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Nature, broadly speaking, is the natural, physical, or material world and the collective phenomena that occur within it. Over the course of human existence, we have accumulated extraordinary knowledge of the natural world. The problem is that rather than utilize that knowledge to further understand and improve our relationship with the natural world, we’ve taken what we know thus far and used it to try to bend nature to our will.

In his new book “A Natural History of the Future: What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species”, Dr. Rob Dunn argues that such endeavors will ultimately be fruitless. We are at nature’s mercy, not the other way around. Environmental efforts to mitigate climate change are not because we want to save Earth, but to save our species.

Today, I’m speaking with Dr. Rob Dunn, a Professor of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University. Rob heads the Public Science Lab at NC State, where he and his colleagues study the ecology, evolution, and biodiversity of humans and food. He is the author of 7 books and countless scientific publications on issues relating to the world around us. Rob’s research looks at the seemingly ordinary yet underexplored – things like alcoholic fruit flies, microbes in the home, parasites and nanobacteria, threats to our food supply, the evolution of flavor, and much more!

In this episode, we discuss: 

• The Emerging Field of Hologenomics
• How Anthropocentrism Affects Our Perception of Nature
• The Truth About Our Understanding of Life on Earth
• The Impact of Climate Change on Humans
• How Global Warming is Changing the Biosphere
• The Future of Conservation

Rob’s Books:
A Natural History of the World, Delicious, Never Home Alone, The Man Who Touched His Own Heart, The Wild Life of Our Bodies, Never Out of Season, Every Living Thing

Connect with Ahmed:

• Website: https://ahmednayel.com/ 
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• Twitter: @theahmednayel
• YouTube

References:

• Available on episode webpage

Reminder: Listening is great, but don’t forget to apply what you learned in your life.

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