What can thousand-year-old trees teach us about living sustainably on this planet? - Highlights - DOUG LARSON

"There is no reason for doom and gloom in our species. Evolution has produced the most amazing organism that is capable of almost instantaneous change for the better. And I didn't know that when I was a kid, but I think I sensed it. I think I sensed that all these other 20 million species knew something we didn't know. And that was: there's always hope if you let it out of the bag. We're always willing to say that we're right to other people, but the joy comes from realizing that the truth eventually comes out. And it's by the inexorable floating of science to the surface, by people who are willing to say they're wrong. They think it's a sign of weakness, and in my view, it's the ultimate sign of strength in a politician to say, "Yeah, I was wrong last week. I was wrong last month. I was wrong last year." We're always looking for better ideas, and so if you've got one, let us know. Politicians think it's a sign of weakness to change their minds. And I think, are you kidding? Evolution is selecting for people to change their minds all the time. That's what works in nature. Evolution is the process by which things that are better replace things which aren’t."

What can thousand-year-old trees teach us about living sustainably? If we want to be sustained by this planet indefinitely, we need to stop trying to suck it dry.

Doug Larson is an award winning scientist, author, and Professor Emeritus of Biology at the University of Guelph. He is an expert on deforestation and regularly contributes to The Guardian and other publications. His books include Cliff Ecology: Pattern and Process in Cliff Ecosystems, The Urban Cliff Revolution: New Findings on the Origins and Evolution of Human Habitats, Storyteller Guitar, and The Dogma At My Homework.

https://experts.uoguelph.ca/doug-larson
https://volumesdirect.com/products/the-dogma-ate-my-homework
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cliff-ecology/7502E52B487789BEA2CACC4553AA663B

https://www.amazon.com/Urban-Cliff-Revolution-Evolution-Habitats/dp/1550419927
https://www.amazon.com/Storyteller-Guitar-Doug-Larson-ebook/dp/B00B9VZQXU

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Image courtesy of Doug Larson