Author. Thinker. Other things.
The story goes like this: a young cashier gently suggests to an older woman that she bring her own grocery bags next time because plastic is bad for the planet. The woman smiles and says, “We didn’t have the green thing in my day.” Then she begins listing everything her generation did before “sustainability” became... Continue Reading →
The male White Bellbird Procnias albus. Nature's answer to KISS. Photo: Hector Bottai, 2019. Imagine strolling under the lush, deep green canopy of the Amazon Rainforest. You are surrounded by a vibrant mix of bird calls - macaws, hoatzins, the musician wren. Then, one voice cuts through the symphony with the power of a rock... Continue Reading →
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and climate change are two of the hottest button issues facing society today. While both have far-reaching implications for our lives and well-being, it's intriguing that while both are generating a significant buzz, AI is surpassing climate issues in generating fear of being an existential threat to humanity. People are busy enjoying... Continue Reading →
Today, June 22, is World Rainforest Day. It's a day I'm happy to observe. Over the years, I've had the great good fortune of visiting, and occasionally working in, some of the world's most majestic rainforests. The arching canopies tinting everything beneath with a wash of green, the the constant hum of insects punctuated occasionally... Continue Reading →
The recent post I wrote about planetary issues was so popular that I've decided to do another one. Like before, it's hard to keep up, because things are changing rapidly. And, like before, much of the news - frankly - isn't great, although within that, there's reason for hope. Ocean Temperatures. The world's oceans have... Continue Reading →
Every few days I sit down to write a post on what's going on in the global environment and discover more that's happening. But no wonder. Planetary conditions are changing rapidly. According to the United Nations, the human population hit 8 billion on 15 November 2022. The live calculator "World-o-Meter" shows that in the intervening... Continue Reading →
I’ve been reading a lot lately about de-extinction. Quaggas, Passenger Pigeons, the Thylacine (or Tasmanian tiger - in fact neither a tiger, nor specifically Tasmanian). Not remotely smacking of necromancy, smart geneticists are working diligently to bring these and other species back from the afterlife. In doing so, they expect not only to resurrect the... Continue Reading →
Manatees are hard not to love. It's not exactly that they're charismatic - slow and ponderous, their beady little eyes constantly on the prowl for the next snack. But nonetheless, they capture the hearts of many people, for their cuteness, playfulness, and tendency to appear in warm water of places like Florida, which gives people... Continue Reading →
In 1835, Charles Darwin wrote these worlds in the Voyage of the Beagle: “The archipelago is a little world within itself, or rather a satellite attached to America, whence it has derived a few stray colonists, and has received the general character of its indigenous population.” Chapter XVII: "Galapagos Archipelago" (second edition, 1845), entry for... Continue Reading →
Mother and baby lion-tailed macaque. Image: Nagaraj Papanna 2017 A mother lion-tailed macaque cradles her baby against her, undisturbed by the camera crew in close proximity. Polar bears trudge across sludgy ice floes to find ringed seals in winter. A herd of pronghorn antelope bounds across the screen and condors fly high over herds of... Continue Reading →
ERIC DORFMAN 