The advantages of cycling

The advantages of cycling
Why do so many people feel it necessary to acquire cars in the many parts of the affluent world where there are good public transport systems? Even though the public transport networks are good in these regions, they could be so much better were it not for the congestion caused by far too many cars on the road!
For many the car is regarded as a necessity for both social and work demands and they would think that giving up the car would greatly diminish their quality of life. The hope is that the following suggestions will prompt a rethink.

Whilst poverty and hunger are major causes of ill health for most people in the world, in the rich countries an increasing number of health problems are related to lack of exercise, over eating, drinking excessive alcohol and the over-use of both proscriptive and prescriptive drugs. These are often refered to the ‘diseases of affluence’ but are also even more common amongst the poorer sections of the affluent society and often related to pollution and a poor diet coupled with lack of exercise.
Most people in the West have come to regard the car as a basic necessity. Families without cars are now considered to be poor. Sadly this mentality is now spreading to many so called developing countries, especially in South East Asia, thus making transport a growing cause of respiratory health problems and global warming.
For example air pollution in Beijing has reached a crisis level (2015) .
It is hard to understand this love affair with the car given the stress, health problems, pollution, accidents and congestion it causes. Yes it is often convenient, especially during inclement weather, but do the advantages of car travel outweigh the disadvantages, which include the initial purchase and running costs? Has the car now become an extension of the home, like a new summerhouse, rather than just a means of getting around?

Congestion, pollution, fatal and serious accidents, environmental and aesthetic degradation are reasons enough to abandon cars as a means of transport, but to these must now be added new direct and indirect links car transport has to ill health, especially of children, and global warming.

For a very small number of people the car may be legitimately be regarded as a necessity. However, the purpose of this web site is to urge most people, especially young people, to rethink their attitude towards transport and consider the role cycling has in improving health and reducing pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.

Cycling is good for your health and your pocket and the greater the number of people who give up their cars, or decide not to own one in the first place, the safer will be roads for cycling on and the greater the focus on providing safe routes for cyclists. Also, public transport will become more economically viable and general efficiency will increase for those who must use vehicles for their business activities. Holiday and leisure facilities will become more pleasureable without the environment being spoilt by the presense of large numbers of cars. Traffic congestion will also be reduced.

Cycling is good for your health
Most able bodied people should be able to use a bike for most journeys under 5 miles (Most car journeys are under 5 miles). Among the likely benefits of regular cycling are:

The chances of getting a heart disease are likely to be cut by a half
The likelihood of getting strokes, diabetes and some kinds of cancer will be reduced
Improvement in general health
Reduces the cost of travel. In the UK alone 72% of all journeys are made by car of which 59% are less than 5 miles in length. These shorter journeys are the most polluting ones and could be very easily shifted to cycling, public transport or walking.
Bicycles occupy less road space than motor vehicles per person and increase the efficiency of existing roads.
Bicycles offer door-to-door mobility and you are not constrained by public transport timetables.
Bicycles can be obtained at reasonable cost, are reliable and economical to operate
Cycling is a low-cost alternative transport option for people below driving age or without a car, especially in outer metropolitan areas and rural towns.
Cycling is much faster than walking and, in congested urban areas, is as quick (or quicker) for short journeys as other forms of transport.
About 16 bicycles can be parked in the space required for one car. Bicycles occupy less road space than motor vehicles per person and increase the efficiency of existing roads, while reducing wear and tear of road surfaces.
Increased bicycle use by school children would result in savings in school transportation .
Reduces stress and helps reduce weight. The prevalence of obesity in England has tripled over the last 20 years and continues to rise. Most adults in England are now overweight, and one in five is obese. Nearly two thirds of men and over half of women in England are now overweight or obese. And the problem in the UK is increasing faster than in most other European countries. [ About 40% of older youths were overweight in 2015 ]. One third of the world’s population and are now overweight. One billion people in developed countries are obese. This will significantly increase the incidence of associated diseases, such as coronary heart disease and diabetes. Less than 50% of Americans get any real exercise, and less than 10% get enough.
Surprisingly a person in a car will breath in more exhaust pollutants than someone riding a bike in the same situation.
Can increase alertness and reduce tiredness at work.
Cyclists are a considerable boon to other road users, but do motorists appreciate how little space cyclists take up on the road as opposed to a car?

