As the fate of the Earth system becomes ever more intertwined with human systems, “thinking in systems” has become more essential than ever.  I've read books on systems theory (e.g. Allen & Hoekstra 1993), but a refresher is always good, so when I came across Thinking in Systems... [More]

If media attention is any measure of popular thinking- then we have indeed finally arrived in the Anthropocene.   Thanks to the leadership (and hard work) of Jan Zalasiewicz, who initiated and convened the Anthropocene Working Group of the International  in London two weeks ago, there... [More]

“Large amounts of energy will be required to fuel economic growth, increase standards of living, and lift developing nations out of poverty.” (Brown et al., 2011; see Figure at left).    A key message from Brown et al. in their must-read empirical and theoretical summary of r... [More]

Human populations grow until they overshoot their carrying capacity and collapse. Game over.  Thank you Malthus! (1798; and Ehrlich 1968).   Not so fast! There’s something wrong with this story: it almost never happens.   Human populations do collapse – but not beca... [More]

What kind of biosphere do you want?  Great question!  And great to see it connected with beautiful prize-winning graphics at visualizing.org.  But on thinking further, it seems clearer than ever that the inspiration behind this- the Planetary Boundaries concept, is going completely in... [More]

“We cannot expect nature to remain in a constant condition and thus provide us with a simple solution to the questions of what is “natural” and what is desirable.”  (Botkin 1990, p 181) .  Just one of many great thoughts in Daniel Botkin’s 1990 classic: Discor... [More]

When did rice change the planet?  Rice is the most important food crop on earth, feeding more than half of all humans.  Most is produced in Asia in the flooded paddy systems that form the core of the most intensively-managed of all ancient agricultural anthromes, the rice villages, where i... [More]

What happens when humans finally win the war with nature and end up in charge of ecology?  A question for the future?  Think again.  In “Peak Wood: Nature Does Impose Limits”, John Perlin describes what happens when human societies, starting in prehistory, have completely ... [More]