So important are insects and other land-dwelling arthropods that if all were to disappear, humanity probably could not last more than a few months.

I'm very much a Christian in ideals and ethics, especially in terms of belief in fairness, a deep set obligation to others, and the virtues of charity, tolerance and generosity that we associate with traditional Christian teaching.

People would rather believe than know.

To the extent that philosophical positions both confuse us and close doors to further inquiry, they are likely to be wrong.

I grew up as a Southern Baptist with strict adherence to the Bible, which I read as a youngster.

The genius of human society is in fact the ease with which alliances are formed, broken, and reconstituted, always with strong emotional appeals to rules believed to be absolute.

The living environment is the biosphere, the thin layer around the world of living organisms. We're part of that. Our existence is dependent on it in ways that people haven't even begun to appreciate. Our existence depends not just on its existence, but its stability and its richness.