Cycling can help make you feel good about yourself
Consider for a moment how much better you would feel arriving at the office after an invigorating morning bike ride, rather than a rushed and busy trip through morning traffic. Or how about at the end of your busy work day, letting all of your stress melt away as you take a leisurely ride home on your bicycle, avoiding the even more stressful rush hour traffic? It is likely that your trip home wouldn’t take much more time than traveling by car. Also consider how much time you’ll save by not having to spend so much of it at the health club. You may even decide to save some money and not sign up for membership during your cycling months.

If the money saving aspect is not all that important to you, consider the environmental benefits. Bicycling is very environmentally friendly, and you’d be making a measurable contribution to its preservation. It takes a great deal less of our planet’s resources to build a bicycle than it does to build and maintain a car. Cyclists do not pollute the air with toxic gases or leak dangerous oil and antifreeze into the earth. They also do not contribute to the growing problem of grid lock and noise pollution the UK is facing. And just think how much friendlier people would be to one another if they were all on bicycles. Think of how much less road rage there would be!

Cycling does not require so much exertion as jogging and can be carried on well into old age.

This may be too obvious to mention, but cycling will save you a lot of money. The savings from swapping the car, bus or train for a bicycle are considerable.

Cycling can increase efficiency and profits for employers
Employers should consider the benefits they can gain by promoting bicycling, too. Employees over-all health improves, the number of sick days that your company pays for are likely to decline (and if your employees do get sick, they’ll recover faster). Medical costs decrease, your employees feel better (physically and emotionally), and they’ll be more effective and happier at their jobs.
Obesity accounts for about 18 million days of sickness absence each year and 30,000 premature deaths. On average, each person whose death could be attributed to obesity lost nine years of life. Treating obesity costs the NHS at least 4 billion a year (2011). The total cost to the UK economy is estimated at £47 bil per year. Two bil people in the world are overweight and this is likely to increase to a half by 2030.

Problems for cyclists
For some people the decision to abandon the car in favour of a bike requires some courage. Probably the greatest disincentive to cycling is fear of accidents caused by motorised traffic. Lack of consideration and yobbish behaviour on the part some people travelling by car towards cyclists can also be a problem. However, it must also be said that the behaviour of some cyclists (like night riding without lights and inconsiderate behaviour towards pedestrians) can give cyclists a bad name.
There would appear to be a stong case for promoting the use of the bicycle as the primary means of transport for most journeys made across the world and provide more safe cycling routes in urban areas.

If you have ever struggled from a supermarket or city centre with a heavy load of groceries on each arm you might consider how much easier it might have been to carry the same load on a bike. The picture on the left shows just how many items can be carried with ease on a bicycle – which can be wheeled around with you as you move from one shop to another.

If you think that using a bike for shopping might be time-consuming, then stop to consider the number of times you spent half an hour or more looking for a parking space and then several minutes to find the ticket machine and take the ticket back to your car.

With increasing concerns about global warming and the growing numbers of people with diseases related to obesity and lack of exercise, does it not make sense to use a bicycle for getting around whenever possible?

Waste and energy

Energy saving and waste reduction
Although the following suggestions relate to the UK, the general principles behind them can be applied anywhere in developed countries.

Many quite simple actions can result in considerable savings. Penney Poyzer, in her book ‘No Waste Like Home’, suggests that the average family in the UK wastes £430 worth of food every year. Another £200 is spent on wasted energy.

This amounts to a staggering £9 bil that Britons waste on the unnecessary use of energy and good food thrown away every year.

Sadly this waste increases economic growth, but who pays the price!!

These are not the only causes of waste in the home. If all the possible savings are added up for the average family, these could amount to as much as £4,000 each year – £60 bil for the UK as a whole. On average people throw away 7 times their own body weight each year.

