BOOK 2 POST 2

 Losing Eden-- A Biophilic World?

Upon finishing this book, I thoroughly enjoyed learning how humans have a natural tendency to gravitate towards nature and how it helps our mental health. Lucy Jones writes about this intersection between science and the natural world and how we are discovering the reason WHY nature helps us. At the same time, we are also destroying nature. This book begs you to think about ways to combat our own destruction of a world intended to help us.

 

Lucy made a point about how 68% of our world will be living in urban settings by 2050 and that many cities should try to be biophilic. For example, Detroit is biophilic today.

  • To be biophilic means to have a natural inclination to nature.

Cities are beginning to plant small community gardens, are creating paths for bicyclists, and creating "green rooftops"-- gardens on top of skyscrapers. Creating a symbiotic relationship between nature and urban settings seems like a total oxymoron, but perhaps it is the only option we have.

 

This made me think about how we have unexpected symbiotic relationships in many aspects of our life. Consider medicine and science. Robots work on the human body in surgery, even though they are far from a human being. Communication now happens over social media instead of face-to-face with another person. People diet on any sort of food or diet fad they see. If these things can exist, nature can exist in the most unexpected of settings. If we want it to. 

I recommend this book to anyone searching for a motivating story (Lucy ties her struggle with addiction to the healing elements of nature), or looking for way to reset their mind to things that matter. What makes this book even better is Lucy provides scientific proof that what she preaches actually works. If you are struggling, a simple walk every day may be the medication you need.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 22, 2022 at 4:47 PM

    Hi Zoe!
    I really enjoyed your post! This book seems super interesting and related to the book I read, but backed by more scientific thought than fictional details. I think it is super cool that cities are becoming more biophilic and hope I can see more green around the country! I'm glad it helped you focus more on things that matter, as well.
    -Samantha

    ReplyDelete
  2. eokeeffeMarch 22, 2022 at 5:34 PM

    Hello Zoe,

    Losing Eden sounds like a book that offers a lot of hope and ideas about bettering our future. It seems like a lot of the books people read, including mine, were more somber and lacked optimism, so a motivating story is refreshing. I did not know that about Detroit and I think it's really great that they are embracing nature by employing it in the urban infrastructures that we already have. The idea of gardens on top of skyscrapers is a really interesting and cool idea.


    Ethan

    ReplyDelete
  3. Angelica @ My Meal PlannerMarch 22, 2022 at 5:47 PM

    Hi Zoe,

    This seems like such a cool book, and I feel like I learned a lot just from reading your post. It is so interesting how a majority of people will be living in urban spaces by 2050. I can only hope that more of our cities will be biophilic by then. I'm thinking about the cities I've been to so far, and I can't say that many of them have stuff like community gardens. However, I have a feeling that there will be more of these symbiotic relationships pretty soon.

    Angelica

    ReplyDelete
  4. elanfahMarch 22, 2022 at 10:53 PM

    Hi Zoe,

    Thank you for sharing a little about the book you read. I really like how you connected the book back to real life and how different things work together in life to make tasks more efficient like you said with the robots being used to do surgeries. Also, in your last sentence you mentioned how taking a calming walk can be all you need to help if you are struggling and I completely agree as I frequently meditate and go on walks to clear my mind.

    Elan

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMarch 23, 2022 at 10:24 AM

    Hey Zoe,

    I read Losing Eden as well and I think we are on the same page that it was a wonderful read. I too enjoyed learning about how we are instinctively wired to connect with nature. I found lots of satisfaction in reading this because I always felt that way, but never read any evidence to support how I felt. I like how you recommended this book to people who want to refocus on what really matters in life. After reading it, I felt refocused on what truly matters as well. Thank you for sharing.

    Mason

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMarch 23, 2022 at 11:50 AM

    Hey Zoe,

    I really enjoyed reading your take on Losing Eden. It was cool to see how you related the story and the concept to robots and medicine! Wasn't at all what I was thinking and it was very fun to see that jump and to think about the comparisons. I will say I like seeing green spaces in cities. It just gives you a very positive feeling. One of the reasons I chose USC was the campus seemed like an oasis in a city setting. I like living in a city but Im not a huge fan of total urban spaces with no green space so USC seemed perfect. I'll have to check out this book.

    Michael

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMarch 23, 2022 at 3:09 PM

    Hi Zoe,

    This subject is really interesting! I'm sure as someone in the medical field it probably was supplementary to what you're learning, which could only make it better. The idea of biotechnology is something we study a lot in environmental studies, and it presents a really optimistic outlook on the possibilities for our future. I'm interested to see how this author was able to tie it more to her own experiences and this sounds like a solid read!

    Kevin

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jack PerezMarch 24, 2022 at 1:41 AM

    Great post Zoe. I honestly had never heard of the word biophilic until I read your blog. I was also surprised to hear that Detroit is biophilic because when I think of Detroit the first thing that comes to my mind is car manufacturing. I don’t know if it's just me but those two things don't really seem like they should go together, and I'm happily surprised that they do. To me, the fact that a place nicknamed the "Motor City" can also also dedicate itself to nature is a perfect example of the symbiotic relationships you talked about to an even greater extent than some may realize.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lesley 340April 6, 2022 at 6:54 PM

    Hi Zoe,

    I loved how you tied the book to other symbiotic relationship. I think my opposition to a biophilic world is that humans think that they can control nature. Yes ,we can plant garden on to of roofs. But as we saw with COVID, nature can truly stop the world from moving. My environmental science professor always said that nature is only ever a few steps before it truly humbles the human race. She used more explicit terms, but in essence she meant we should conform to nature not nature conforming to us.

    Best,

    Lesley

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousApril 13, 2022 at 1:54 PM

    Hi Zoe,

    Great post! I also read Losing Eden by Lucy Jones. I like how you brought up that many cities are now trying to be biophilic. Just about a month ago the Apple store at the Grove, in Los Angeles, reopened after some renovations. The renovations that they made included planting trees inside of their store. I want to go see how it looks in person. The movement towards being more biophilic has begun, and will most likely see a lot more similar to the new Apple store.

    -Angel Perez

    ReplyDelete

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