The Human Age: The World Shaped by Us

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The Human Age: The World Shaped by Us Page 33

by Diane Ackerman


  Wells, H. G. The Island of Dr. Moreau. 1896. Introduction by Alan Lightman. New York: Bantam Dell, 2005.

  White, Lynn, Jr. Medieval Technology and Social Change. London: Oxford University Press, 1962.

  Williams, Mark, et al., eds. The Anthropocene: A New Epoch of Geological Time? Theme issue, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 369, no. 1938 (March 13, 2011): 833–1112.

  Williams, Terry Tempest. When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice. New York: Picador, 2013.

  Wilson, E. O. The Creation. New York: W. W. Norton, 2006.

  Wood, Elizabeth A. Science from Your Airplane Window. New York: Dover Publications, 1975.

  Zalasiewicz, Jan. The Earth after Us: What Legacy Will Humans Leave in the Rocks? New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

  ———, and Mark Williams. The Goldilocks Planet: The Four Billion Year Story of Earth’s Climate. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

  Zuk, Marlene. Riddled with Life: Friendly Worms, Ladybug Sex, and the Parasites that Make Us Who We Are. New York: Harcourt, 2007.

  INDEX

  Page numbers listed correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text.

  Page numbers beginning with 313 refer to notes.

  Absolicon, 99

  acetylation, 281

  acidification, 65, 66, 154

  Adam (robot), 221

  Adams, Ansel, 25

  Adams, Lytle S. “Doc,” 145

  adaptive radiation, 29

  addiction, 176

  additive manufacturing, see 3D printing

  Adélie penguins, 134–35

  Aesop, 115

  Afghanistan War, 258

  African bees, 132

  agriculture, 10, 11, 34, 71

  big, 154

  global warming and, 56

  local, 88

  as seen from air, 21

  urban, 90

  see also mariculture

  Alaska, 47–48, 132

  algae, 10, 53, 61

  Alien (film), 228

  allergies, 301

  alligators, 117, 134, 164

  alliums, 125

  Alps, 132

  ALS, 285

  alumroots, 80–81

  Alzheimer’s, 271, 295

  Amazon, 210

  Amenhotep II, 257

  amino acids, 179–80

  Anatomage, 197

  animals, in war, 141–48

  Antarctic, 22

  ice cores in, 9

  Antarctica, 237

  anteaters, 132

  Anthropocene, 9

  beginning of, 32–33

  antibiotics, 300, 301

  ants, 273

  Apollo 17, 17–18

  Appalachian Trail, 123–24

  Apple, 210

  Apps for Apes, 5–6, 28, 204

  aquatic plants, 79

  Arabian oryx, 132

  archaea, 300

  Archimedes, 220

  architecture, 91–94

  Archives of General Psychiatry, 300–1

  Argentina, 72, 123, 132

  Argus butterfly, 136

  Arizona, 77

  Arlanda, 99

  Armstrong, Neil, 306

  Army Corps of Engineers, 48

  aromas, 294

  artificial intelligence (AI), 210

  artificial life (AL), 210

