I'm sure you must be aware of this, Rob Lewis, but my research today has brought it to my attention.
"Alexander von Humboldt visited the lake [Lake Venencia, Venezuela] in 1800. He documented the negative impact of the surrounding population's land cultivation on the ecosystem. Deforestation and water diversion for irrigation led to the desiccation of Lake Valencia by dramatically reducing water levels. Lake Valencia is where Humboldt developed his conception of anthropogenic climate change.[2] He later wrote:
When forests are destroyed, as they are everywhere in America by the European planters, with an imprudent precipitation, the springs are entirely dried up, or become less abundant, The beds of the rivers remaining dry during a part of the year, are converted into torrents, whenever great rains fall on the heights. The sward and moss disappearing from the brush-wood on the sides of the mountains, the waters falling in rain are no longer impeded in their course: and instead of slowly augmenting the level of the rivers by progressive filtrations, they furrow during heavy showers the sides of the hills, bear down the loose soil, and form those sudden inundations that devastate the country.[3]"
Fascinating, James. Thank you. I am aware of Humboldt and his prescient observation, but as relates to South America. Central Chile is probably burning now for the same reasons.
My research is into the history of "ecology" and "the biosphere" prior to the naming of these two. Humboldt played a crucial role in the development of the concept of "biosphere" and "ecology" prior to these being given names.
My work is focusing on philosophy more than science, per se. I'm exploring and developing the notion of grounding contemporary philosophy in a biospheric perspective. So, yeah, I'm looking for the big fish to fry! LOL
That sounds like a very worthwhile thing to do. And at one time, wasn't philosophy and science considered the same thing, natural philosophy? As it turns out I'm writing a piece on Descartes right now, as someone with a dissociative disorder, who's basic pathology of separateness is manifest, and collapsing, all about us.
Yes, natural philosophy was a branch of both science and philosophy before science and philosophy had their stupid little divorce. (It was never a real divorce, but a pretend one, since these two are infinitely entangled from their ancient origins through to the present.)
What we call "modern science," sadly, it turns out, is largely an ideological framework, not what it pretends to be. And Humboldt's integrative and holistic approach to science is testament to this pre-modern (science) integrity, as Humboldt said over and again that we can't know nature without responding to it both intellectually/conceptually/theoretically but also aesthetically (and if he were here now he'd agree with me that the aesthetic and the ethical are deeply entwined as well).
John Muir is one of my heroes, as is Henry David Thoreau. And both of these men drew great inspiration from Humboldt, whose key idea was "the web of nature". Humboldt was then a proto-ecologist, but perhaps also the most important ecologist who ever lived, since his sensibility was a cosmological wholeness sensibility. He was, in other words, one with a relational ontology at his very heart and core -- though likely he could not yet articulate the contemporary notion of relational ontology.
I suspect, though I'm new to Humboldt studies, that Humboldt was among the most important philosophers of his time -- though he was a natural scientist, and not regarded as a philosopher in his own time.
"As typical of complex systems, it is not clear what causes what, but a series of changes are occurring. Because of the higher temperatures, or perhaps because of the higher CO2 concentration (or both at the same time), plants are keeping their stomata close longer. More than they did before the start of the VPD increase. Hence, they evapotranspirate less -- I think what's happening is a negative loop. It was already predicted in 1977 by Rawson et al. (cited in the paper).
A smaller VPD means less evapotranspiration, and less evapotranspiration means less rain, also in terms of the water transported inland by the biotic pump. The land is becoming drier, with rainfall concentrated in short bursts. The consequence is the current "global browning" that's replacing the earlier "global greening." It is not a small thing: forests risk disappearing. The whole ecosystem is at risk. In the meantime, those silly naked monkeys find nothing better to do than kill each other in large numbers. What to say?"
Do you publish your podcasts on Spotify as well?
I think Daniel did. I don't do the recording myself, just show up on others' podcasts. Thanks for asking.
Sorry I thought you recorded it, I found the one of Daniel!
Thanks Rob for sharing space! Enjoyed and was blessed by your words and heart.
Likewise, Daniel!
I'm sure you must be aware of this, Rob Lewis, but my research today has brought it to my attention.
