1851: Electro-Chemical Age -- Gicomeng

DUE... Something Good	Electro-Chemical Age: 1851 - Present
The Electro-Chemical Age in the Anthropocene Epoch
Human evolution is marked by environmental adaptation. Some 2.5 million years ago when predecessors of the homo sapien discovered how to utilize the loose rockbed and fashion stones into useful artifacts, the Old Stone Age was thus spawned. The duration of each age is an indication of fear and the inability to transfer knowledge and skills between generations. By the time of the Iron Age, humans had become organized with an ability to educate their young and progress upon the knowledge of multiple generations. The chemical sciences have a history that dates back 1.5 million years when controlled fire was first used to transform a substance from the environment into something more useful. It was fire that gave rise to the Copper, Bronze, and Iron Ages. Ironically, fire -- like electricity -- was most probably discovered as the result of lightening in an electrical storm millions of years ago. About 600 BC, Thales of Miletus was the first to notice that friction produced a force that we know today as electricity after Ben Franklin flew his kite into history during the Age of Enlightenment, a time when the order of religion was sidestepped to bring about science. New elements were discovered in chemistry and electricity began to emerge. The Industrial Revolution during the early 19th century ushered in successive generations of mechanical invention that paved the road for electricity/electronics and chemistry/pharmacology. On May 1, 1851, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert opened the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, London, England. An estimated 14,000 exhibitors from around the world displayed their inventions within the 990,000 square feet of space inside the glass and steel structure that became known as the Crystal Palace. The Great Exhibition was a colossal success, forever binding the Victorian Era to the birth of technology and giving absolute prominence to the British Empire, paving the way to greater innovation. It was the Great Exhibition that set the framework for the modern trade show and conventions; it was the landmark event that staged a global market 150 years ahead of its time. However, no one could have fathomed even by the end of the 20th century that one day the Great Exhibition would propel the world into a new Age and a new Epoch. Today, we can visualize the Great Exhibition as the launching pad for the Electro-Chemical Age and the Anthropocene Epoch that define the present period and may continue for a few years or for several thousand years. Impacts to the Electro-Chemical Age The rapid progression of electricity and chemicals as the "tools" of modern civilization has left behind a trail of residual effects which humanity has not properly addressed. Societies throughout the world have become so absorbed in treating the problems of drug addiction and global warming, that little has been accomplished in understanding the exact causes of the problem. Corporations throughout the world today maintain a stronger voice than the general public, resulting in a great deal of ambiguity with concepts such as harm reduction, mitigation, prevention, protection, safety, education, and abuse. From the perspective of a corporation, human life has no real value unless it is part of the corporation. Employees become the pawns of corporations and stockholders are manipulated by erratic consumers reacting to governments generating fear. Thus, the prevalence of fear in the 21st century has an enormous impact on the world economy. For example, regardless what the U.S. government wants the general public to believe, the problem with drug abuse has increased dramatically since September 11, 2001. The increase in drug treatment programs and the abandonment of incarceration for non-violent drug related offenses has come about with the realization that the number of drug abusers along with drug users purchasing illicit street drugs is not containable. About 25% of the adult population today use or abuse drugs. In 2000, only 12% of the adult population was determined to be using or abusing drugs regularly. The George W. Bush administration's John Walters accounts for this increase by posturing the illicit use of prescription drugs, however, it is nearly impossible for patients -- even those with chronic medical disorders -- to obtain a prescription for a controlled substance from physicians. In 2006, marijuana first became America's number one selling cash crop. Thus, because the U.S. Government fails to legalize drugs, American money is streaming away from the U.S., funneled to other nations, bolstering their economies rather than the U.S. As a result, the U.S. Government may not be intact when 50% of the adult population comes to depend on the illicit drug trade. Clearly, we know that the Electro-Chemical Age is a force that is much stronger than all the nations on Earth. Those nations which totally realize this will survive. As for the U.S., it will either continue to decline with policies that are incompatible with the ECA. .