  artificial limbs, 253

  aseptic meningitis, 130

  Ashton, Kevin, 230

  Asia, 192

  Assateague, 137–38

  assembly line, 235

  Assisted Human Reproduction Act, 266

  asthma, 301

  Atelier DNA, 103

  Athaeneum Hotel, 84

  Atlantic City, N.J., 46–47

  atom bomb tests, 34

  attention disorders, 196

  Audi, 236

  Audubon Society, 137

  Australia, 43, 46, 77, 164–65, 175, 298–99

  Australian Outback, 54

  Austria, 124

  autism, 176, 285, 302

  autobiographical memory, 217

  azacitidine, 285

  Aztecs, 112

  babies, 259

  Backhouse, David, 144

  bacteria, 181–83, 187, 289, 291, 300

  Bacteroides fragilis, 302

  baiji dolphins, 162

  Ballard, J. G., 231

  bamboo, 132

  Bangladesh, 51–53, 271

  basil, 89, 90

  Bat Bomb Project, 145

  bats, 115

  Bavaria, Germany, 107

  Baylis, Françoise, 266

  beans, 190

  beavers, 135

  bee balm, 125

  beebots, 181

  bees, 147, 166

  beetles, 164, 180–81

  Bell Museum of Natural History, 115

  beluga whales, 135, 144

  Benenson, Peter, 98

  Benyus, Janine, 92

  Berridge, Matt, 5–7, 25–28, 202

  Bespoke Innovations, 236–37

  Bhutan, 72

  big agriculture, 154

  Big Sur, 115

  biofuels, 64

  bioluminescent foliage, 83

  biomimicry, 91–92

  bionic fingers, 13

  bionic suits, 13

  bioprinting, 238, 245–46

  bipolar disorder, 285

  birds, 216

  extinction of, 139

  bird’s-foot trefoil, 166

  black bears, 126

  “Black Marble” photograph, 17

  Blade Runner (film), 228, 253

  Blanc, Patrick, 79–82, 84–85, 207

  bleeding hearts, 125

  Blizzard Nemo, 58

  bloomers, 191

  blue-jay feathers, 91

  “Blue Marble” photograph, 17–18, 305

  bobcats, 129

  Boeing, 236

  Bonassar, Lawrence, 243–52, 253

  bonobos, 201–3

  books, 171

  Borges, Jorge Luis, 236

  Borneo, 107, 132, 313

  Boulogne, France, 83

  Boulter, Nicky, 298–99

  Bracken Cave, 145

  brain, 150, 281

  rewiring of, 191

  scans of, 176–78

  Bramel, Paula, 155

  Brand, Stewart, 150

  Branson, Richard, 54

  Brazil, 46, 88, 123

  breast milk, 301

  breeding, 149–50

  Breezy Point, N.Y., 45

  Brittany, France, 62–63

  Bronen, Robin, 48

  Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, 45

  Brooklyn Navy Yard, 82

  Brown, Charles, 115–16

  brown bears, 132

  brown tree snake, 139

  Budi (orangutan), 4–7, 25–26, 27, 28, 44, 122–23, 202, 269

  iPad of, 4–7, 25–26, 27, 28, 71

  building, heating of, 96–98

  buildings, 90–94

  bullfrogs, 132

  burdock, 132

  Burtynsky, Edward, 23–25

  Bush, George W., 315

  butterflies, 133, 166

  Bygren, Lars Olov, 277–80

  Byström, Joakim, 99

  cadmium, 271

  Café Trussardi, 82

  California, 77, 117, 132

  Callahan, Gerald N., 263

  “Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness in Non-Human Animals, The,” 216