All of this waste does of course add to global warming. In 50 years time, as a result of rising temperatures, UN scientists estimate that there will be 10,000 more cases of food poisoning, 5,000 more deaths from skin cancer and 2,000 more cataract operations each year in Britain. Note that this is in addition to the fears that many scientists predict about the effects of global warming which include the possibility of an ice age developing in northern Europe as a result of the Gulf Stream being effectively ‘cut-off’ – an outcome of melting ice in the Arctic.

When we look at some basic statistics, the role we can play in reducing waste and helping the environment can seem obvious. All we need is the will to make the necessary response. Each year in Britain:

17 bil plastic carrier bags were given away by supermarkets (290 bags for every person). In December 2015 the government brought in legislation that requires a charge to be made when plastic bags are issued. This is likely to reduce this wasted dramatically.
400,000 tonnes of disposable nappies were used (8 mil nappies are thrown away every day).
the average family throws away 208 Kg of paper
only 17% of waste is recycled and waste is increasing at the rate of 3% each year
£5 bil worth of energy is wasted (Note that within the next 20 years Britain is expected to be importing 80% of gas)
£1.2 bil is spent on running fridges and freezers
the health impact of traffic pollution amounts to £11 bil (85 % of households in rural areas have at least one car – 70% in urban areas)

The cost of managing household waste is £1.6 bil and this is expected to rise to £3.2 bil by 2020. Of the 7,000 incinerators, 12 burn municipal waste.
20% of what comes through the letterbox is never opened and 60% is never read.

What can be done?
Here are some suggestions:

Switch to an energy supplier such as Good Energy which supplies 100% renewable energy from sun, wind and rain. It sources from independent generators across the country and it has its own wind farms at Delabole, North Cornwall and Hampole near Doncaster. It also has solar farms at Creathorne Farm near Poundstock, North Cornwall, Crossroads in Dorset and Rook Wood in Wiltshire. It supplies to 55,000 electricity customers and 28,000 gas customers and supports over 93,500 homes, businesses and communities generating their own electricity. Good Energy also operates the feed- in tariff scheme for those with installed solar panels.
More information about energy-saving.
Replace all light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs
Switch off computers and television when not in use instead of leaving on stand-by.
Put an insulation jacket around the hot water tank and lagging around hot water pipes.
Install 250 mm thickness of loft insulation between ceiling joists.
Install cavity wall insulation.
Lay fitted carpets over floor boards.
Replace single glazed windows with double glazing. For windows with wooden frames a relatively cheap way of doing this is to use double glazing units rather than go to the cost of replacing the glass and the frames.
Eliminate draughts around window frames and doors.
Turn the thermostat down 1deg C. This could save 10% of the cost of running the central heating.
Remove furniture away from radiators and place aluminium foil behind the radiators.
Use a gravity shower connection connected to the bath taps instead of a power shower. Limit your shower to 5 minutes.
Use heavy curtains with a thermal lining.
Use a ‘green’ electricity supplier who sources electricity from renewable energy.
Use energy efficient appliances (A to G rating) – ‘A’ rating is the most efficient. Look out for the blue and orange logo.
Use a ‘Sava Plug’ to connect fridges and freezers (350 watt max) to siocket outlets. Make sure there is proper seal around the doors and defrost when ice builds up.
Using a 40 deg C wash rather than 60 deg C will save a third of the amount of electricity used by a washing machine.
Put lids on cooking pans.
Run the water from shed roofs into water butts and use for watering the garden.
Get a plumber to stop all drips from taps and overflows. If you are on a meter you may be surprised at the increase in your water bill if you don’t.
Install a two-flush toilet cistern. 35% of water is used flushing the toilet and this simple action will reduce the amount of water used in each flush by about a third.
Take a shower instead of a bath but limit it to 5 mins.
Wait until you have a large load before washing clothes. This will also save electricity.
Use re-usable terry nappies instead of disposable ones.
Put disposable nappies, tampons, sanitary towels, cotton buds, condoms and cigarettes in the bin, not the toilet, otherwise these may cause blockages in the sewerage system.
Recycle all tins, bottles, paper and clothes.
Compost most uncooked kitchen and garden waste but dont include cat litter, dog faeces, disposable nappies, diseased plants, meat. fish and cooked food. Try and get a balance of organic material and fibrous material like straw, wood shavings, dried leaves and shredded twigs.
Buy vegetables loose and not pre- packed. If you can, avoid shopping at supermarkets.
Use reclaimed timber where possible. This might be superior in some ways for outdoor uses and will usually be cheaper than the equivalent bought at a timber merchants or DIY store.
If you possibly can, do not have a car or large motorcycle of your own for transport, but instead walk or use a bicycle and public transport.
If you do own a car then keep it regularly serviced. Keep tyres properly inflated at the correct pressure (under-inflated tyres acn increase fuel use by about 8%). Driving at 50 mph instead of 70 mph is likley tol use 25% less fuel.
Take your holidays close to home and avoid long distance travel by air.

