I'm lucky to have philosopher of technology Albert Borgmann as a friend and conversational partner here in Montana. He has already made a number of appearances on this blog with observations about Facebook, the iPhone, and the role of land as unifier in politics. Today this respected cultural commentator offers some thoughts that are bound to …
Can Faking it Sometimes be Enough?
With two or three hours to kill before we needed to drop off our rental car at the airport, my wife and I just wanted a snack, a cup of tea, and a stroll around a quaint neighborhood somewhere in this (not-to-be-named) unfamiliar city. Clueless about where to go, we pulled off the road and …
The Ethics of Wiping out a Mosquito Species
The latest blog post on the Plastocene reflects on a genetic technology that could eradicate an entire species of malaria-carrying mosquito. It sounds like an ethical no-brainer. Some people, however, are a little more hesitant. "The announcement that a new genetic technology had successfully eradicated a carefully contained population of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes grabbed headlines last week across …
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The Endangered Species Act and the Extinction of Cultural Wisdom
It wasn’t long after the Trump administration’s proposal to weaken the Endangered Species Act hit the headlines that a story emerged about a surprise encounter between two Irish fisherman and a striking piece of Earth’s history. Raymond McElroy and Charlie Coyle were fishing for pollan in Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland in September when their …
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The Role of Trust in Tackling Climate Change
Every big weather event provides another platform for contrarians to sow dissent and divide public opinion. On September 14th, USA Today offered climate denier Roy Spencer a venue he did not earn in order to deny that climate change is happening. As Hurricane Florence besieged the Carolinas with record rainfall, Spencer’s opinion piece threw his …
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Hedgehogs, UPS Drivers, and Summer Heat
“Heatwave leaves dehydrated Shropshire hedgehogs fighting for their lives.” It was an unusual headline but one that was hardly surprising given the blistering heat experienced in the UK this summer. 2018 delivered the driest June the country has ever experienced. By the end of July, Britain was shaping up for its hottest summer on record. …
Blame and Confusion on a Hothouse Earth
Two eye-catching publications on climate change in the last couple of weeks have generated a storm of reactions. A Northern hemisphere summer filled with fire, death, and heat means nobody is contesting the broad contours of either piece. There has, however, been quite a lot dispute about the details. Nathaniel Rich’s New York Times Magazine …
The Beauty of Difficulty
“It is easier to be a member of Earth First! or the Chemical Manufacturer’s Association than a member of neither.” Jeff Lockwood made this observation in Orion Magazine when reflecting on the anguish he constantly felt about killing locusts. An applied ecologist at the University of Wyoming, it was Lockwood’s job to develop methods for …
Orangutans, Human Landscapes, and the Processes that Made them Both
In a recent article in Anthropocene Magazine about the future of orangutans, Brandon Keim observes “the key to their survival is us not killing them.” You would be forgiven for thinking that Keim is a master of the blindingly obvious after he offers a statement like this. We all already know that orangutans don’t fare …
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Food, Freedom, and Smiley Faces
The day before Independence Day in 2018 was the last day to comment on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s proposal for mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The requirement for a nationally recognizable standard was passed in 2016 during the Obama administration. The proposal offers guidance to food companies who will soon …