  camels, 140

  in war, 144, 145–46

  Canada, 40, 43, 88, 124, 132, 266

  Canada geese, 13, 135, 153, 194

  Canadian rose, 39

  Canadian War Museum, 82

  cancer, 271, 316

  cane beetles, 139

  cane toads, 139

  canning, 318

  canola rapeseed, 153

  Cape Town, South Africa, 78

  carbon blade legs, 13

  C
arbon Capture Storage, 54

  carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide levels, 34, 53

  and acidification of oceans, 66

  kelp’s ingestion of, 64

  methods for pulling from air, 54

  recent rise in, 36

  Swedish lowering of, 99

  urban gardens and, 74, 80

  Carpenter, Rollo, 227

  carpets, 87

  cars, 87, 171, 191

  cartilage, 244, 251

  Case, Amber, 262

  cats, 140, 146, 298

  parasites of, 296–97

  cattle, 194–95

  Center for Nano Science and Technology, 183

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 298

  Central Park, 78

  Central Station, 96, 101

  cerebral palsy, 253

  Cerf, Vent, 202–4

  Chamonix, France, 314

  chatbots, 226–31

  cheetahs, 132

  chemputer, 237

  Cher Ami (pigeon), 144–45

  cherry tomatoes, 90

  Chicago, Ill., 77, 78, 117

  Chicago Botanic Gardens, 82

  chicken coops, 88

  childhood mortality, 13

  Chile, 46, 99, 175

  chimeras, 251, 262, 264–68

  chimpanzees, 148, 216

  China, 46, 88, 102, 124, 235

  solar power in, 107

  urban population of, 72

  Chincoteague, 137–38

  chipmunks, 126

  chives, 90

  chlorophyll, 53

  chloroplasts, 291

  Church, George, 151–52

  cicadas, 41, 173–75

  cilantro, 90

  cingulate, 178

  cities, 11, 13, 71–72

  enviromental impact of, 72–73

  growth of, 18–19, 72

  limited species in, 113–14

  nature vs., 112–17

  population of, 72

  as seen from space, 16–17, 18, 19

  sky parks in, 77–78

  City Hall, Chicago, 83

  city parks, 83

  clams, 57

  Clarke, Ann, 157–67

  Clarke, Bryan, 156–67

  Cleverbot, 227–28

  cliff swallows, 115–16

  close work, 192

  Clostridium difficile, 301–2

  clouds, 12

  coal, 21, 106

  Coan, James, 178

  cocaine, 298

  cochlear implants, 253

  cockatoos, 202

  cod, 59–60

  Cold War, 146

  Collins, Francis, 289

  colon disease, 302

  Colorado, 40

  compassion, 176

  computers, 13, 87, 175, 187, 194, 197, 203, 211, 220, 222, 224, 226, 230, 256, 261, 270

  condors, 132

  consciousness, 200, 216, 217, 219, 228–29

  cooking, 190

  Copenhagen, 78

  copper, 21

  coral bells, 80–81

  cordite, 153

  corn, 71, 153

  corncrakes, 133, 137

  Cornell University, 209–25

  corpus callosum, 177

  cosmos, 125

  cottontails, 129

  cougars, 117

  Council House 2 building, 94

  courtly love, 190

  cows, 71

  coyotes, 117, 118

  crabs, 138

  “cradle to cradle,” 87

  cranes, 124

  Creative Machines Lab, 218, 223–24

  creativity, 196

  Crick, Francis, 274

  crickets, 173–74

  Cronin, Lee, 237

  crops, 71

  Crutzen, Paul, 9, 313

  cucumbers, 89

  cuneiform, 235

  Curitiba, Brazil, 107

  cyborg anthropology, 262

  cyborg dragonflies, 146–47

  cyborgs, 146–47, 251, 260, 262–63

  daffodils, 125

  Dakar, Senegal, 314

  dandelions, 132

  Dantuluri, Phani, 261

  dark energy, 172

  dark matter, 172

  Darwin, Charles, 156, 268, 276

  Dayak people, 107

  day lilies, 125

  deception, 219

  Decker Yeadon, 92

  deer, 133

  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 146–47, 209, 225, 236, 256, 258–59

  dengue fever, 302

  Denmark, 101

  depression, 196

  Desertec, 106

  diabetes, 301

  diamondbacks, 118–19

  dianthus, 125

  Dietikon, Switzerland, 82

  digoxin, 302

  dinosaurs, 31, 154

  Djairam, Dhiradj, 104, 105

  DNA, 160, 263, 274–75, 278–79, 281, 282, 287

  of extinct species, 151–52, 153–54, 160–63, 166–67

  dodos, 163

  dog roses, 132

  dogs, 140, 144, 145–46, 147, 148, 149

  dolphins, 147, 202, 204, 216

  domestic animals, 11, 71, 140

  Dominoni, Davide, 114

  dopamine, 298

  Dourada, Fazenda, 123

  droughts, 41, 46

  Duckworth, Tammy, 259, 260

  dung beetles, 164

  Dust Bowl, 41

  Dutch Hunger Winter, 283

  ears, 245–46

  Earth:

