So, I’ve decided to read a book that’s irked me off for a while: Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits that Make Us Human by Chip Walter. But I started reading it in the bookstore, and saw another opportunity to dissect something….and to feed my book addiction, of course.
From the back cover:
Among the [...]

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Saw this video on TED talks today….about the cultural adaptations of crows to human environments…interesting although I’m not a huge fan of this presenter’s criteria of intelligence. And the notion that in order for the negative attitude surrounding crows to change, they must become useful to humans. Well…boo to that for obvious reasons.

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“I believe it’s naive to think modern technology is simply a tool. Rather, it’s a social system that springs from and also yields a particular relationship with the world.” -Christopher Manes

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A somewhat scientifically controversial idea put forth by Harvard entomologist E.O. Wilson, the biophilia hypothesis is the idea that humans evolved as creatures intricantly enmeshed with the intracies of nature, and this affinity is embedded in our genotype. According to this idea, humans have an intrinsic need for meaningful contact with other life-forms.
David Harmon takes [...]

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From this article in Journal of Clinical Investigation: www.jci.org/112/9/1291
Here are some snippets I thought were REALLY interesting:
“Until recently, bacteria were considered to live rather asocial, reclusive lives. New research shows that, in fact, bacteria have elaborate chemical signaling systems that enable them to communicate within and between species. One signal, termed AI-2, appears to be [...]

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From an interview by Derrick Jensen with Thomas Berry:
“How does the wind speak to us? A biting wind on a winter’s day tells the person of harshness and the challenge of existence. It wants to make a person strong. And the softness of a summer breeze tells us of the compassionate dimension of the universe.
“People [...]

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(by SallyVon Vleck in Issue 5 of Gatherings)

The Council of All Beings is a ritual that grew out of the Despair and Empowerment work and the philosophy of deep ecology of Joanna Macy, Jonathon Seed and others. The purpose of this ritual is to look at the world through another species’ eyes and share this [...]

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We all know of GW Carver….the peanut dude, chemist, master agriculturalist. There’s a side to his story that many of us never hear- that of his deep connection and reverance for the plants he worked with.
As a child, local farmer’s wives brought him their sick houseplants for Carver to revive. He quickly became famous for [...]

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