Alain Guillot

Life, Leadership, and Money Matters

207 Ruth DeFries, What Would Nature Do?

Ruth DeFries is a professor of ecology and sustainable development at Columbia University in New York.

She uses images from satellites to track how the world’s demands for food and other resources are changing the planet. 

Ruth DeFries has worked throughout the tropics, including the Brazilian Amazon, India, and other countries, and has developed innovative educational programs in sustainable development. 

She earned a Ph.D. in Geography and Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Washington University in St. Louis. 

DeFries was elected as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, one of the country’s highest scientific honors, received a MacArthur “genius” award, and is the recipient of many other honors for her scientific research. 

Ruth DeFries

In addition to authoring over 100 scientific papers, Ruth DeFries co-authored the popular book One Earth, One Future. The Big Ratchet was inspired by several decades of observing the pervasive footprint of humanity on the planet through satellite pictures and research in the Amazon, Africa, and Asia.

Ruth DeFries wrote “What Would Nature Do?” with an eye towards humanity’s uncertain future in a complex world.

What Would Nature Do?: A Guide for Our Uncertain Times

What Would Nature Do? by Ruth DeFries

Not long ago, the future seemed predictable. Now, certainty about the course of civilization has given way to fear and doubt. Raging fires, ravaging storms, political upheavals, financial collapse, and deadly pandemics lie ahead―or are already here. The world feels less comprehensible and more dangerous, and no one, from individuals to businesses and governments, knows how to navigate the path forward.

Ruth DeFries argues that a surprising set of time-tested strategies from the natural world can help humanity weather these crises. Through trial and error over the eons, life has evolved astonishing and counterintuitive tricks in order to survive.

DeFries details how a handful of fundamental strategies―investments in diversity, redundancy over efficiency, self-correcting feedbacks, and decisions based on bottom-up knowledge―enable life to persist through unpredictable, sudden shocks. Lessons for supply chains from a leaf’s intricate network of veins and stock market-saving “circuit breakers” patterned on planetary cycles reveal the power of these approaches for modern life.

With humility and willingness to apply nature’s experience to our human-constructed world, DeFries demonstrates, we can withstand uncertain and perilous times. Exploring the lessons that life on Earth can teach us about coping with complexity, What Would Nature Do? offers timely options for civilization to reorganize for a safe and prosperous future.

Where to find Ruth DeFries

Website: www.ruthdefries.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthdefries

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