#97: Children of the Wasteland: Experimental Biology vs. Global Catastrophe ch.1

(08/14/2026) Chapter One: Will the Wasteland Blossom? Here we search for synthetic biology-assisted interventions into runaway climate change and other catastrophic Earth changes. Our first chapter looks at the current state of climate science, and the schools of thought within it. We look at the physical metaphors we use to think about planetary change, such as “thresholds” and “collapse,” and how they constrain our ability to speak of the dynamic range of conceivable futures. We examine the sparse and contradictory literature on one particularly distressing climate feedback: the possibility of massive undersea methane release, discussing recent science indicating methane destabilization is quite possible in the near-future. We also examine the biology of the seafloor methane-sulfate transition zone, where a symbiotic association of microbes consumes methane from destabilized hydrates, maintaining atmospheric equilibrium. It is here we will begin a case study in stabilizing the climate system with techniques at the forefront of experimental biology.

Bibliography for episode 97:

Dale, A. W., P. Van Cappellen, D. R. Aguilera, and P. Regnier. “Methane Efflux from Marine Sediments in Passive and Active Margins: Estimations from Bioenergetic Reaction–Transport Simulations.” Earth and Planetary Science Letters 265, no. 3 (2008): 329–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2007.09.026.

Hansen, J., M. Sato, P. Kharecha, et al. “Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim?” The Open Atmospheric Science Journal 2, no. 1 (2008): 217–31. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874282300802010217.

Hansen, James E., Makiko Sato, Leon Simons, et al. “Global Warming in the Pipeline.” Oxford Open Climate Change 3, no. 1 (2023): kgad008. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfclm/kgad008.

Kemp, Luke, Chi Xu, Joanna Depledge, et al. “Climate Endgame: Exploring Catastrophic Climate Change Scenarios.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119, no. 34 (2022): e2108146119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2108146119.

Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. Philosophy In The Flesh: The Embodied Mind And Its Challenge To Western Thought. Basic Books, 1999.

Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. Metaphors We Live By. University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Lanza, Robert, and Bob Berman. Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness Are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe. BenBella Books, Incorporated, 2009.

McFadden, Johnjoe. Quantum Evolution. London : HarperCollins, 2000. http://archive.org/details/quantumevolution0000mcfa.

Schmidt, Jeff. Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-Battering System That Shapes Their Lives. Rowman & Littlefield, 2000.

Weldeab, Syee, Ralph R. Schneider, Jimin Yu, and Andrew Kylander-Clark. “Evidence for Massive Methane Hydrate Destabilization during the Penultimate Interglacial Warming.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119, no. 35 (2022): e2201871119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201871119.

West-Eberhard, Mary Jane. Developmental Plasticity and Evolution. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Chernobyl radiation warning sign by ArticCynda.

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