Coming to terms with human-altered nature
Welcome to Ramin’s Space, the newsletter from journalist and writer Ramin Skibba, which you can read about here. If you like it, please consider subscribing and sharing this post.
This edition includes a couple new stories I’ve published as well as a sampling of others I’ve picked involving science, space and society. Happy reading!
Tales of Nature Altered by Human Hands
What do reengineered coastlines, de-extinction, lab-grown meat, and invisible cancerous chemicals have in common? They’re all parts of our controversial transformations of the natural world. Where do we draw the line? Read about the connections between these disparate issues and debates in my new book review for Undark magazine.
Gardener of the Sea
A handful of coral farmers are trying to do their part to help save coral reefs while they’re threatened by climate change that warms the oceans and acidifies the waters. Check out my feature story in Pomona College Magazine, where I talk to them about how their coral farming works and what role it can play.
In other writing...
Inequality’s deadly toll
Poverty, racial discrimination and worker exploitation all had something to do with the rapid spread of COVID-19 as well as many other diseases before it. As Amy Maxmen writes in Nature magazine, public health researchers are only beginning to take these inequalities seriously.
The booming business in America’s forests
Wood pellets, a proposed climate solution, have become contentious and split communities and environmentalists in North Carolina and elsewhere. While the industry has generated rural jobs, it’s also a source of pollution and has arguably damaged forests. Fascinating New York Times story by Gabriel Popkin.
The miracle of the commons
As an argument for environmental regulation, people often refer to the “tragedy of the commons,” with too many interests scrambling for limited resources. But Michelle Nijhuis points out in this Aeon magazine essay that that’s a misleading myth. Community-based conservation can be a force for good, if people are given the chance.
The challenges of animal translation
Will we ever understand what animals say to one another? Scientists have long known that most animals communicate with each other in various ways, and some species are downright chatty. New artificial intelligence algorithms may offer researchers the chance to learn more, and it could improve relationships with our fellow animals. Interesting New Yorker story by Philip Ball.
The biology of grief
I recommend this moving piece by Ann Finkbeiner in the New York Times about what biologists and psychologists have learned about how we handle grief. In the end though, grief is as hard to study as love.
What I’m reading: Telephone, a new novel by Percival Everett about grief and loss and many other things. Apparently there are three versions of the book, and I’m not sure which one I have.
Looking back: Three years ago this month, I wrote an opinion piece in The Hill about space environmentalism, if you will. Space seems vast, like the oceans, but neither is too big for pollution to accumulate or for ships to engage in conflict.
More about me: I’m an astrophysicist turned science writer and freelance journalist based in San Diego. You can find me at my website, raminskibba.net and on Twitter @raminskibba. I’m also former president of the San Diego Science Writers Association (SANDSWA) and on the board of the National Association of Science Writers (NASW), though the opinions I express are mine alone. If someone has forwarded this email to you, you’re welcome to subscribe too.