5 million tons each) will be right behind. As for the U.S., it currently produces 10 million metric tons (approximately 11.02 million short tons) of mostly non-green hydrogen, virtually none earmarked for generation of electricity. Globally there’s an enormous shortfall of green hydrogen: to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the world would have to produce nearly 600 million tons of it per year.
By 2030 the combined demand of 38 million tons of green hydrogen from the aforementioned importers will need to be met. Clearly, polities that act now to build plants and sign contracts to meet it stand to benefit bigtime. For many, particularly debt-ridden countries without domestic hydrocarbon reserves, this would be a game-changer. Not only would it put an end to their dependency on foreign fossil fuels (for which they must pay in hard currency), going forward they would earn a (currently non-existent) income stream as they begin to export green hydrogen.
These projections are related to the energy-greenhouse gas emissions nexus. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of suggestions, much less concrete, feasible plans on what to do about the worsening water scarcity. Glaciers everywhere are melting away, aquifers are being depleted, and some of the world’s most important rivers are drying up. This threatens supply chains, food production (which would jack up prices, otherwise known as inflation), and the necessary volume of water to support future demographic growth.
Hydrogen and Water
China and the U.S. are the top consumers of electricity. China’s power consumption rose to 8,637 TWh in 2022, or 8,637,000,000,000 kWh. In contrast, total U.S. electricity consumption in 2023 is projected to decline slightly to 4.014 trillion kWh = 4,014,000,000,000 kWh.
If these trends hold, in 2023 China will consume 2.4 times more electricity than the U.S. Accordingly, for brevity purposes, the following calculations are based on China’s demand.
The molar mass of hydrogen (H2) is 2 grams/mol, and the molar mass of oxygen (O2) is 32 grams/mol. Therefore, the ratio in grams between oxygen and hydrogen is 16:1.
Additionally, the stoichiometric ratio between hydrogen and oxygen in a balanced equation is 2:1. So, for every 2 moles of hydrogen 1 mole of oxygen is required to produce 2 moles of water.
Using the molar masses and stoichiometric ratio, we have:
907,184.74 g of H2 (1 ton) + 8,164,662.66 g of O2 → (907,184.74 g / 2) + (8,164,662.66 g / 32) = 453,592.37 g + 255,145.71 g = 708,738.08 g of H2O (708.74 kilograms).
For 1 kg hydrogen:
HHV (Higher Heating Value): 141.7 MJ or 39.4 kWh (a)
China’s power consumption rose to 8,637 TWh in 2022, = 8,637,000,000,000 kWh (b)
Therefore China’s 2022 power consumption would require (b) / 39.4 kWh (a) = 219,213,197,969.54 liters of hydrogen (= 219,213,197,969,540 g of H2).
Accordingly, 219,213,197,969,540 g of H2 + 1,972,918,781,725,860 g of O2 → (219,213,197,969,540 g / 2) + (1,972,918,781,725,860 g / 32) = 109,606,598,984,770 g + 61,653,711,928,933. g = 171,260,310,913,703 g of H2O, = 171,260,310,913.69 kilograms (Kg). Since 1 liter of water weighs 1 Kg, 171,260,310,913.69 Kg is equal to 171,260,310,913.70 liters = .17 cubic kilometers (Km3) of H2O. This is how much water China’s current power consumption would produce (as a byproduct) annually if all of it were generated from hydrogen.
By 2060 China will likely consume 100 million tons of H2. 1 ton is equal to 907,184.74 grams, therefore 1 ton (907,184.74 grams) of H2 + 8,164,662.66 grams of O2 → X grams of H2O. Accordingly, 907,184.74 * 100,000,000 = 90,718,474,000,000 g of H2.
Using the same molar masses and stoichiometric ratio, 90,718,474,000,000 g of H2 + 816,466,266,000,000 g of O2 → (90,718,474,000,000 g /2) + (816,466,266,000,000 g / 32) = 45,359,237,000,000 g + 25,514,570,812,500 g = 70,873,807,812,500 g of H2O, = 70,873,807,812.50 liters, = to .07 Km3 of H2O. However, this does not mean that hydrogen will generate 100% of China’s electricity.
In 2050 China’s total power generation will be 15.2 trillion (15,200,000,000,000) kWh. Therefore, if hydrogen were to generate 100 % of its 2050 power consumption, it would be:
For 1 kg hydrogen:
HHV (Higher Heating Value): 141.7 MJ or 39.4 kWh.
Therefore,
15,200,000,000,000 kWh / 39.4 kWh = 385,786,802,030.46 Kg of H2 = 385,786,802,030.46 liters = .39 Km3 per year.
By way of comparison, in 2022 twelve atmospheric rivers dumped 32 trillion gallons (120. 96 Km3) of water on California. To synthesize that much water, 310 times more hydrogen than China’s total 2050 projected generated electricity would be required. In terms of hydrogen, that’s equivalent to 25.8 times China’s projected 2050 power demand per atmospheric river (assuming all atmospheric rivers have the same water content). Clearly, even if hydrogen were used to generate all of China’s electricity, the resulting volume of synthesized water would be insignificant relative to its needs. To meet them, much more hydrogen would have to be produced or imported and many additional hydrogen-burning plants would have to be built. In that case, their primary function would be to synthesize water, and secondarily, to generate electricity.
Inefficiency Issues
Fundamentally, 1 kWh of electricity is equal to 1 kWh of chemical energy. However, there are inefficiency losses due to heat, H2 compression, and air compression, all of which are required to make it work. In addition, losses due to permeation, joint sealing or venting due to temperature changes have not been considered. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 1, the hydrogen-burning plants would ideally be built atop geologically-suitable mountains. There are important reasons for such an unusual location. Firstly, hydrogen is the lightest element in the periodic table. As a result, it takes much less energy to pump it uphill than water, which is much heavier. Conversely, when water is synthesized atop a mountain, it could flow by gravity to a series of cascading hydro generators on the mountain’s slopes. The resulting additional electricity should help offset the inefficiencies. Secondly, unlike water, electricity can be transmitted over vast distances even in hilly terrain. Evolving technologies promise to improve the efficiency of transmission of electricity. Thirdly, unlike electricity, hydrogen can be exported overseas by ship.
Addressing Extreme Internal and External Inequality
Many heavily-indebted polities have taken on the responsibility of providing “safety net” social services, including healthcare, primary and secondary education and subsidized housing. Some even borrow to cover a portion of current expenses hence the debt just keeps on growing. There are two main reasons why tax revenue is insufficient to meet their needs: the rich have the political power to prevent or limit higher taxes for them, and the poor cannot pay as much as they would if they had the means. This spawns instability, housing crises, mass migrations, and wars. It also depresses household formation and discourages many young people from pursuing higher education, particularly in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers, critical to remain somewhat competitive with China and India in the long run.
Hydrogen, by reason of requiring only widely available, free raw materials to produce –solar energy, seawater and gravity- could potentially be used to address inequality. Fig. 2 illustrates one way (there are others) to do so. Among other things, a government would regulate but neither fund nor tax the projects; since polities would eventually become energy self-sufficient, at that point they would no longer have to import and pay for fossil fuels in hard currency. In addition, the projects would spur mass construction of housing for the bottom rung of the population and create a built-in fund (the houses themselves) to supplement social security. In time, as inequality is gradually reduced, citizens would require less government assistance and simultaneously eventually afford to pay taxes at a rate they cannot currently afford.
