Ep. 16: “The Need to Smash the System” feat. Kristine Mattis

Photo by author: Clearcut for a Cannabis operation in Humboldt County, California

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Our choice is between ecocide & radical paradigm shift

Kristine Mattis received her PhD in Environmental Studies. As an interdisciplinary environmental scholar with a background in biology, earth system science, and policy, her research focuses on environmental risk information and science communication. Before returning to graduate school, Kristine worked as a medical researcher, as a science reporter for the U.S. Congressional Record, and as a science and health teacher. She is no relation to the mad-dog general.

I’ve been a big fan of Kristine’s writing for a few years now. More than once, I would have a particular thought about current events rolling around in my head that I wanted to write about, but then I’d go online and see that Kristine had just covered it. Few people are able to bring together science and compassion, or facts and ethics, or a sharp eye for both problems and solutions, as well as she does.

Kristine & I talked on June 1st and covered a lot of ground, including the dire state of the planet’s ecology; the disarming of US environmental law; genetically modified crops; the danger of overemphasizing carbon pollution; the willingness of people to change; the George Floyd protests; the folly of the “jobs jobs jobs” refrain; the myth of “progress”; the narcissism of social media; the fruitless attempt to make capitalism “green”; and the necessity of profound paradigm change.

Kristine’s blog

Kristine on Medium

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