TEDSummit
Emma Marris: Nature is everywhere -- we just need to learn to see it
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How do you define "nature?" If we define it as that which is untouched by humans, then we won't have any left, says environmental writer Emma Marris. She urges us to consider a new definition of nature -- one that includes not only pristine wilderness but also the untended patches of plants growing in urban spaces -- and encourages us to bring our children out to touch and tinker with it, so that one day they might love and protect it.
Emma Marris - Environmental writer
Emma Marris is a writer focusing on environmental science, policy and culture, with an approach that she paints as being "more interested in finding and describing solutions than delineating problems, and more interested in joy than despair." Full bio
Emma Marris is a writer focusing on environmental science, policy and culture, with an approach that she paints as being "more interested in finding and describing solutions than delineating problems, and more interested in joy than despair." Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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We are stealing nature from our children.
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Now, when I say this, I don't mean
that we are destroying nature
that we are destroying nature
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that they will have wanted us to preserve,
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although that is
unfortunately also the case.
unfortunately also the case.
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What I mean here is that we've started
to define nature in a way
to define nature in a way
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that's so purist and so strict
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that under the definition
we're creating for ourselves,
we're creating for ourselves,
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there won't be any nature
left for our children
left for our children
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when they're adults.
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But there's a fix for this.
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So let me explain.
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Right now, humans use half of the world
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to live, to grow their crops
and their timber,
and their timber,
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to pasture their animals.
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If you added up all the human beings,
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we would weigh 10 times as much
as all the wild mammals put together.
as all the wild mammals put together.
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We cut roads through the forest.
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We have added little plastic particles
to the sand on ocean beaches.
to the sand on ocean beaches.
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We've changed the chemistry of the soil
with our artificial fertilizers.
with our artificial fertilizers.
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And of course, we've changed
the chemistry of the air.
the chemistry of the air.
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So when you take your next breath,
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you'll be breathing in
42 percent more carbon dioxide
42 percent more carbon dioxide
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than if you were breathing in 1750.
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So all of these changes, and many others,
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have come to be kind of lumped together
under this rubric of the "Anthropocene."
under this rubric of the "Anthropocene."
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And this is a term
that some geologists are suggesting
that some geologists are suggesting
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we should give to our current epoch,
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given how pervasive
human influence has been over it.
human influence has been over it.
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Now, it's still just a proposed epoch,
but I think it's a helpful way
but I think it's a helpful way
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to think about the magnitude
of human influence on the planet.
of human influence on the planet.
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So where does this put nature?
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What counts as nature in a world
where everything is influenced by humans?
where everything is influenced by humans?
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So 25 years ago, environmental writer
Bill McKibben said
Bill McKibben said
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that because nature
was a thing apart from man
was a thing apart from man
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and because climate change meant
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that every centimeter of the Earth
was altered by man,
was altered by man,
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then nature was over.
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In fact, he called his book
"The End of Nature."
"The End of Nature."
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I disagree with this.
I just disagree with this.
I just disagree with this.
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I disagree with this definition of nature,
because, fundamentally, we are animals.
because, fundamentally, we are animals.
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Right? Like, we evolved on this planet
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in the context of all the other animals
with which we share a planet,
with which we share a planet,
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and all the other plants,
and all the other microbes.
and all the other microbes.
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And so I think that nature
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is not that which is untouched
by humanity, man or woman.
by humanity, man or woman.
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I think that nature
is anywhere where life thrives,
is anywhere where life thrives,
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anywhere where there are
multiple species together,
multiple species together,
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anywhere that's green and blue
and thriving and filled with life
and thriving and filled with life
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and growing.
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And under that definition,
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things look a little bit different.
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Now, I understand that there
are certain parts of this nature
are certain parts of this nature
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that speak to us in a special way.
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Places like Yellowstone,
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or the Mongolian steppe,
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or the Great Barrier Reef
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or the Serengeti.
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Places that we think of
as kind of Edenic representations
as kind of Edenic representations
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of a nature before
we screwed everything up.
we screwed everything up.
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And in a way, they are less impacted
by our day to day activities.
by our day to day activities.
