Human activity is changing the environment at an unprecedented rate, but can biodiversity evolve fast enough to survive? A recent study discovered that adaptive evolution has its limits. Researchers
Nine philanthropic foundations have pledged $5 billion to be doled out over the next 10 years to conservation efforts. The aim is to finance the protection of 30% of land and ocean by 2030 - one of
There’s no denying that digital technology and social media have dramatically transformed our world. We are very good at creating new tools, but less so in optimizing their use for the good of all
While drinking my morning coffee, I read this article from the New York Times. It was sent to me by one of my beloved graduate students, Joanna Chin, and it is one of those thoughtful pieces that
Baby boomers fought for many rights now taken for granted--access to birth control, being able to wear pants to school, hair below your ears, and gender equity to name only a few of the big and the
A lot of my work centres around how to influence the Internet for forces of light rather than dark, how to communicate the 'science' in more powerful ways that engage diverse audiences. Last week
Over at The Guardian, readers have been given a sneak peek at Far & Away, a new book on travel and perspective by Andrew Solomon. Solomon proposes that travel is a necessity in order to counterbalance the narrow-mindedness that can come from only knowing one's own experiences (or one's own language, cultural norms, and versions of war stories).
Glancing out my basement office window this morning, I saw a small frog in the window well and then another a few feet away. I went to let them out a little later and they were on the ledge pressing against one another, one larger than the other. After releasing them, I wondered about the difference between people who care and those who don't and what causes the difference? And similar to the last blog, how have our research assumptions and the lens we use influenced our interpretation of the 'others' and their behaviour, how much do we miss?
This haunting melody is the result of Bartholomaus Traubeck’s technology which reads the rings of a tree as a record, and interprets them as music. These tracks represent different varieties of trees, and the results are pretty incredible. The complexity of nature, and its patterns to which we are largely unconscious, are revealed by this unique integration of nature, technology and the arts. A reflexive moment before starting my work day.
The World Wildlife Fund’s annual living planet report has just been released, and the evidence is dire. The Living Planet Index (LPI) has declined by fifty-two percent since 1970. It is difficult to deny the severity of a number as high as HALF of all species declining over the last 40 years due to unsustainable human consumption.