Earth in Human Hands

October 10, 2016
Grinspoon (Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life) brings an astrobiologist’s perspective to Earth’s current environmental woes. Without downplaying the planetary havoc humans have wrought, including global warming and habitat destruction, Grinspoon focuses on the long-term health of Earth’s ecosystems—meaning millions of years. He wonders whether humans will survive far enough into the future to have a lasting impact on life on Earth and throughout the cosmos. Grinspoon makes clear that while humans are not the first of Earth’s species to radically alter the environment, we are the first to be able to reflect on our actions. He argues that intentionally or not, humans have become novice planetary engineers, changing the nature of biogeochemical and atmospheric cycles. If humans learn to take control of planetary systems, they can make conscious choices that benefit future life, including preventing future ice ages and protecting the planet from devastating meteor impacts. Though Grinspoon overplays the Gaia metaphor of Earth being an integrated and sentient being, he broadens the scope of his work dramatically by paying a great deal of attention to the search for intelligent life in the universe. This is an optimistic and informative take on the future of Earth and humankind. Agent: Eric Lupfer, WME.

November 1, 2016
Another dispatch from the Anthropocene, the geological age in which humans dominate at the expense of all other lifeforms.Humankind, writes astrobiologist Grinspoon (Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life, 2003, etc.), has been busily making a "new planet" for decades. "We didn't ask for this," he avers, though of course we did in our demand for inexpensive, mass-produced goods, cheap gas, and climate-controlled comfort. Now, he writes, the task is to accept that we live in a new world and get good at surviving it: "our obligation now is to move beyond just lamenting the job we've done as reluctant, incompetent planet-shapers. We have to face the fact that we've become a planetary force, and figure out how to be a better one." That's not as stirring as the old whole-earth mantra, "We are as gods and might as well get good at it," but it'll do. Grinspoon examines some of what might come next as we leverage knowledge, technology, and other artifacts of our big brains to think our way out of some of the mess--geoengineering, for example, with a checklist that includes "planting lots of trees," as well as "ocean fertilization, algae farms, genetic engineering, and artificial photosynthesis." More than that, there's the business of getting machines to do our thinking for us, in the hope that Asimov's rules of robotics hold true and the smart machines don't decide that the world is better off without us. If not machine intelligence writ large, then, Grinspoon ventures, "much faster and more connected machines augmenting and acting in concert with much more widely connected humans." The book often feels like an overblown Wired article, but there's plenty of food for thought on the boundaries of hopeful futurism and catastrophism, with the author urging the view that apocalypse is not necessarily a foregone conclusion. A scattershot approach to an admittedly diffuse set of problems but of broad interest and with a refreshing chaser of optimism.

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December 1, 2016
Now that climate scientists have established beyond a reasonable doubt that man-made greenhouse gases play a major role in global warming, it's becoming transparently obvious that we humans are effectively behind the wheel, driving Earth toward its ultimate fate, for good or ill. In the face of this stark reality, one question becomes equally clear: How do we as a species steer the planet in the right direction to save ourselves and our fellow creatures? An astrobiologist by training, as well as a frequent advisor to NASA on space exploration, Grinspoon is well-placed to provide a unique set of answers to this inquiry. In a work that's less an orderly guidebook than a series of thoughtful and fascinating discussions, Grinspoon uses his knowledge of planetary ecosystems and geological change to speculate on humankind's potential earthly influence over thousands of years, pointing out that Homo sapiens has faced extinction before. Although Grinspoon acknowledges the daunting challenges ahead, his message is ultimately an optimistic one, arguing that man's acute self-awareness and technological creativity will ultimately win out.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2016

With humans now consciously altering Earth's evolution, it's time to take the long view on what that really means. A NASA astrobiologist who knows how to talk about science to the masses (with a Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication to prove it), Grinspoon has spent his career studying planets in catastrophe and can give us a 10,000-year perspective on how to handle Earth's own evolutionary ups and downs.

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