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Many of these places
have no roads or few roads,
have no roads or few roads,
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so on, like such.
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But ultimately, even these Edens
are deeply influenced by humans.
are deeply influenced by humans.
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Now, let's just take
North America, for example,
North America, for example,
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since that's where we're meeting.
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So between about 15,000 years ago
when people first came here,
when people first came here,
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they started a process
of interacting with the nature
of interacting with the nature
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that led to the extinction
of a big slew of large-bodied animals,
of a big slew of large-bodied animals,
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from the mastodon
to the giant ground sloth,
to the giant ground sloth,
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saber-toothed cats,
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all of these cool animals
that unfortunately are no longer with us.
that unfortunately are no longer with us.
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And when those animals went extinct,
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you know, the ecosystems
didn't stand still.
didn't stand still.
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Massive ripple effects
changed grasslands into forests,
changed grasslands into forests,
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changed the composition of forest
from one tree to another.
from one tree to another.
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So even in these Edens,
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even in these perfect-looking places
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that seem to remind us
of a past before humans,
of a past before humans,
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we're essentially looking
at a humanized landscape.
at a humanized landscape.
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Not just these prehistoric humans,
but historical humans, indigenous people
but historical humans, indigenous people
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all the way up until the moment
when the first colonizers showed up.
when the first colonizers showed up.
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And the case is the same
for the other continents as well.
for the other continents as well.
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Humans have just been involved in nature
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in a very influential way
for a very long time.
for a very long time.
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Now, just recently, someone told me,
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"Oh, but there are still wild places."
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And I said, "Where? Where? I want to go."
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And he said, "The Amazon."
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And I was like, "Oh, the Amazon.
I was just there.
I was just there.
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It's awesome. National Geographic
sent me to Manú National Park,
sent me to Manú National Park,
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which is in the Peruvian Amazon,
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but it's a big chunk of rainforest,
uncleared, no roads,
uncleared, no roads,
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protected as a national park,
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one of the most, in fact,
biodiverse parks in the world.
biodiverse parks in the world.
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And when I got in there with my canoe,
what did I find, but people.
what did I find, but people.
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People have been living there
for hundreds and thousands of years.
for hundreds and thousands of years.
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People live there, and they don't
just float over the jungle.
just float over the jungle.
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They have a meaningful relationship
with the landscape.
with the landscape.
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They hunt. They grow crops.
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They domesticate crops.
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They use the natural resources
to build their houses,
to build their houses,
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to thatch their houses.
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They even make pets out of animals
that we consider to be wild animals.
that we consider to be wild animals.
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These people are there
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and they're interacting
with the environment
with the environment
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in a way that's really meaningful
and that you can see in the environment.
and that you can see in the environment.
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Now, I was with
an anthropologist on this trip,
an anthropologist on this trip,
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and he told me, as we were
floating down the river,
floating down the river,
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he said, "There are
no demographic voids in the Amazon."
no demographic voids in the Amazon."
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This statement has really stuck with me,
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because what it means
is that the whole Amazon is like this.
is that the whole Amazon is like this.
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There's people everywhere.
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And many other
tropical forests are the same,
tropical forests are the same,
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and not just tropical forests.
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People have influenced
ecosystems in the past,
ecosystems in the past,
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and they continue
to influence them in the present,
to influence them in the present,
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even in places where
they're harder to notice.
they're harder to notice.
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So, if all of the definitions of nature
that we might want to use
that we might want to use
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that involve it being
untouched by humanity
untouched by humanity
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or not having people in it,
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if all of those actually give us
a result where we don't have any nature,
a result where we don't have any nature,
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then maybe they're the wrong definitions.
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Maybe we should define it
by the presence of multiple species,
by the presence of multiple species,
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by the presence of a thriving life.
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Now, if we do it that way,
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what do we get?
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Well, it's this kind of miracle.
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All of a sudden,
there's nature all around us.
there's nature all around us.
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All of a sudden,
we see this Monarch caterpillar
we see this Monarch caterpillar
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munching on this plant,
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and we realize that there it is,
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and it's in this empty lot in Chattanooga.
