Five Elemental Ways of Building a Sustainable Future: Stephen Porder on how five core elements changed earth's past and will shape our future

EPISODE 1698: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the Brown University ecologist and author of ELEMENTAL, Stephen Porder, about the five elements that have changed the earth's past and will shape our future

Stephen Porder is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, a Fellow in the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and the Assistant Provost for Sustainability at Brown.  His research focuses on nutrient and carbon cycling in tropical rainforests, the implications (both biophysical and societal) of industrial agriculture in the tropics, and the potential for large scale tropical forest restoration.  He is also the founder and science lead on the radioshow/podcast Possibly, which explores everyday issues related to sustainability and airs on public radio stations around the country.  Dr. Porder received his BA in History from Amherst College in 1994, his MS in Geology from The University of Montana in 1997, and his Ph.D. in Biology from Stanford University in 2005.  He joined the Brown faculty in 2007. He is currently on leave as the De Tocqueville Fulbright Chair at the Institut de Physique du Globe du Paris in Paris, where he is doing research, teaching, and writing a trade book about human caused changes to the earth system.

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

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