Energy saving and carbon reduction

Energy saving and carbon reduction

Solar PV panels

Most energy is derived from fossil fuels and hence any personal savings in the use of energy will reduce carbon emmissions.
Two methods of representing proportional household emissions in the UK are shown in the following charts:

The figures shown are for 2006 when the average per capita emmission was 11.6 tonnes, half of which was from direct personal emmissions – air travel 34%; household heating 26%; car use 19%; Household electricity 16%; other transport use 5%.
Emmisssions outside the household but related to househjold activities – Manufacturing and construction 40%; personal travel 29%; housing 20%; services 6%; food 5%.

The figures show that 5 tonnes (out of the total of 11.6) are caused by travel and 2.3 tonnes by manufacturing and construction.
Household electricity accounts for about 0.9 tonne and household heating 1.5 tonnes. Hence the greatest reductions are to be made from reducing travel. The impact of international air flights can be determined from the CHOOSE CLIMATE CALCULATOR .

Return flight from London to Douala (Cameroon) – 4995 km

The diagram on the left shows the results from the calculator for a return flight from London to Douala (Cameroon) – a distance of 4,995 km. Note that this resulted in a per capita emission of approximately 3.5 tonnes.
Greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft flying in and out of Britain in 2030 are estimated to then contribute nearly half the UK total. Aircraft from UK airports alone emitted 9.8 million tonnes of carbon in 2005 – equivalent to 36 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

What level of emissions should we be aiming for? Dr Hillman, Senior Fellow Emeritas at the Policy Studies Institute (2010) suggests levels shown in the following table (note that the target for 2005 was not achieved) :

An idea of household and individual annual carbon emissions can also be obtained by measuring gas and energy use in Kw hrs, heating oil in litres and transport in Km then using the following chart:

Do not include miles travelled as a passenger in a car

Another assessment can be made with this CARBON CALCULATOR

Further information can be obtained from the National Energy Foundation

Anyone considering solar heating might find the following links useful:

SOLAR ENERGY

FEED-IN TARIFF

CURRENT FEED-IN TARIFF RATES

There is also information on ENERGY EFFICIENT HOMES and CARBON FOOTPRINTING on the National Energy Foundation web site.

Ethical investment

Ethical investment
An increasing number of individuals are concerned that the money they invest is not used to support governments and organisations:

that do not uphold basic human rights
that produce indiscriminate weapons or weapons sent to oppressive regimes or torture equipment
that advocate discrimination and incitement to hatred
that take an irresponsible approach to the payment of tax
whose core business focuses on irresponsible gambling
whose core business is the provision of payday loans
whose core activity contributes to climate change via the extraction of fossil fuels and certain biofuels
that manufacture of chemicals that are persistent in the environment, bio-accumulative in nature or linked to long-term health concerns
that harvest natural resources, including fish and timber, unsustainably
that develop genetically modified organisms where there is evidence of uncontrolled release into the environment, negative impacts on developing countries or patenting e.g. of indigenous knowledge
that develop nanotechnology in circumstances that risk damaging the environment or compromising human health
that fail to implement basic labout rights and the rights of workers to freedom of association e.g. in a trade union
that impede acces to safe drinking water or vital medicines
that engage in irresponsible marketing practices e.g. with regard to tobacco products and manufacture.