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And look at this empty lot.
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I mean, there's, like, probably,
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a dozen, minimum,
plant species growing there,
plant species growing there,
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supporting all kinds of insect life,
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and this is a completely unmanaged space,
a completely wild space.
a completely wild space.
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This is a kind of wild nature
right under our nose,
right under our nose,
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that we don't even notice.
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And there's an interesting
little paradox, too.
little paradox, too.
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So this nature,
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this kind of wild, untended part
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of our urban, peri-urban,
suburban agricultural existence
suburban agricultural existence
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that flies under the radar,
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it's arguably more wild
than a national park,
than a national park,
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because national parks
are very carefully managed
are very carefully managed
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in the 21st century.
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Crater Lake in southern Oregon,
which is my closest national park,
which is my closest national park,
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is a beautiful example of a landscape
that seems to be coming out of the past.
that seems to be coming out of the past.
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But they're managing it carefully.
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One of the issues they have now
is white bark pine die-off.
is white bark pine die-off.
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White bark pine
is a beautiful, charismatic --
is a beautiful, charismatic --
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I'll say it's a charismatic megaflora
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that grows up at high altitude --
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and it's got all these problems
right now with disease.
right now with disease.
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There's a blister rust
that was introduced,
that was introduced,
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bark beetle.
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So to deal with this,
the park service has been planting
the park service has been planting
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rust-resistant white bark
pine seedlings in the park,
pine seedlings in the park,
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even in areas that they are
otherwise managing as wilderness.
otherwise managing as wilderness.
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And they're also putting out
beetle repellent in key areas
beetle repellent in key areas
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as I saw last time I went hiking there.
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And this kind of thing is really
much more common than you would think.
much more common than you would think.
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National parks are heavily managed.
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The wildlife is kept to a certain
population size and structure.
population size and structure.
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Fires are suppressed.
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Fires are started.
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Non-native species are removed.
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Native species are reintroduced.
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And in fact, I took a look,
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and Banff National Park
is doing all of the things I just listed:
is doing all of the things I just listed:
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suppressing fire, having fire,
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radio-collaring wolves,
reintroducing bison.
reintroducing bison.
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It takes a lot of work to make
these places look untouched.
these places look untouched.
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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And in a further irony,
these places that we love the most
these places that we love the most
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are the places that we love
a little too hard, sometimes.
a little too hard, sometimes.
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A lot of us like to go there,
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and because we're managing
them to be stable
them to be stable
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in the face of a changing planet,
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they often are becoming
more fragile over time.
more fragile over time.
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Which means that they're
the absolute worst places
the absolute worst places
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to take your children on vacation,
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because you can't do anything there.
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You can't climb the trees.
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You can't fish the fish.
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You can't make a campfire
out in the middle of nowhere.
out in the middle of nowhere.
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You can't take home the pinecones.
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There are so many rules and restrictions
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that from a child's point of view,
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this is, like, the worst nature ever.
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Because children don't want to hike
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through a beautiful landscape
for five hours
for five hours
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and then look at a beautiful view.
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That's maybe what we want to do as adults,
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but what kids want to do
is hunker down in one spot
is hunker down in one spot
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and just tinker with it,
just work with it,
just work with it,
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just pick it up, build a house,
build a fort, do something like that.
build a fort, do something like that.
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Additionally, these sort of Edenic places
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are often distant from where people live.
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And they're expensive to get to.
They're hard to visit.
They're hard to visit.
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So this means that they're
only available to the elites,
only available to the elites,
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and that's a real problem.
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The Nature Conservancy
did a survey of young people,
did a survey of young people,
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and they asked them, how often
do you spend time outdoors?
do you spend time outdoors?
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And only two out of five
spent time outdoors
spent time outdoors
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at least once a week.
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The other three out of five
were just staying inside.
were just staying inside.
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And when they asked them why,
what are the barriers to going outside,
what are the barriers to going outside,
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the response of 61 percent was,
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"There are no natural areas near my home."
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And this is crazy.
This is just patently false.
This is just patently false.
