ESR 012 - Wildlife, Technology, and Biophilia in the 21st Century

How should humans respond to the impact of climate change and loss of biodiversity?

Should we double down with more technology or should we sit back and let nature reset itself?

What roll does biophilia play in our response?

In this interview with Christopher J. Preston, author of Tenacious Beasts and expert in wildlife, technology, and climate change, we discuss:

• animals coming back from the brink of extinction

• whales and whale vomit

• The Great Whale Conveyor

• the impact of bison on creeks and forests

• the impact beavers have on land and water

• the impact fashion has on beavers

• the impact of sea otters on kelp

• indigenous people's relationship with sea otters

• the Shifting Baseline Syndrome

• and much much more.

 

I hope this conversation helps change the way you look at wildlife, technology, and climate change. And hopefully stokes up your sense of biophilia (your love and connection with nature).

And perhaps motivate you to take proactive steps to help innovate and implement solutions to the many challenges that we are facing.

Christopher J. Preston is a writer and professor based in Missoula, MT.

His academic research centers on wildlife, technology, and climate change.

Christopher has written for The Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, Discover, Orion, The Conversation, the Wall Street Journal, and The BBC. 

His recent book Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think About Animals investigates a number of species that came back from the brink of extinction.

Tenacious Beasts was listed by the New Yorker as one of their Best Books of 2023. And won the 2024 High Plains Book Award for non-fiction.

His previous book, The Synthetic Age: Out designing Evolution, Resurrecting Species, and Reengineering Our World, has been translated into six languages and won a silver medal from Nautilus in the ecology and environment category.

Christopher gives talks in state parks, libraries, and breweries across Montana to audiences interested in conservation and technology.

In early 2023, he won an annual award from the International Society for Environmental Ethics for his work as a public philosopher.