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Are human interests and nature in conflict, or are humans part of nature?

He later called the moon landing both entirely technological and entirely natural. Since 2017 John has said we are nature: a powerful force that has hurt biodiversity, yet need not be only destructive.

Axis: false dichotomy: humans are part of nature ... real trade-off between people and nature

Positions by date: 30 records in 29 videos. shift and revise mean the position moved; tension — disagreement with the other speaker.

John

date how position video
2016-12-20 first on record John says we are deciding right now what Earth's biodiversity will look like, not for 100 or 1,000 years but for many millions of years. How Giraffes Mate, and Why It Matters 00:03:26
2017-05-16 refine John says in real life humans can't be separated from nature: we are currently nature's most important species, and our choices affect every other species on Earth. The Introducer, My Childhood Dream Job 00:02:16
2017-09-19 restate Many call agriculture a mistake; John grants that agriculture and the human-centric planet it produced have been very bad for biodiversity on Earth. Why Cities? 00:02:15
2018-01-16 restate Nature is very important to John: we are nature just as much as birds and trees are. My Hollywood Star, Brexit Pears, and Hank's Book: It's QUESTION TUESDAY 00:02:19
2019-06-25 restate John rejects the expected lesson that humans shouldn't play God or mess with nature: the acclimatists were in many ways responding appropriately to developments in human history. Seemed Like a Good Idea: Eugene Schieffelin and the European Starlings 00:02:26
2019-07-02 restate John says he is inconsequential, a footnote to a footnote, yet it is wondrous to be here, to witness the sunset and know we are not just in the universe but of it. On Sunlight 00:03:30
2020-09-22 refine In a channel comment John says Teasdale misses the point: humans are a catastrophe for much life, but also the most interesting thing that ever happened to Earth. the world is gonna roll me
2020-09-22 restate John says we don't exist independently of weather, world or history, which is where the idea of nature's indifference breaks down for him: we are nature. the world is gonna roll me 00:02:07
2021-05-25 restate Nothing is more human than aggrandizing humans, but in the 21st century we really are a hugely powerful force on Earth. The Anthropocene Reviewed, Animated 00:08:14
2021-10-26 restate John says humans are not merely a force of destruction in the world and certainly don't have to be; the avocado is a reminder of that. Why Avocados Still Exist 00:03:15
2022-10-18 restate John says he needs to be outside, in the world, and to remember that he is of it. Terraverse Over Everything: Thoughts from London 00:03:45
2022-11-29 restate John says humans are very powerful and changing the biosphere, but should not exaggerate their power: we are just a form of life, a very small part of a very big world. The Weight of Life 00:02:26
2022-12-06 restate John says to be happy, and to create the word tapestries ChatGPT calls uniquely human, we need to live as organisms on a planet with other organisms. AI tells me if AI will write novels. 00:02:55
2023-10-03 restate John says in a city the human-shaped world is everywhere, even in the forest, from invasive ivy to the very polluted White River: there is no full separation between these worlds. Nourished by Leaving 00:01:50
2025-07-22 restate John says we are not observers of life on Earth but participants in it, so trees remind him how astonishing they are and how astonishing we are. At Least There Are Trees 00:04:41
2025-10-09 restate John likes being a land mammal and being reminded he is an organism, which he didn't always like; now he is drawn to his biology and to being a temporary but important force in the world. I Like Being Alive 00:04:05

Hank

date how position video
2009-12-16 first on record Hank says the Earth is much better at keeping us alive than we are, so humans must not destroy it. Project for Awesome: The Nature Conservancy 00:00:33
2010-01-11 refine Hank argues the environment-versus-economy battle is mistaken: ecosystems provide free services worth more than the world economy, so destroying them costs us long term. Ecosystem Services 101 with Hank 00:03:16
2013-05-10 restate Hank says humans have a profound and largely negative effect on the rest of the planet's life forms. Some Mind-Bending Earth GIFs 00:02:01
2013-05-31 revise Hank revises his earlier video on humanity's impact on Earth: it was paralyzing; humanity is not a cancer, as deforestation and dry rivers come from people trying to feed and better their families. → refers to Some Mind-Bending Earth GIFs Optimism is Not Insane 00:01:26
2014-02-07 refine Hank holds that humans, despite unforgivable harm and the environmental crisis, are worth it: human creation is as marvellous as nature and we create more than we destroy. Kill All The Humans 00:02:12
2017-03-24 refine Hank often sees the environmental movement belittle people's fun, and thinks it can go too far in imagining humanity as a blight on nature and all technology as a step backward; he cannot abide that. I Disagree with Me (Thoughts from Lake Powell) 00:04:16
2019-05-24 restate The ocean's other world knocked on Monterey's door and humans answered: the aquarium is an open door giving appreciation of the oceans and the understanding that this is all one planet to be treated as such. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Has a Secret 00:06:43
2019-08-23 restate Hank says an Amazon turned entirely into pasture and soybeans would be a disaster for the whole world and even more of a disaster for Brazil itself. The Amazon isn't "Burning" - It's Being Burned 00:05:09
2022-11-18 restate Having tried not to judge, Hank concludes it is bad to have an 85% decrease in wild mammal biomass. How Much Does Humanity Weigh? 00:02:35
2023-03-10 restate Hank says taking up all available space is not a human thing: ants, trees, bacteria and camels would fill the whole Earth if they could; that is how genes work. Is it Good or Bad that we Haven't Met Aliens? 00:00:32
2023-09-08 restate Hank says that done right, protecting traditional land uses can also be good for wildlife, though the two were thought strictly opposed. Giraffes are Way More Complicated Than We Thought 00:05:21
2024-10-04 restate Hank says the trees' mass extinction is in a way less worrying than people causing one, since people know better, but the trees were practically worse because they couldn't stop themselves, and we can. Trees are Destroying the Earth (Again) 00:04:33
2025-07-25 restate Hank says one might think humans worse than trees because we know what we do and can't stop, or better, because at least we might stop ourselves, which trees never could. The Molecule that Changed Everything 00:05:58
2026-04-03 refine Hank says humans went to the moon not because they solved its physics but because they couldn't stop wanting to: it is both entirely technological and entirely natural. I Had a Hallucination This Week 00:03:40