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I mean, 71 percent of people in the US
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live within a 10-minute walk
of a city park.
of a city park.
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And I'm sure the figures
are similar in other countries.
are similar in other countries.
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And that doesn't even count
your back garden,
your back garden,
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the urban creek, the empty lot.
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Everybody lives near nature.
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Every kid lives near nature.
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We've just somehow
forgotten how to see it.
forgotten how to see it.
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We've spent too much time
watching David Attenborough documentaries
watching David Attenborough documentaries
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where the nature is really sexy --
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(Laughter)
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and we've forgotten how to see the nature
that is literally right outside our door,
that is literally right outside our door,
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the nature of the street tree.
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So here's an example: Philadelphia.
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There's this cool elevated railway
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that you can see from the ground,
that's been abandoned.
that's been abandoned.
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Now, this may sound like the beginning
of the High Line story in Manhattan,
of the High Line story in Manhattan,
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and it's very similar, except they haven't
developed this into a park yet,
developed this into a park yet,
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although they're working on it.
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So for now, it's still this little
sort of secret wilderness
sort of secret wilderness
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in the heart of Philadelphia,
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and if you know where the hole is
in the chain-link fence,
in the chain-link fence,
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you can scramble up to the top
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11:19
and you can find this
completely wild meadow
completely wild meadow
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just floating above
the city of Philadelphia.
the city of Philadelphia.
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Every single one of these plants
grew from a seed
grew from a seed
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that planted itself there.
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11:28
This is completely autonomous,
self-willed nature.
self-willed nature.
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And it's right in the middle of the city.
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And they've sent people up there
to do sort of biosurveys,
to do sort of biosurveys,
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and there are over 50
plant species up there.
plant species up there.
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And it's not just plants.
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This is an ecosystem,
a functioning ecosystem.
a functioning ecosystem.
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It's creating soil.
It's sequestering carbon.
It's sequestering carbon.
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There's pollination going on.
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11:49
I mean, this is really an ecosystem.
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11:53
So scientists have started calling
ecosystems like these "novel ecosystems,"
ecosystems like these "novel ecosystems,"
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because they're often
dominated by non-native species,
dominated by non-native species,
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11:59
and because they're just super weird.
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12:01
They're just unlike anything
we've ever seen before.
we've ever seen before.
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12:04
For so long, we dismissed
all these novel ecosystems as trash.
all these novel ecosystems as trash.
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12:08
We're talking about
regrown agricultural fields,
regrown agricultural fields,
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12:10
timber plantations that are not
being managed on a day-to-day basis,
being managed on a day-to-day basis,
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12:14
second-growth forests generally,
the entire East Coast,
the entire East Coast,
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12:16
where after agriculture moved west,
the forest sprung up.
the forest sprung up.
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12:21
And of course, pretty much all of Hawaii,
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12:23
where novel ecosystems are the norm,
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where exotic species totally dominate.
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12:29
This forest here has Queensland maple,
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12:31
it has sword ferns from Southeast Asia.
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12:35
You can make your own
novel ecosystem, too.
novel ecosystem, too.
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12:37
It's really simple.
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You just stop mowing your lawn.
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12:40
(Laughter)
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Ilkka Hanski was an ecologist in Finland,
and he did this experiment himself.
and he did this experiment himself.
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12:45
He just stopped mowing his lawn,
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12:46
and after a few years,
he had some grad students come,
he had some grad students come,
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12:49
and they did sort of
a bio-blitz of his backyard,
a bio-blitz of his backyard,
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12:52
and they found 375 plant species,
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12:56
including two endangered species.
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12:59
So when you're up there
on that future High Line of Philadelphia,
on that future High Line of Philadelphia,
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13:06
surrounded by this wildness,
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surrounded by this diversity,
this abundance, this vibrance,
this abundance, this vibrance,
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13:11
you can look over the side
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13:12
and you can see a local playground
for a local school,
for a local school,
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13:16
and that's what it looks like.
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13:18
These children have, that --
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13:20
You know, under my definition,
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13:21
there's a lot of the planet
that counts as nature,
that counts as nature,
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13:24
but this would be one of the few places
that wouldn't count as nature.
that wouldn't count as nature.
