Steve Kaplan:  When did you first get the idea for the Starburst Foundation?

Paul LaViolette:  The Starburst Foundation is a scientific research institute I founded in January of 1984. Its main purpose is to investigate the Galactic superwave phenomenon.

Steve:  What are Galactic superwaves, and why do they affect us?

Paul:  Galactic superwaves are intense volleys of cosmic rays emitted from the center of our Galaxy. We live in a spiral galaxy, the Milky Way. Our Sun is one of many stars circling around this spiral's hub, the Galactic Center. Astronomers have found that, at this center, there is an unusually massive celestial body that from time to time can explosively emit tremendous amounts of energy. These recurrent explosions (or outbursts) throw out intense barrages of cosmic rays accompanied by electromagnetic radiation such as gamma rays, X-rays, light waves and radio waves. This radiation blizzard, called a "Galactic superwave," travels radially outward eventually reaching the outer part of our Galaxy where we reside.
   Superwaves can arrive very unexpectedly. You can't see them coming because they travel towards us at the speed of light. Upon reaching our Solar System a superwave could cause a variety of effects. It could inject cosmic dust into the planetary environs, thereby altering the Earth's climate. Also the electromagnetic wave radiation it carried might at times have the character of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) similar to that generated by the aerial detonation of a nuclear device. It could create radio and television interference and might knock out satellite telephone conversations by permanently damaging satellite equipment. High-voltage surges picked up on telephone wires and power lines could damage electrical equipment including home electrical and telephone appliances that happened to be plugged into these networks. There could also be dangers to airplanes which happened to be flying during such an episode.
   Also there is the possibility that a superwave "EMP" signal might be misconstrued as an aerial nuclear explosion. If military personnel didn't realize that the effects were being produced by an astronomical phenomenon, they might think their country was being attacked and issue orders to launch their missiles. With communication systems knocked out, no one would be able to notify them that their country was not under attack.
   Then there may be cause to be concerned about the superwave cosmic rays themselves. If the initial outburst were sufficiently intense, this particle radiation could constitute a substantial health hazard.
   The Earth's polar ice sheets preserve a record of past superwave episodes. This can be seen by analyzing the levels of beryllium-10 along the length of the polar ice core record.  This beryllium isotope is a good indicator of superwave intensity since it is produced in the Earth's atmosphere through cosmic ray bombardment. The polar record shows several peaks of cosmic ray activity, the most recent of which occurred about 12 - 16 thousand years ago. Additional evidence indicating that our Solar System may periodically be impacted by a forceful cosmic ray wind comes from my discovery that ice age polar ice on some occasions contains very high concentrations of cosmic dust, several orders of magnitude greater than are found in snow or ice from the present interglacial. Prior to this discovery, I had predicted that passing superwaves would have propelled dust into the Solar System and that these dust incursions may have been a principal cause of the recurring sequence of ice ages. This is historically a key discovery because it is the first time that anyone had measured cosmic dust levels for the ice age period.
   I made the discovery about the existence of superwaves in 1979, and in 1983 completed a Ph.D. dissertation on this subject at Portland State University. My research indicated that superwaves have repeatedly affected the Earth in the past and that they will continue to do so in the future. I saw that it is important to determine what their effects have been and to develop ways of minimizing hazards associated with future events.
   The superwave phenomenon was unknown to science at the time I first made these discoveries. There were then no institutions carrying out research on superwaves. Yet I felt that some organization should have such research as its main responsibility, an institution that could maintain a vigilance for superwaves well beyond the lifetimes of its founders. I conceived this as the main purpose behind the formation of the Starburst Foundation. The Foundation embodies a perspective that is global, long-range, and protective of the planet. It is concerned with survival of the human race and preservation of our planet's ecosystems in the face of natural hazards of astronomical origin.

Steve:  We have already gotten into my second question for you, namely what are the purposes of the Foundation? Is there anything else you could add about this?

Paul:  Starburst intends to serve as a vehicle through which donors may support research on novel ideas that normally would have a difficult time being funded through most foundation or government channels. Normally when someone submits a research proposal to a government agency like the National Science Foundation, the proposal is sent out for peer review. For the most part these reviewers share the conservative views of the scientific establishment. As a result, theories which are consistent with the established paradigm are supported, and those that go against the grain are not. So there is a proliferation of relatively mundane projects that serve to perpetuate old outmoded ideas.
   One of the Foundation's goals is to provide a means by which creative individuals can pursue their research even though it may challenge views commonly held by the scientific community. Since the Foundation's resources are at present relatively limited, we have chosen to concentrate on certain specific areas of research.

Steve:  Now, the first and most major project of the Foundation has to do with Galactic superwaves.

