@Jake Hill I first got into environmental stuff when I learned about the Amazon--and that was more than 30 years ago. I can't imagine it's gotten much better. I'm not against using wood. There are ways to grow and harvest it sustainably. (I just wrote an entire essay in this comment and deleted it to spare the community from a forestry lecture.) But I'm all for protecting and restoring ecosystems. On some level, they're like the meridians and chakras of the earth.

@Jake Hill Bamboo or adobe would be good in certain climates where the materials are already abundant. I'd hate to see someone cutting down trees to make space to grow more bamboo. Where you have abundant forests, it makes sense to use wood if it's done right. I live in an area that was heavily logged in the past. Now the trees are growing back, but they're growing too close together. It creates bad habitat, messes with the soil, and the trees end up being sickly. Thinning these areas out a little bit provides wood and also leaves the ecosystem healthier. They did this in the land adjacent to one of our state parks. The trees they left behind grew thicker and developed qualities like thick, irregular branches and burls. Rare animals like the pine marten and many bird species began living in these trees. In some places they left fallen logs on the ground, which is what would happen in a natural, healthy forest. This allows insects and fungi to thrive. The tree trunks reduce erosion and soak up excess rainwater like a sponge. Then they slowly release this water into the ground during the dry season in summer. Some logs were left in the creek here and there, creating pools where salmon and trout can spawn. Many fish populations are recovering. A lot of local timber companies now participate in a sustainable forestry program. It's like certified organic farming, but for wood and paper. We used some of this timber when we built our chicken coops. If we had gone with bamboo, it would have been transported thousands of miles, burning a lot of fossil fuels. I think the solution is using decentralized, locally produced materials as much as possible. This is better than the current model, where construction has been standardized to the point that a few materials are mass produced at an industrial scale and then transported across the globe. Also, the industrial construction model contributes to the problem you pointed out of building "permanent" structures on impermanent land.

Crazy stuff! Have you ever read the book, Foucault's Pendulum, by Umberto Eco? Even crazier!

@Jake Hill The book isn’t really about Foucault’s Pendulum, although it plays a role near the end of the story. But a lot of it takes place in a museum where there’s a Foucault’s pendulum.

I wish I had time to watch the whole video. My favorite explorer? Probably Richard Francis Burton. (And yes, I am aware of all his flaws. But he had grit, and unlike most of the Victorian English upper class, he was sincerely interested in the people and cultures he encountered.) Also, hats off to Aron Ralston. Even when he had to cut off his own hand, it didn't stop him. He went on to do many feats that most people with two hands would never dare to try.

@Jake Hill It was a choice between that and dying. What would you have done?

This is great news, and I think people in the USA are ready for it. Our eggs always sell out in the first 90 minutes at the farm stand, and the #1 question people ask is, “what do you feed your chickens?”

@Jake Hill The real problem is most people aren’t going to change. We’ve been putting warning labels on tobacco and alcohol for decades and it’s barely made a dent.

Does it make a difference whether it’s live music (which is literally physical objects vibrating)?