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13:27
There's nothing there except humans,
no other plants, no other animals.
no other plants, no other animals.
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13:30
And what I really wanted to do
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13:32
was just, like,
throw a ladder over the side
throw a ladder over the side
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13:34
and get all these kids to come up with me
into this cool meadow.
into this cool meadow.
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13:38
In a way, I feel like this is
the choice that faces us.
the choice that faces us.
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13:41
If we dismiss these new natures
as not acceptable or trashy or no good,
as not acceptable or trashy or no good,
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13:47
we might as well just pave them over.
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13:49
And in a world where
everything is changing,
everything is changing,
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13:52
we need to be very careful
about how we define nature.
about how we define nature.
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13:55
In order not to steal it
from our children,
from our children,
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13:57
we have to do two things.
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13:59
First, we cannot define nature
as that which is untouched.
as that which is untouched.
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14:04
This never made any sense anyway.
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14:05
Nature has not been untouched
for thousands of years.
for thousands of years.
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14:08
And it excludes most of the nature
that most people can visit
that most people can visit
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14:12
and have a relationship with,
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14:14
including only nature
that children cannot touch.
that children cannot touch.
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14:18
Which brings me to the second thing
that we have to do,
that we have to do,
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14:21
which is that we have to
let children touch nature,
let children touch nature,
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14:23
because that which
is untouched is unloved.
is untouched is unloved.
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14:26
(Applause)
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14:35
We face some pretty grim
environmental challenges on this planet.
environmental challenges on this planet.
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14:39
Climate change is among them.
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14:40
There's others too:
habitat loss is my favorite thing
habitat loss is my favorite thing
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14:43
to freak out about
in the middle of the night.
in the middle of the night.
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14:45
But in order to solve them,
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14:47
we need people --
smart, dedicated people --
smart, dedicated people --
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14:50
who care about nature.
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14:51
And the only way we're going to raise up
a generation of people
a generation of people
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14:54
who care about nature
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14:56
is by letting them touch nature.
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14:58
I have a Fort Theory of Ecology,
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15:00
Fort Theory of Conservation.
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15:02
Every ecologist I know,
every conservation biologist I know,
every conservation biologist I know,
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15:05
every conservation professional I know,
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15:07
built forts when they were kids.
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15:10
If we have a generation
that doesn't know how to build a fort,
that doesn't know how to build a fort,
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15:13
we'll have a generation that doesn't
know how to care about nature.
know how to care about nature.
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15:17
And I don't want
to be the one to tell this kid,
to be the one to tell this kid,
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15:19
who is on a special program
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15:20
that takes Philadelphia kids
from poor neighborhoods
from poor neighborhoods
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15:23
and takes them to city parks,
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15:24
I don't want to be the one to tell him
that the flower he's holding
that the flower he's holding
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15:27
is a non-native invasive weed
that he should throw away as trash.
that he should throw away as trash.
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15:31
I think I would much rather
learn from this boy
learn from this boy
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15:34
that no matter
where this plant comes from,
where this plant comes from,
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15:37
it is beautiful, and it deserves
to be touched and appreciated.
to be touched and appreciated.
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15:41
Thank you.
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15:43
(Applause)
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8190
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Emma Marris - Environmental writerEmma Marris is a writer focusing on environmental science, policy and culture, with an approach that she paints as being "more interested in finding and describing solutions than delineating problems, and more interested in joy than despair."
Why you should listen
Emma Marris has written among others for Nature, Discover and the New York Times. She challenges the notion that nature can only be preserved in its pristine, pre-human state, a too-narrow characterization "that thwarts bold new plans to save the environment and prevents us from having a fuller relationship with nature." Humans have changed the landscape they inhabit since prehistory, and climate change means even the remotest places now bear the fingerprints of humanity. In her book Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in the Post-Wild World, she argues that we need different strategies for saving nature and champions a blurring of the lines between nature and people for a responsible care of our humanized planet.
Emma Marris | Speaker | TED.com