"Alexander von Humboldt visited the lake [Lake Venencia, Venezuela] in 1800. He documented the negative impact of the surrounding population's land cultivation on the ecosystem. Deforestation and water diversion for irrigation led to the desiccation of Lake Valencia by dramatically reducing water levels. Lake Valencia is where Humboldt developed his conception of anthropogenic climate change.[2] He later wrote:
When forests are destroyed, as they are everywhere in America by the European planters, with an imprudent precipitation, the springs are entirely dried up, or become less abundant, The beds of the rivers remaining dry during a part of the year, are converted into torrents, whenever great rains fall on the heights. The sward and moss disappearing from the brush-wood on the sides of the mountains, the waters falling in rain are no longer impeded in their course: and instead of slowly augmenting the level of the rivers by progressive filtrations, they furrow during heavy showers the sides of the hills, bear down the loose soil, and form those sudden inundations that devastate the country.[3]"
From Wikipedia, Lake Valencia (Venezuela) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Valencia_(Venezuela)
Fascinating, James. Thank you. I am aware of Humboldt and his prescient observation, but as relates to South America. Central Chile is probably burning now for the same reasons.
My research is into the history of "ecology" and "the biosphere" prior to the naming of these two. Humboldt played a crucial role in the development of the concept of "biosphere" and "ecology" prior to these being given names.
My work is focusing on philosophy more than science, per se. I'm exploring and developing the notion of grounding contemporary philosophy in a biospheric perspective. So, yeah, I'm looking for the big fish to fry! LOL
That sounds like a very worthwhile thing to do. And at one time, wasn't philosophy and science considered the same thing, natural philosophy? As it turns out I'm writing a piece on Descartes right now, as someone with a dissociative disorder, who's basic pathology of separateness is manifest, and collapsing, all about us.
I'll look forward to seeing what you come with.
Yes, natural philosophy was a branch of both science and philosophy before science and philosophy had their stupid little divorce. (It was never a real divorce, but a pretend one, since these two are infinitely entangled from their ancient origins through to the present.)
What we call "modern science," sadly, it turns out, is largely an ideological framework, not what it pretends to be. And Humboldt's integrative and holistic approach to science is testament to this pre-modern (science) integrity, as Humboldt said over and again that we can't know nature without responding to it both intellectually/conceptually/theoretically but also aesthetically (and if he were here now he'd agree with me that the aesthetic and the ethical are deeply entwined as well).
John Muir is one of my heroes, as is Henry David Thoreau. And both of these men drew great inspiration from Humboldt, whose key idea was "the web of nature". Humboldt was then a proto-ecologist, but perhaps also the most important ecologist who ever lived, since his sensibility was a cosmological wholeness sensibility. He was, in other words, one with a relational ontology at his very heart and core -- though likely he could not yet articulate the contemporary notion of relational ontology.
I suspect, though I'm new to Humboldt studies, that Humboldt was among the most important philosophers of his time -- though he was a natural scientist, and not regarded as a philosopher in his own time.
Strange world, no?
And getting stranger. You're not the first person to enthuse about Humboldt. Now I need to learn about him. What would you suggest I start with?
I have yet to read this book, myself, but now I cannot wait to read it!:
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/23995249
And these videos may be a good intro to the whole thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeHGGgEfCes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgvX0QdYI6M
This may be of interest:
Excepted from https://theproudholobionts.substack.com/p/are-the-worlds-forest-dying-bad-news
"As typical of complex systems, it is not clear what causes what, but a series of changes are occurring. Because of the higher temperatures, or perhaps because of the higher CO2 concentration (or both at the same time), plants are keeping their stomata close longer. More than they did before the start of the VPD increase. Hence, they evapotranspirate less -- I think what's happening is a negative loop. It was already predicted in 1977 by Rawson et al. (cited in the paper).
A smaller VPD means less evapotranspiration, and less evapotranspiration means less rain, also in terms of the water transported inland by the biotic pump. The land is becoming drier, with rainfall concentrated in short bursts. The consequence is the current "global browning" that's replacing the earlier "global greening." It is not a small thing: forests risk disappearing. The whole ecosystem is at risk. In the meantime, those silly naked monkeys find nothing better to do than kill each other in large numbers. What to say?"