  as seen from air, 20–21

  as seen from space, 16–18, 19, 305

  Earthmasters: The Dawn of the Age of Climate Engineering (Hamilton), 314

  Eastgate Centre, 92, 93–94

  echolocation, 147

  École Polytechnique de Montréal, 181

  eczema, 301

  Edison, Thomas, 191, 306

  Edmonton Airport, 83

  education, 286

  Edwards, Andres, 88

  Eggerthella lenta, 302

  Eggleson, Kathleen, 183–84

  eggs, 160–61, 279

  Eisenberger, Naomi, 177

  electricity, 76, 78, 91, 97, 99, 100–103, 104, 184–87, 191, 213

  electronic campfires, 193

  elements, 34–35

  elephants, 202, 217

  underpass for, 124

  in war, 144, 145–46

  Ellis, Erle, 126

  Eloxochitl, 112

  emotions, 214, 222–23

  empathy, 190, 219, 228

  Energy Department, U.S., 64

  England, 132

  English ivy, 132

  EnsnAired, 98

  Environmental Protection Agency, U.S., 86–87

  epigenetics, 279–86

  Estonia, 77

  eucalyptus, 132

  Eureqa machine, 219–20, 221

  European badgers, 124

  Eve (robot), 221

  Everglades, 129, 130, 133, 315

  evolution, 208, 211, 219, 224, 251, 276–77, 279

  microbes’ effects on, 292–93

  extinction, 12

  of birds, 139

  of Miami blue butterfly, 131

  orangutans and, 27–28

  of Partula, 156–59

  of plants, 315

  and resurrection of species, 151–52, 153–54, 161–63, 208

  of trilobites, 29, 30

  extinctions, great, 60, 154, 305

  eyeglasses, 171

  factories, 71

  false indigoes, 125

  famine, 276, 277, 285, 286

  Fantastic Voyage, 181

  farming fish, 60

  Faroe Islands, 78

  farsightedness, 192

  fecal transplants, 302

  Ferrer, Miguel, 136

  ferrets, 132

  fertilizers, 36, 64

  fiber optics, 97

  field mice, 134

  fighting, 190

  finches, 156

  Finger Lakes, 31, 131

>   fire ants, 132

  fireflies, 181

  fishermen, 56–60

  fleecy electricity, 35

  Flegr, Jaroslav, 297

  floods, 41

  Florida, 117, 131

  Florida rosy wolfsnail, 157

  flounder, 65

  food, 7

  Forbes, 235

  Forbidden City, 235

  Ford Motor Company, 87–88

  forests, 54

  fossil fuels, 10, 34, 51, 307

  fossils, 9, 29–30, 31, 32, 33–34, 35, 36, 43, 57

  Fountainhead, The (Rand), 59

  foxes, 129, 133, 134

  foxgloves, 125

  France, 72, 124, 296, 298

  Frankenstein (Shelley), 212–13

  Franklin, Rosalind, 274

  Fraser, Bill, 135

  frogs, 80, 125, 131, 132

  Frozen Ark, 155, 160, 163–64

  frozen food, 317

  fruit flies, 293–95

  fungi, 289-90, 300

  G8 Summit, 315

  Gabriel, Peter, 201–3

  Galileo Galilei, 220

  Galveston, Tex., 50

  Gambia, 131

  gardening, hydroponic, 83

  gardens, 38–39

  urban, 74

  vertical, 79–85

  Gardens by the Bay, 78

  gas, 106

  Gaudi, Antoni, 236

  geckos, 180

  genetic mutations, 277

  Genghis Khan, 272–73, 274

  geoengineering, 53–54

  geographic change, 11

  Geological Society of London, 9

  Geological Survey, U.S., 299

  geothermal warmth, 95

  Germany, 72, 78, 83, 101, 124, 132, 298

  solar panels in, 106–7

  Gershenfeld, Neil, 202–3

  gestures, 26–27

  giraffes, 276

  global consciousness, 18

  global warming, 11, 38–42, 154, 307–8

  agriculture and, 56

  in Bangladesh, 51–53

  and development of seas, 64–65

  evidence of, 108

  extreme weather and, 36–43, 314

  fishermen and, 56–57

  gardens affected by, 38–39

  habitats rearranged by, 133–40

  human rights and, 48

  glowworms, 144

  glucocorticoids, 283

  golden eagles, 132

  Golden Lion Tamarin Conservation Program, 123

  golden toads, 162

  Golding, William, 162

  Google, 192, 210

  Google Glass, 260–61

  gophers, 115

  gorgonian, 38

  grains, 71

  Grand Canyon, 126

  granite, 58–59

  GraphExeter, 184–85, 317

  grasshoppers, 173–74

  Grassy Key, 131

  great apes, 202

  great auks, 151

  Great Depression, 108

  Greece, 124

  Green Apple concept car, 103

  Green Belt Corridor, 124

  greenhouses, 90

  Greenland, 42

  green mussels, 131

  Green over Grey, 83

  growing season, 42

  Guam, 139, 157

  Guam rail, 139

  Guatemala, 88

  Gulag Archipelago (Solzhenitsyn), 218

  Gurdon, John, 150, 160

  Gut Erlasee Solar Park, 106–7

  Guthrie, Barton, 261

 

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