So far in this blog series, I’ve talked about the management of things that live in places that can be located on the globe. Species, like elephants and mud snails. Ecosystems, like rain forests or coral reefs. On a smaller level, microclimates. These all matter very much. But there are even bigger challenges that have …
Backing into Eden, Chapter 17: A Fundamental Challenge Read More »
This is part three of three. Now that I’ve listed some of the ways humans use animals (traditional and GM) and talked  about ethics, I want to cover some reasons we may need GMO animals in the future. I want to remind readers that the highest ground is almost certainly to use conservation and respect …
Backing into Eden Chapter 16: Transgenic Animals and the Future Read More »
I knew there would be reading time on a recent trip to France and Italy for my mother’s birthday, so I stopped at the bookstore on my way out of SEATAC. I decided to be a reader rather than an author, to grab fiction for entertainment instead of some new way to do research for …
Reading Recommendation – Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver Read More »
I finished Frankenstein’s Cat on a recent long airplane ride. Â There’s tons of information on the internet, but this is the only book I’ve found so far that deals with the GM animals topic that I’m currently in the middle of a series of Backing into Eden posts about. While I knew about roughly three …
In the last post, I simply listed both our traditional and our “new†ways of using animals. Perhaps I was a little harsh, since humans have treated certain classes of animals like family. We have even gone so far as to evolve essentially symbiotic relationships. For example, I wouldn’t want our family dogs to have …
This series is a discussion of how we take responsibility for the birds and the beasts and the fields and the oceans and whatever Genesis left out (for example, the Bible doesn’t mention the atmosphere).  It’s time for some discussion of the future of animals and how we’ll use them. Yes, that’s blunt. Humans use …
Backing Into Eden Chapter 14: Human Use of Animals – Lists Read More »
Backing into Eden is not about how we are going back to the garden, but rather about how we need to re-approach the garden of the Earth armed with all we have learned and to actively care for what wildness and what nature we have left. It’s about how we need to take responsibility. That …
Our front yard is different than our back yard. The front is sunny and bright and grows flowers and moss-free grass. The back is partly shaded and often five degrees cooler. The two spaces have different micro-climates. This isn’t new science. Thomas Jefferson understood it. When he gardened at Monticello, he planted grapes on a …
Backing into Eden Chapter 12: Climate Whispering Read More »
Almost every summer weekend, there are programs in the local parks where volunteers gather to remove invasive blackberries and plant native plants. It’s a tough fight – the invasive berries are tall and thick-caned and full of stickers. Volunteers sometime emerge with torn long-sleeved shorts and red rivulets of blood on their arms. At least …
Backing into Eden Chapter 11: Invasion and Migration Read More »
I’m irked at how many elephants we’re losing to the ivory trade.  They are one of the most intelligent of animals, often ranked alongside dolphins. Elephants are beloved. They show up early in our lives, as the a common expression of the letter “e†in board books for babies.  They are the central exhibit in …
Backing into Eden – Chapter 10 – The Elephant Angels Read More »
