DUO
DYNAMIC
IN THE SLIVER OF TIME SINCE
the Industrial Revolution, human
enterprise has turned disastrous,
ramping up extinctions, causing
nuclear meltdowns, and altering
the atmosphere that’s kept Earth’s
climate stable for more than
10,000 years. Nature, to its credit,BY MEERA SUBRAMANIANILLUSTRATIONS BY
WILL DRAYSONPOPSCI.COM
WINTER 2020
PG 102always tries to claw back, like a
fire- resistant seed sprouting to
life after the flames. But in many
cases, the damage we’ve wrought
runs too deep for an organic fix.
There is hope, however. By put-
ting our ingenuity and resources
toward science- based restoration
efforts, we can complement na-
ture’s ability to adapt—and even
boost it further. The five catastro-
phes on the following pages show
it takes patience (and more than a
little humility) to play Earth’s side-
kick. But minding cues from when
that symbiosis flourished in the
past could be the key to keeping
the planet healthy and averting
even bigger upheavals.HUMANS AND EARTH
ARE OFTEN AT
ODDS, BUT WHEN
DISASTER STRIKES,
THEY CAN COMBINE
THEIR POWERS TO
BRING NEW LIFE TO
LANDSCAPES.