ANT2128 - March 2nd notes

docx

School

University of Ottawa *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

2128

Subject

Anthropology

Date

Oct 30, 2023

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by CaptainTank1330

ANT 2128: Anthropology for the 21st Century Toxic Life in the Anthropocene ENM CHPT. 12 - Margaret Lock March 2, 2023 THE ANTHROPOCENE:  It's debated - working group is trying to push for the fact that earth scientists should recognize this as a new epoch  Many still consider the Anthropocene within the Holocene o Some view it as an extinction event for the Holocene o Many push against it being an epoch of its own  Push for it in 1980’s by Eugene Stoermer, and then in 2000’s by Paul Crutzen  Widescale debate between earth scientists about whether we should use the term  If we do accept it, then when did it start?  Some want to tie to neolithic and to everything humans have done  If you can show in many areas of earth that the same changes happened at the same time then it can be recognized  2016 the Anthropocene Working Group accepting the epoch o Marking it as when the first nuclear device detonated (July 1945) o Adoption recommended to the International Union of Geological Science o Formal proposal submitted, awaiting formal acceptance o Note there are still many groups that have not accepted this idea HUMAN IMPACT:  Chapter talks about all of the ways humans have impacted the environment  There are the standard effects we see, but we also see unique forms of the earth trying to ‘fix itself’ from our impact (ex. areas that used to be deserts are now greening) THE POSTGENOMIC ERA:  Moving away from the genome (being the origin of life), now rather seen as reactive to its internal and external environment  As we change the earth, we learn our nature is impacted by the nature we live in EPIGENETICS :  Things on top of traditional genetic basis  How environmental variables impact and change the genes of living entities  Making obsolete assumptions about genetic determinism SCULPTURING THE GENOME:  How social and environmental factors affect the body aren’t fully worked out  A few are well established, including: 1. Methylation  How methyl groups are added to a DNA molecule will affect the coding  Cell differentiation – generic cell -> methyl groups added = then the generic cell turns into something else 2. Chromatin fiber  To be altered to such a level that they become hereditable

 DNA itself not impacted by external factors, but the whole genome is being impacted and the chromatin is what regulates that response  Maternal deprivation o Studies of severe abuse in childhood changing DNA aspects o Hard to do studies on this – not going to harm children in studies o But we can get some data from autopsies  As cultural anthropologists we are often speaking with people experiencing a toxic environment and try to help them.  Looking through factors which helps us to understand all contextual aspects, as well as the feeling of having these problems (can be psychosomatic, physical, somatic) o Also looking at people’s own self-references LOCAL BIOLOGIES  Where these two above factors are coalescing  The specific context of these experiences  By focusing on local biologies we are looking at contingencies on the physical body, and how the environment plays a role in that NEUROTOXINS  Severe issues when exposed in utero & early life  Changes can have intergenerational aftermaths  Amount of time and at what age someone is exposed will dictate how bad these developmental problems will be  As of a 2011 review, about 13 million deaths per year LEAD POISONING  Lead pipes and old pipes, lead glues, etc.  Decreases brain volume, brain atrophy, negative effects on language function  Often times these lead pipes are in older parts of town, hence a lot of ethnic minorities suffering from these issues  Can be passed onto foetus in pregnant mothers  Body is pretty good at getting rid of lead out of your body if you’re away from it VARIOUS OTHER HORRORS  DDT, PCB’s, Dioxins  Chapter does a bit of a catch-all for these other toxins  Can often gather in fatty cells in animals, passed onto humans when we eat them  Big agricultural company herbicide (Syngenta) o Causes neuro problems, there were a lot of scientists trying to prove it, but the company was going after them and funding studies saying the opposite  Asbestos o Canada has a pretty big problem with it o Hard to overhaul and get rid of it, so push to not force laws to fit asbestos because of it o Pushed in 50’s and 60’s as it was a good insulator and fire resistant o Talc in baby powder – because talc is found where baby powder is MERCURY POISONING:

 Mercury-contamination in Grassy Narrows Wabigoon River o Local natives for 45 years have been protesting to get fresh water, gov says they’ve dealt with it when they haven’t  Japan mid-1950's o Chisso Corp was dumping mercury to the water (3,000 infected, more than half died) o Because of this event, team of Japanese scientists became skilled at determining mercury poisoning  Those scientists did come to Canada to Grassy Narrows, concluding the large percentage had poisoning AGENT ORANGE IN VIETNAM:  Agent Orange was a defoliant – the aim was to clear the area out. Most of the civilians were farmers, weren’t going to leave their farms and go to cities just because they were asked to. But likely would go if you used this chemical and got rid of the trees and farmland, so that’s what US gov did.  Still passing down via genes to their children, even when those people are generations past being exposed firsthand.  Hydrocephaly (‘water in the head’): causes severe intellectual disability  2007 Vietnam government joins WTO. Vietnam doesn’t want other countries to see how bad the effects were because they worried people wouldn’t want to buy their meat or produce o Led to extreme gov implementation of ultrasounds for pregnant women - if they see fetal defects, they will suggest an abortion o One issue is that it’s difficult to see accurate info on ultrasounds o Creates a social stigma of the “dioxin gene”  Ex. If someone in a family gets a disease related to the toxin then they can be ostracized from society.  People not wanting to marry into a family who had the disease because of the stigma of it o Psychological impact of it  Stress of living in an area where that area could be hazardous  People wanting to get medical testing all the time to make sure they are ok EGYPT AND KIDNEY FAILURE:  Hot, temperate climate and bringing in foods that aren’t part of the normal environment o Ex. milk that wouldn’t normally last in the temperature, they add formaldehydes so it will last in the climate  Wide-spread kidney failure from the foods  On top of that it’s hard to accept a kidney (since everyone is still ingesting the toxins), so likely damage the new kidney, and then leads the donor to be at increased risk because they also have a damaged kidney CANCER IN CHINA:  High smog  Creating a sperm bank to protect future generations  Cancer mortality rate is 80% IRAQ WAR AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE BACTERIA:

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

 Acinetobacter baumannii (“iraqibacter”)  Bacteria thriving in people who were given loads of antibiotics from injuries in warzones OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT:  Train derailment  Someone decided it was a good idea to open up the tanks and burn the chemicals o That is what we see with the plumes of smoke now o Prof has not heard of an example where they chose to burn the chemicals  Chemicals seeping into Ohio river  Spreading to water in other states  Inconsistent communications and news outlets CONCLUDING THOUGHTS:  Political aspect is so big here (at local and global level) o Small groups of wealthy population gets to live in clean environment, while other populations live in poisonous areas with irrevocably changed lives  Role of anthropologists: o Tell the stories of these places o Anthropologists can help to create social movement if there isn’t one started o Or, if the local community have a movement already then the anthropologist can be the community’s ‘loudspeaker’ to get the truth out o Auto-ethnography = should make your own experience very explicit in your writing, should convey your own feeling about the situation