A Systems Approach to Dysfunction

by | Oct 25, 2017 | beyond idealism, beyond liberalism, Climate Change, Discursive Gap, Environmental Justice, Environmental Political Theory, exploitation, Industrial Epidemics, Oil Barons, parasitism, permaculture, pollution, Priorities, Systems thinking

One of the things that resonates the most about systems theory, is that it focuses on how different pieces of large puzzles interrelate and interlock. For, it is the inter aspect that gives phenomena movement, gusto, dynamism, spark. Speaking of things, essences,...

Owning Life versus Thwarting the Hygiene Hypothesis

by | Sep 10, 2017 | agroecology, animals, Biophilia, Biosemiotics, Bureaucratic quixotic, Communication, conservation, deep ecology, Interspecies Communication, permaculture, Perverse Incentives, Plants, Priorities, Side-effects, Systems thinking

  With such a provocative title as “Pet Ownership Protects Us Against Allergies,” UCSF’s Dr. Homer Boushey makes the claim that children brought up with pets inherit some of their protective microbes that mitigate against developing allergies....

Zero-Waste

by | Sep 9, 2017 | Uncategorized

Because we currently live in a throw-away economy, with devastating impacts on our psychology, social relationships, health, and environment, evolving away from this paradigm is paramount for our survival. The invention of cheap plastics in the 1950s seemed like a...

ExxonMobile Responds to Hurricane Harvey

by | Sep 2, 2017 | beyond liberalism, Discursive Gap, Industrial Epidemics, Normal is Over, normalization, Oil Barons, parasitism, Perverse Incentives, pollution, Priorities, Side-effects, Systems thinking, Uncategorized

Cognitive dissonance is a phenomena common amongst human beings who want to have their cake and eat it too. It comes from a willing ignorance to repress and suppress the world’s inconvenient truths and hold onto the frame (or fairytale) one inhabits (or chooses)...

US Misinformation Translation Guide

by | Aug 13, 2017 | Uncategorized

To cut through the very successful and rhetorically effective branding by fascists, I’ve developed a handy guide (to be expanded): (Alt-Fact) vs. (Brutal Reality) “Alt-Right” = NeoNazi “Snowflake” = Not interested in dehumanizing people;...

New paper published in Annals of Internal Medicine picked up by Reuters

by | Jul 17, 2017 | beyond liberalism, Bureaucratic quixotic, normalization, philosophy of science, Priorities, Side-effects, Systems thinking, Uncategorized, Wolves in sheep's clothing

Today, with co-authors Pamela M. Ling and Jesse Elias, our paper “The Pharmaceuticalization of the Tobacco Industry” appears in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Our interview with Reuters is available here. This work contributes to the study of industrial...

Monopolizing outdoor air

by | Jun 26, 2017 | Uncategorized

Dear Europe, It’s been a lovely trip. We hiked in the Austrian Alps, swam in the Baltic sea, and enjoyed the joyful chaos of Fête de la Musique in Berlin. Despite these beguiling adventures, I remain puzzled. You seem to have given a full monopoly of clear...

Biosemiotic Ethics special issue of ZfS

by | May 22, 2017 | Uncategorized

I’m happy to announce that the Biosemiotic Ethics special issue in the Zeitschrift für Semiotik I co-edited with Morten Tønnessen and Jonathan Beever has come out. It’s got the great semiotician John Deeley’s last article in it he wrote before...

For an Earth Free of Tobacco Waste

by | Apr 22, 2017 | Uncategorized

Here’s a guest blog post I did on the US Action on Smoking and Health website for Earth Day, titled “For an Earth Free of Tobacco Waste.” This work came out of the World Health Organization (WHO) chapter I wrote in the forthcoming The Environmental...