Paul:  Yes, at present the scientific community is giving little attention to this recently discovered phenomenon. Yet research on superwaves is desperately needed since this phenomenon could pose a substantial near term threat to our planet. That is, there is a certain probability that a superwave could impact us before the end of this century. Since most of the world is unaware of their existence, one of Starburst's main priorities is to educate people about superwaves and their potential hazards.

Steve:  What kind of support is needed for this work and what are you getting at present?

Paul:  Well we have one project that requires about $50,000 to implement. This is an international outreach project to alert nations to the hazards of Galactic superwaves. We especially want to bring this to the attention of defense departments around the world so as to reduce the danger of an inadvertent nuclear attack. Nuclear disarmament organizations should also be interested since if there is a threat that something could mistakenly trigger a nuclear missile launching, then that gives all the more reason for disarmament efforts to proceed with all due haste.
   We have another project which is budgeted for about $63,000 which seeks to analyze samples of prehistoric polar ice to see how the rate of cosmic dust influx to our planet has varied over the past 25,000 years. This will help to provide more hard data on the superwaves which affected the Earth toward the end of the Ice Age. We need such data to determine what exactly happened in the past so that we can get some idea of what could happen in the future when the next event arrives.
   In addition, we would like to carry out astronomical observations to study superwaves that have already passed by and to detect nearby superwaves that may be approaching our Solar System. A special receiver device will need to be built for this purpose. Design, construction, and testing of this probe will cost about $40,000.
   Then there are a lot of other projects that we would like to continue to pursue, like publishing articles on superwaves, giving lectures, organizing conferences, and networking with scientists. We are in touch with scientists all over the world. We plan to inform people about the superwave phenomenon and about other research we are doing by securing media coverage and by preparing video tapes for educational purposes. We are also developing a novel physics theory that could shed some light on the mechanism behind Galactic core explosions. So there is a wide range of projects that need financial support.
   So how much money does Starburst need? For the projects that are immediately scheduled we have projected that Starburst will need about $200,000. Ultimately, though, it would be nice if we had an annual budget of several million dollars.

Steve:  Where are you getting your support now?

Paul:  All of our support so far has been in the form of small contributions from people both in the U.S. and overseas who have responded to solicitations. We've also put on two fund raising lectures. To expand our resource base we have now begun to approach a number of charitable foundations across the country.

Steve:  Who do you see benefiting from this work? And to what extent?

Paul:  Everyone would benefit from our projects. Not just people in this country, but people all over the world. For example, Galactic superwaves are something that effects the whole planet.

Steve:  So geographically it's the whole planet. What about the immediate future of the Starburst Foundation? What are your most urgent priorities?

Paul:  The most urgent priority is to get publicity regarding the superwave phenomenon. To get more people aware about it.

Steve:  And that project needs about $50,000.

Paul:  Yes. And, there is another project down the line which is concerned with setting up a 24 hour watch of the Galactic Center region. In other words, we would like to set up an early warning system so that, in the event that signs of superwave activity are detected, the proper organizations around the world would be notified so that they could take proper precautions. In this way, the impact of such an event could be drastically reduced.

Steve:  Is that something that is likely to be funded by government if you can make them aware of the superwave phenomenon?

Paul:  Definitely.

Steve:  So, summing it all up, what would you like to say about the Starburst Foundation and does it deserve support from people who "make a difference?"

Paul:  To support Starburst would be to support an organization that is focusing attention on an important phenomenon of nature, the understanding of which may be essential to the long-term survival of the human race. In the long-range, people would be supporting an organization that is dedicated to helping the world change toward the better. Change is going on in the world, but it needs to happen at a faster pace because the problems are being encountered in increasing numbers every day. If we are to survive, we must change our past ways of doing things and find new ways of coping with these problems. Starburst's purpose is to grease the wheels of change.
    But we also saw that Starburst had an even more general long-range purpose. Namely, to support solid, leading-edge research that challenges the conventional scientific paradigm. The reason is that new ideas often require an unusual amount of effort to win the support of the scientific establishment.

Steve:  Now these are some of the resistances on the part of the scientific community to being open to new theories, new ideas.

Paul:  Right, the scientific community tends toward the conservative side. And in one sense that's good, because if it responded to every new idea that came along, which had not have been very well thought out and critically examined, science would be in a state of confusion, jumping from one concept to another. So there is that tendency to resist change. But in many areas the scientific community maintains a tendency to be overly resistant to change, and unfortunately this encourages the perpetuation of dogmatisms, much as was the case during the Middle Ages.  There are insufficient financial mechanisms in place at present to assist people with new, promising ideas to develop their ideas so that they can eventually surmount these barriers and make a positive contribution to society.