ecology – An Autonomous Agent

Scale – Geoffrey West

anautonomousagent — Sun, 12 Aug 2018 03:54:09 +0000

Scale, by Geoffrey West, is a thought provoking book about coarse grained quantitative network theories which concern the entire human species and its interaction with the environment. Although verbose — as I think the intended audience is upper high school and entry-level college — it is clear in its depictions and explanations. This book is an important summary of really profound work and research performed at the Santa Fe Institute. And it is a great introduction to understanding power laws and scaling in biology and network topologies.

New Theories on the Origin of Life with Dr. Eric Smith

anautonomousagent — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 15:09:31 +0000

Dr. Eric Smith’s lecture on the origin of life really challenged everything I thought I understood regarding how life functions and possibly originated on Earth. Make sure to watch the question and answer at the end for some good points regarding panspermia and Miller’s experiments.

Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World – Paul Stamets

anautonomousagent — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 17:56:28 +0000

Know nothing about mushrooms, fungi, or mycelia? — Paul Stamet’s Mycelium Running opens a door to an exotic universe beneath your feet. Fungi and their interaction with ecosystems upturn all of what you thought you knew about the button mushrooms on your salad or pizza. Fungi, simply and truely, are incredibly important and amazing organisms. And as Stamets proves, they are a powerful tool to maintain the world for all of our descendants — not to mention their ability to provide a healthy and functioning human immune system.

Fungi Perfecti is Stamet’s family owned company for those interested in supporting mycoremediation, mycoforestry, mycofiltration, or mycopesticides.

Auroville – City of the Dawn

anautonomousagent — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 17:16:38 +0000

These videos provide a fascinating look at the history and ongoing development of Auroville (City of the Dawn). Founded by Mirra Alfassa as a project of the Sri Aurobindo Society, it provides an example of a community designed to inspire unity and lead the way forward for humanity.

City of the Dawn is a summary of the city’s foundation and history since the late 1960’s and early 1970’s:

Auroville Towards a Sustainable Future shows the incredible ecological work required to repair and grow the land needed to sustain the city:

Millennium – David Maybury-Lewis

anautonomousagent — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 04:13:05 +0000

Millennium is a powerful and inspiring documentary series with David Maybury-Lewis.

Ecology of Mind – Nora Bateson Documentary

anautonomousagent — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 17:30:20 +0000

Nora Bateson, daughter of Gregory Bateson, created an insightful documentary about her father’s ideas. You can purchase the DVD here. I also found it on YouTube:

The Evolution of Ecological Consciousness

anautonomousagent — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:25:00 +0000

The Evolution of Ecological Consciousness is a well made and must watch presentation by the Permaculture designer Andrew Faust of the Center for Bioregional Living. He summarizes many of the ideas presented by Carl and Dorion Sagan and Lynn Margulis. In addition, he presents many fascinating visions for a future living experience in conjunction with biology.

A Stock Exchange for Species??

anautonomousagent — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 23:44:00 +0000

It seems to be entirely possible, and even beneficial, if there was an exchange, analogous to the NYSE, where traders and investors could buy and sell “shares” of a species. The exchange would begin by issuing an IPO on every species. For example, ticker symbol: QA could be the “stock” for Quercus alba.

We need to think outside the box to protect our environment and I see this a way to benefit both man and nature. Man will be awarded with more assets with which he can diversify his financial holdings; nature will win in various ways — including the proceeds of the IPO to protect the species.

This would be initiated to test the idea that a traded asset can be something more general than an organization consisting of human labor and assets.

You may argue that a stock must have a fundamental basis in the value of human commodities and labor. That may be true, however, what limits the definition extending to non-human commodities and the labor of nature? In any case, for the experienced investors, how many companies have you seen being valued in the billions with little or no assets and no profits? In fact, a species actually has an enormous value and potential in terms of biology, ecology, and the sustainability of human activity.

There are numerous possible arguments against this, which I would enjoy countering. Perhaps I will devote more to this in a future post.

Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth? – Alan Weisman

anautonomousagent — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 01:58:00 +0000

Being alive in this century of massive human growth and progress, we sometimes need a reminder that our actions and decisions shape the future of the entire Earth. This reminder came to my attention while reading Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?, by Alan Weisman. After reading, I was struck by an urge to find ways to help the Earth’s environment and I posted a suggestion on my blog. This is my first foray into the category of Environmental, Conservation, and Ecology. I will be looking for a new book to read on these subjects in the near future.