These are a summary of some of the commitments in the Ethical Policy of the UK Co-operative Bank developed after concerns following the near collapse of the bank due to financial mismanagement and its ownership by mainly US hedge funds. This showed a commitment to the pre-crisis policy. The Co-operative Group now owns only 20% of the bank.
The bank also states that it will seek to support businesses involved in developing alternatives to animal experimentation and farming methods that promote animal welfare. There are also commitments to support projects which protect the environment and international development and social development in the UK. The complete policy can be seen here:
coop-bank-ethical-policy

Many may feel that these commitments do not go far enough, but at least they can form the basis for assessment of the bank’s ethical performance in the future. Also, the Co-operative Bank as of 2015 is the only high street bank with a clearly articulated ethical policy.

However, the Bank is ranked only 24th for its ethical performance in the Ethical Consumer

Top ten ranking:

The Triodos Bank has a high rating but potential customers should be aware of its links to the ideas of Rudolf Steiner and his occult religion/movement he named anthroposophy . In its Articles of Association it states “Triodos Bank is – at its sole discretion – associated with anthroposophy, this being the humanities science initiated by Rudolf Steiner that accordingly forms an important basis for the work of Triodos Bank”.

The bank supports Waldorf/Steiner schools, biodynamic farming and Camphill communities and has links to a biodynamic organisation

The FIOH Fund uses the Co-operative Bank and the Ecology Building Society

Homeopathy

QUESTIONS ABOUT IDEAS WHICH CANNOT BE RATIONALLY OR SCIENTIFICALLY VERIFIED

Homeopathy is a system based on the principle that a much diluted preparation of a substance that causes symptoms in healthy individuals can cure disease that causes the same symptoms in a sick person. It was developed in the late 1700s by a German doctor named Samuel Hahnemann as an alternative to the then pre-scientific conventional medicine of the day such as bloodletting, and other practices designed to balance the body’s four “humours” which were thought to be: phlegm; blood; yellow bile; and black bile.
His disillusionment with the severe treatments being used at the time, was well founded.

In a BBC report Branwen Jeffries explains in a simple way how homeopathic medicines are little more than water. The report also outlines the objections of a group of UK MPs to the funding of homeopathy on the NHS.
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee said using public money on the highly-diluted remedies could not be justified.
The cross-party group said there was no evidence beyond a placebo effect, when a patient gets better because of their belief that the treatment works. But manufacturers and supporters of homeopathy disputed the report, saying the MPs had ignored important evidence. It is thought about £4m a year is spent on homeopathy by the NHS, helping to fund four homeopathic hospitals in London, Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow and numerous prescriptions. Homeopathy is a 200-year-old system of treatment that uses highly diluted substances – sometimes so none of the original product is left – that are given orally in the belief that it will stimulate the body’s self-healing mechanism.
Despite scientific reports showing that ‘homeopathy is nonsense’ many people believe that it has cured their ailments. Americans spend $3 bil a year on homeopathic medicines.
In the UK homeopathy is getting some influential backing. In a series of letters Prince Charles lobbied ministers to change public spending plans in favour of complementary and homeopathic medicine.

It could be said that medicines which are little more than sugar water can at least do no harm (other than waste money), but there have been claims made for its curative benefits which could have had serious outcomes. In April 2008, Neal’s Yard was investigated by the BBC for claiming that the homeopathic preparations they sell can help prevent and treat serious fatal diseases such as malaria. It was reported that this practice was “highly dangerous and it puts people’s lives at risk.” Neal’s Yard accepted there was no proof that it worked and discontinued the product. There have also been claims that homeopathic medicines can reduce or safeguard against the effects of radiation.

