(Conversation recorded on August 6th, 2024)  

The damaging effects of humanity’s disconnected relationship to Earth’s ecosystems are broad and deep. Yet, despite targeted efforts to address these issues and mitigate risks, our insatiable appetite for fossil hydrocarbons continues to grow at an alarming rate. What will it take to reframe our relationship with nature to move forward in a symbiotic, life-supporting path? 

In this episode, Nate is joined by longtime colleagues Tom Murphy and D.J. White for an in-depth exploration of the mounting ecological crises driven by human behavior and unsustainable energy consumption. Together, they offer both scientific insights and personal reflections on trends such as the rapid decline in wild animal populations, the rise of microplastic pollution, the overwhelming scale of human-built mass, and many other facets of this unparalleled time in human history. 

Why is it so difficult for society to recognize the scale of ecological destruction, and what needs to change to raise awareness? In what ways is academia struggling to provide the systems understanding we need to address the pressing environmental challenges of our time? How could recognizing our kinship with all living beings reshape our relationship with the planet?

About Tom Murphy:

Tom Murphy is a Professor of Physics at the University of California San Diego and is the Associate Director of the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences. He is also the author of Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet, and continues to write regularly on the challenges associated with long-term human success through his blog Do The Math. 

About DJ White:

DJ White is a co-founder of Greenpeace International and founder of EarthTrust.  He has played a leading role in protecting dolphins, whales, sea turtles, and countless other marine animals, including successfully stopping a national dolphin drive kill, and breaking the deadlock in capping the Kuwait oil fires. He was the driving force behind the transition to more dolphin-friendly tuna as well as stopping widespread use of ocean drift nets in the 1980s. 

Show Notes and More

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