The widespread wildfires in various regions like the Amazon, Western United States, Australia, and particularly in Canada, have led to severe air pollution causing visibility issues and health concerns. The Clean Air Act in the United States, enacted in the 1970s to combat air pollution, is now ineffective against the scale of current wildfires. Trees serve as the most efficient method to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but the focus has shifted towards developing technology for this purpose. The dominance of oil companies in profit-making hinders investments in clean tech companies, exacerbating the environmental challenges posed by the wildfires.
I like to think of intellectual discourse as the entangled root network of an ancient tree: everything is connected to everything else. Not so much a linear march of progress but a gnarled and entangled mess from which fruits bear. This is why, despite thousands of years, some ideas don’t travel very far, but double back and loop themselves around other roots, creating something that feels solid, but may be rotten at its core.
This week I’m joined by ecologist and writer Carl Safina who has spent the past few years researching that root network of cultural beliefs from all over the world, discovering profound similarities and critical differences. He explains that the main difference between Western thought and most other cultures is the disconnectedness of humankind from nature, and he traces this back to Plato’s philosophy of absolute ideals.
This is my second episode with Carl. We first spoke over two years ago when he was deep in the process of researching his latest book, Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe. That conversation was truly fundamental to my own thinking, so it was a real joy to have Carl back on the show now that the book is out. This conversation goes begins with Plato, takes us through the delightful common threads that weave together most human cultures, and ends with Carl explaining how this rift between humans and nature results in the perverse incentives in our psychotic system today.
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