An undercover study showed that 1754 Britons caught the mosquito-borne parasitic infection in 2014 and 11 died. Many of the deaths were caused by the holidaymakers either not completing the course of tablets given by their GP, or relying on other medicines, which could include homeopathic treatments.

Rudolf Steiner and anthroposophy

Who was Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was a self proclaimed Austrian clairvoyant, who founded a movement/religion which he named anthroposophy in 1913 after he split from the occult Theosophical Society founded by Helena Blavatsky. At the time of his departure the Theosophical Society was led by Anne Besant.
According to Steiner, anthroposophy adds to the scientific knowledge a knowledge of another spiritual world which is in the first instance invisible and lies above the senses. He maintained that through meditative training of ones organ of cognition, each individual can acquire the ability to progress to a higher universal plane. The concepts of incarnation/reincarnation and karma are fundamental to Steiner’s ideas.
The Theosophical Society has its headquarters in Goetheanum (which Steiner designed) in Dornach, Switzerland. Steiner has written many books and articles and may have given as many as 6,000 lectures on issues such as education, medicine, agriculture, the pictorial arts and social care.
Steiner incorporated his ideas into education, science, agriculture, art, medicine, economics and social care. A brief description of some of his ideas are shown below and a more detailed analysis c an be seen here:
WHO WAS RUDOLF STEINER
ANTHROPOSOPHICAL MEDICINE
BIODYNAMIC AGRICULTURE
CAMPHILL COMMUNITIES
WALDORF STEINER SCHOOLS

Anthroposophic medicines
Steiner believed that mistletoe had a role to play in the treatment of cancer. His reasoning was based on his belief that because mistletoe was a parasite, it would help to cure cancer which he regarded as a parasite on human tissues and organs. Anthroposophic mistletoe medicines include those marketed under the names Abnova viscum, Helixor, Iscador, Iscusin, Visorel, Eurixor and Plenosol. Iscador is often touted as having the ability to boost the immune system but there is no evidence that it does so. Mistletoe is listed by the American Cancer Society as an unproven cancer remedy. Controlled clinical studies have indicated that mistletoe does not have any significant effect on the survival of people with cancer. Some people can be allergic to mistletoe medicines.

Biodynamic agriculture
Steiner proposed what he called biodynamic preparations that would stimulate vitalizing and harmonizing processes in the soil through cosmic and terrestrial forces. Initially Steiner proposed eight preparations, two of which involved packing cow manure (preparation 500) or silica (preparation 501) into cow horns, then buried for a number of months before the contents are swirled in warm water and then applied to the field. Cow horns are utilised as antennae for receiving and focussing cosmic forces, which are transferred to the materials inside. The other six compounds(preparations 502-507) are extracts of various plants either packed into the skulls or organs of animals (i.e. deer bladders, cow peritonea and intestines) or into peat and manure, where they are aged before being diluted and applied to compost. The chemical elements contained in these preparations were said to be carriers of terrestrial and cosmic forces and would impart these forces to crops and thus to the humans who consumed them.

Camphill communities
Despite the undoubted dedication and care for the disadvantaged that must be reflected by most of the people running these communities and the external volunteers who help, it should be borne in mind that the foundation for the activities that take place is based on the ideas of Rudolf Steiner and anthroposophy, the religion/movement he founded. Camphill communities could also be regarded as ideal projects for gathering together all of Steiner’s irrational ideas into the same locations. Activities are most likely to include biodynamic gardening, eurythmics, Steiner/Waldorf pedagogy and art and craft activities with Steiner spiritual connotations and even what has been called anthroposophical medicine. The basis of these activities is neither rational nor capable of scientific verification. Biodynamic gardening incorporates organic farming methods and hence Steiner’s occult biodynamic preparations which I have outlined in the section on biodynamic agriculture, are unlikely to result in negative outcomes. The same could be said for eurythmy. They can perhaps be regarded as just a waste of time or better substituted with more rewarding activities.
However, with regard to medical matters, there are clear dangers involved in substituting proven and scientifically verified medical treatments and procedures with those such as homeopathy and anthroposophical medicine which have no such foundation. Robert Smith Hald’s bitter account of the misdiagnosis of his wheat intolerance (which he did not discover until he was 36) and erroneous treatment by anthroposophical practitioners in several Camphill communities in the USA, caused him considerable suffering over many years. He opens the account of his experience with the comment “Anthroposophy is a religion, and Camphill is a sect, a cult of fanatics pursuing spiritual development and ultimately perfection. They believe that sickness is the soul incarnating, and also that it has to do with karma. They don’t believe in inoculations, so I had all the child diseases going around, some twice. My being sick all the time was obviously not just the mumps and the measles and whooping cough, so they had the anthroposophical doctors in all the time, in between punishing me for being sick (thats why I stayed out of the house for as long as I could). There were three doctors, one in Beaver Run, one in The Village, Copake and one that practiced in both places.”

