Are we humans but mere interlopers in nature?

For those interested in a serious alternative on environmental issues, I commend for your reading the work of Daniel Botkin.   Botkin’s work has been covered before on Conservefewell by Tracy Mehan – Humanity’s Relationship to the Natural World, covering Botkin’s most recent book, The Moon in the Nautilus Shell.  Well-known for his scientific contributions in ecology and environment, he has also worked as a professional journalist and has degrees in physics, biology, and literature.  Botkin’s work focuses on how our cultural legacy often dominates what we believe to be scientific solutions.  He discusses the roles of scientists, businessmen, stakeholders, and government agencies in new approaches to environmental issues.  He also uses historical accounts by Lewis and Clark and Henry David Thoreau to discuss the character of nature and the relationship between people and nature.  Botkin is one of the best at explaining and breaking down the elements of this dynamic and evolving relationship.

Botkin has studied the issue of human-induced climate change since 1968, and regrettably, although not unexpectedly, has been savaged by some environmentalists because of his criticism of the politicization of the science and solutions involving the topic.   Here he is below testifying before the House Science Committee in May of last year on the IPCC’s AR5 report:

http://youtu.be/NDIYo1TvLAQ

Botkin’s perspective is refreshing on many levels, but principally because he offers a thoughtful refutation of the oft politically biased narrative on complex environmental matters.  Check out his work at his new subscription-based newsletter, dedicated to solving environmental problems by understanding how nature works.