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. …
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 …
Climate Engineering and the Sustainable Development Goals: The Tangled Web of the Anthropocene
A report released by C2G2 at the end of May is an interesting exercise in bringing two important global challenges into conversation. Carbon Removal and Solar Geoengineering: Potential Implications for Delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals is a noble effort to tie what policy makers should do about climate change with what they should do …
The Ethics of Hijacking a (Rhino) Uterus
Researchers at the San Diego zoo were celebrating last week after one of their beloved southern white rhinos was determined to be carrying a rhino fetus. This rhino became pregnant after male white rhino sperm was injected into her uterus at just the moment that all the stars in the rhino universe aligned. Artificial insemination …
Get Ready for a ‘Wild’ Anthropocene
The wildlife biologists are breathless with excitement. After a century’s absence, images of both male and female wolverines have been captured by wildlife cameras in Wyoming’s Wind River Range. This evidence suggests that this most mythic of carnivores could be breeding further south in Wyoming than anyone thought possible. Zack Walker of Wyoming Fish and …
