Re: " we're evolved for radiation " - geophysicist on pole reversals

["John Jacobus" <jenday1@MSN.COM>]

Jaro,



What is meant by "we're evolved for radiation?"  Had humans evolved the last

time it occurred, or was life more primitive?



-- John



John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

3050 Traymore Lane

Bowie, MD 20715-2024

jenday1@email.msn.com (H)

-----------------

On Fri, 1 Nov 2002 13:46:12 -0500

Jaroslav Franta  wrote:



On page 24 of the current (November) issue of Scientific American is an

interesting "news scan" article about reversals of Earth's magnetic pole.

Apparently the Earth's "global dipole has been diminishing precipitously for

the past 150 years and at this rate could disappear entirely sometime early

in the next millennium" -- disabling the magnetic radiation shield against

cosmic and solar particles.



As you might expect, Hollywood will soon be releasing a disaster flick named

The Core (Paramount Pictures), about a world with frequent radiation alerts

and about a heroic attempt to restart the magnetic field by setting off

nuclear explosions thousands of kilometres underground.

The article concludes with the statement that "no major species extinctions

correlate with past polarity reversals," quoting California Institute of

Technology geophysicist Joseph L. Kirschvink as saying, "If there is a

biological effect, we're evolved for it."

. . .



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