Lives on Earth

3.8 Billion Years

  • Coming Soon: Fewer Humans

    I’ve always taken it for granted that the number of people on the planet was steadily rising. Where did I–where did we—get that impression? The sources have been all around us, some hidden in our vocabulary: “millions” of viewers watching… Continue reading

  • How Humans Live

    How do we humans spend our lives? All of us. Of all ages, in all time periods, urban and rural, at all economic strata. Are there daily, ordinary things that we do no matter where or when or how we… Continue reading

  • Ants As Pets and Pests

    Of the thirty or so ants that arrived with my ant farm, five are still alive after about six weeks. I never had much interest in keeping ants, but E. O. Wilson and Bert Hölldobler’s Journey to the Ants sparked… Continue reading

  • Time and Again

    Time goes by. The future comes towards us—or, to some, we move towards it. The future arrives in the present and then both settle into the past, gone but not forgotten. Or so it seems. Here’s another possibility: there is… Continue reading

  • Prickles, Thorns, Spines, Hooks

    Something is odd about the thorns on rose bushes. I noticed it when I was trimming the plants in the yard. To get at the inner twigs, I reached in and down while avoiding most of the barbs, then snipped… Continue reading

  • Pilgrimage to the Ancestors

    One day, every kind of living thing on our planet decided to travel back in time to find its first and original ancestor. Humans, ferns, lobsters, sparrows, porpoises, roses, earthworms, bacteria, redwood trees, kangaroos, to name only a few, started… Continue reading

  • “Life” in Other Words

    The word life has many meanings and uses. Too many, perhaps. The four-letter word can refer to (1) the duration of an individual’s existence, as in life-span, lifetime. It can mean (2) daily experiences, as in quality of life, making life easier.… Continue reading