The Great Simplification Episode #8 -Peter Ward

Oceans: What's The Worst that Can Happen?

Greetings Substack/Podcast followers~

We have a lot of great content queued up in near future. The next 15 podcast conversations include: Dennis Meadows, Paul Ehrlich, John Gowdy, Joseph Tainter, Tristan Harris, Nora Bateson, Vicki Robin, Jamie Wheal, Rex Weyler and many others.  It is my hope that by covering: energy, complexity, the Superorganism, debt, inequality, systems ecology, governance, etc my own educational journey – shared alongside our listeners -will gradually converge on a clearer vision of which paths remain open to us – in contrast to the (much more popular) paths which are biophysical dead ends. A podcast therefore faces the same challenge as an e.g. 1 hour lecture – it’s hard to fit everything that’s relevant in – yet that is our goal.  These early conversations will naturally be heavy on integrating ‘the problem’ because the solutions/responses will only make sense once the core story has been unpacked

We live as part of the system. To understand – and attempt to change – the system we need to have knowledge on how it works - but that knowledge may in turn change what we care about and think is important. I do this work because the natural world – diminished as it is today relative to 10,000 years ago or 100 years ago, is still the most stunningly diverse and beautiful oasis of life in the known universe – is of utmost importance to me.   My heart has always felt this, but the journey to understand it took decades. I have been fortunate to cross paths with ecologists, biologists and the vanguard of scientists cataloging the ongoing risks to the natural world.

One of these icons – paleobiologist Peter Ward has become a friend over the years. Yes we need to look at economic systems and social systems and political systems to shine light on livable pathways forward. But underpinning it all - invisible to many - is the physical system that supports us all. Knowledge from Earth’s deep past deepens our awareness of what is possible, what to avoid and  - potentially changes what we care about.

Peter and I discuss mass extinctions of the past, the manifold risks climate change poses for the functioning of earth’s oceans, and other environmentally related trends – like the evolution of tuskless elephants leading to destruction of Earth’s coral reefs.

https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/08-peter-ward

Peter is a character – and I expect to have him back as a repeat guest.  With a goal of painting a tapestry of how we got here, what risks we face, and where we are going, I hope you enjoy this conversation with polymath, professor and author Dr Peter Ward.