“Okay, let’s do this.” These were my self-directed words of encouragement as I decided to take the right turn and head one final time up the hill of the outer ski loop. I had been keeping my eye on the clock as I had to pick my wife up from the airport in less than …
Who’s to Blame for Human Genome Editing? (….and other questions that don’t need answering but need thinking about)
With nearly two months elapsed since the world first learned of the existence of CRISPR-edited newborns living in China, it is worth pondering the response this momentous event generated. When considering what people have said about Chinese scientist He Jiankui’s exploits, a disconcerting feature emerges. The ethics of the scientist himself have been front and …
What a Christmas Tree Taught me about Politics
Although it happened nearly three decades ago, I still remember the smugness with which the visiting professor announced to the class that his op-ed had been published. The Washington Post had printed a piece he wrote about how nobody should be cutting down Christmas trees in order to bring them into their living room for …
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California’s Race to the Future
With memories of the devastating Camp Fire yet to be extinguished from our minds and with the chilling implications of the IPCC’s recent report on global temperatures settling in, perhaps there is some solace to be found in California’s efforts to salvage an escape-route from the approaching climate storm. The state has consistently been a …
Plastics: A Problem Reaching Beyond the Space and Time Horizon
This post was printed in The Conversation US last week. In the context of recent efforts to start cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it asks questions about the prospects for genuine plastics recycling. "The ocean is better off without it, of course, but the plastic problem has many more layers than it first …
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The End of Technology – Albert Borgmann
I'm lucky to have philosopher of technology Albert Borgmann as a friend and conversational partner here in Montana. He has already made a number of appearances on this blog with observations about Facebook, the iPhone, and the role of land as unifier in politics. Today this respected cultural commentator offers some thoughts that are bound to …
Christopher J. Preston 