The control of the control of nature with Elizabeth Kolbert

07/26/21 • 62 min

Elizabeth Kolbert is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction. Her most recent book, Under a White Sky, looks at the unintended consequences of human attempts to control nature with technology.

"We're now intervening to counter the effects of our own intervention," Kolbert says. "I call it the control of the control of nature."

When it comes to climate change, the question that lies at the heart of Under a White Sky is essentially whether various experiments in geoengineering are a distraction from cutting emissions, or whether things have gotten so bad that we need to consider these interventions.

James caught up with Elizabeth about this and what our priorities should be when it comes to addressing the climate crisis – action to cut emissions, even though it might not be enough globally, or take the risk of using technology to geoengineer the climate, at all the potential consequences that could entail.

We had a few technical difficulties with this one and had to rely on the recording function on Zoom, which doesn't offer the best sound quality - but it doesn't get in the way of a great conversation!

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback at [email protected].

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"We're now intervening to counter the effects of our own intervention," Kolbert says. "I call it the control of the control of nature."

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback at [email protected].

Follow James on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Building political support for the transition with David Axelrod

This week James catches up with the former chief strategist and senior advisor to President Obama, David Axelrod.

James and David talk about the tensions between consensus building and the need for urgent action when it comes to climate action. They also talk about the need to tell a positive story about how climate action will benefit people's lives.

David shares his experience of working on 150 campaigns across the U.S., including Barrack Obama's two historic elections in 2008 and 2012, and highlights the importance of bringing people along on the journey net-zero.

Obama himself has said his administration did not “adapt quickly enough to the fact that there were people being left behind and that frustrations were going to flare up.” This is something we will all need to be aware of.

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback at [email protected].

Follow James on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Climate change, security, and geo-politics with Ben Rhodes

We're back! And for this episode we're lucky to welcome the one and only Ben Rhodes onto the show.

Ben spent eight years with President Barack Obama - as a close confidante, speechwriter, national security advisor, and friend.

He was there when the Paris Agreement was signed, and at Obama's side every step of the way towards that historic moment - including the breakthrough with China that ultimately paved the way for the agreement.

We hope you enjoy this one. It's rare to get to speak with someone who has been so close to the highest levels of climate politics.

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback at [email protected].

Follow James on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.