Upcoming
Friday 16:00 @ Nordita 6th floor
The planet Earth is approaching the end of the Holocene, human resource consumption and emissions are an increasingly large share of global biogeochemical cycles and it seems our capacity to take decisive action is seriously limited by a rapidly fragmenting information ecosystem. Where once we were limited by a lack of information, we are increasingly crippled by an overabundance of information with no clear indication of quality. In this presentation I will attempt to connect the twin crises of knowledge and sustainability. I will take a trip through some of earth’s greatest hits to contextualize the current moment in earth history. Then I will take a closer look at the challenges we face today in creating a system of production and consumption within planetary and ethical boundaries. I will then introduce my own research into organic waste treatment, resource recovery, and systems assessments for emerging waste management systems. I will finish with a brief history of scientific knowledge, why the state of science today reflects our society’s information ecosystem, and how both might be improved by a little humility.