As seen for the metabolism of birds, air travel by humans carries a large energetic cost.
Category: faculty
faculty
3.2 Technosphere Now
In this essay I sketch out a physical framework for the technosphere, Earth’s newest sphere. My goal is to articulate some of the implications of being human in the Anthropocene, given our inescapable role as partsContinue reading
Your Lawn II
Let your lawn return to a wildflower-filled meadow that attracts bees and other pollinators
Moving Stuff Around
Humans are the largest force shaping the surface of the Earth today.
3.1 What I mean by a system
I take a system to be a recognizable set of parts that dissipates energy through participation of those parts in mutual collective (organized) behavior. Parts can be systems (subsystems). The technosphere is a system ofContinue reading
William Schlesinger
air pollution, environmental health, environmental policy, environmental politics, faculty, toxicology
air pollution, environmental health, environmental policy, environmental politics, faculty, toxicology
Science at the EPA
All actions by the Environmental Protection Agency should be taken on the basis of science—not from religious beliefs, from payoffs, or to satisfy the desires of special interest groups.
Diversity
Numerous studies show declines in species diversity when soils are fertilized.
2.5 Three revolutions
The “two revolutions” projected at the end of my last post are expanded here to “three revolutions”. These are major transformations that bear emphasizing among a large number of significant changes over time in howContinue reading
Mycorrhizae
Most folks don’t realize it, but the roots of plants are connected underground by a vast network of fungi that improve the function of plant roots
2.4 Breaking the Anthropocene Illusion
The Anthropocene Illusion–that human agency is the driving force of the modern world–helps us navigate that world at human scale. It makes clear the connection between our desires and the actions we take to achieveContinue reading