Waldorf/Steiner schools
The degree to which Steiner’s ideas are incorporated into school pedagogy and activities may vary from school to school but many of the teachers will have undergone training in anthroposophy using Steiners publications. School activities may incorporate eurythymy, biodynamic gardening and Steiners spiritual ideas about art. Some schools may also have an anthroposophical doctor and embrace homeopathy.

Eurythmy is a form of dance which Steiner describes as follows: “We pass over to movements representing the possibilities of inner activity, movements which have their origin in the planets. In their sevenfold nature we have synthesized the animal element in man. The nineteen possibilities of sound: the consonants have their source in the Zodiac; the vowels in the dance of the planets. A cosmic activity may be brought to expression by means of human gesture and movement. The word of the heavens is really the being of man. By means of an imitation of the dance of the stars, discovered through spiritual knowledge, we have the possibility of renewing in eurythmy the temple dancing of ancient Mysteries.” (Eurythmy as Visible Speech – Rudolf Steiner Press 1984 from Waldorf Watch.) In the same article Marie Steiner is quoted as referring to Negro dances as ‘decadent’.
One interpretation of Steiner pedagogy is described in ‘An introduction to Steiner Education’ by Francis Edmonds (Sophia Books 2004). Edmonds confirms the idea that humans are composed of ‘body, soul and spirit’. He also states that “Darwin spent much of his time studying the grimaces in animal physiognomies in search of human origins, being so convinced that man is derived from animal origins – a fascinating study, but it led to nothing more conclusive than that animals also have emotions, likes and dislikes, advancing with desires or retreating through fear and antipathy. It belongs to the blindness of our time that we still perpetuate the idea that man is an animal derived from an animal”. This statement reflects not only Edmond’s patronising attitude to a great man’s enlightened scientific discovery, but is perhaps a reflection of the supreme arrogance that has often evolved with the development of the human mind and the human disregard of nature and other living creatures. Other aspects of Steiner pedagogy presented in the book are seriously open to question and perhaps Steiner’s and Edmond’s disregard of science is well reflected in Edmond’s comment that “Modern science has little place in it for man – it leaves him a homeless and lonely figure in the universe”.
Edmond’s repeats many of Steiner’s occult ideas that I have already mentioned and different practical aspects of the pedagogy are explained in occult spiritual terms. Colours are seen as a ‘direct language of the soul’ which is represented in particular colours and shades. For some inexplicable reason black is associated with evil. He repeats Steiner’s classification of groups of children according to their temperaments – (i) blood – sanguine – flighty (ii) black bile – choloric – irrational (iii) yellow bile – melancholic – peevish, jaundiced (iv) phlegm – sluggish. He suggests that children, and the stories they are told, should be grouped according to these temperaments. I find this very idea highly objectionable and open to abuse. There is a suggestion in the book that a girl’s hollow chest had been cured by eurythmy (another of Steiner’s ideas that places spiritual connotations on special dance movements). Steiner even developed ideas for what he called bothmer gymnastics which according to Edmonds “sees the body as a temple from which all other temples have originated, bear witness to the divine”.
Michael Thomas