039, Dr. Patricia Tavormina: Microbial Intelligence Supports the Gaia Theory

Microbes make the world go ‘round. In regenerative agriculture, we rely on microbes to supply our crops to with the nutrients they need to flourish. On a larger scale, microbes play the role of the Earth’s immune system, springing into action when disasters such as petroleum spills assault her waters. Today we talk about the magic of microbes in the soil, oceans, and human body. Dr. Patricia Tavormina is a research scientist who's worked on the Human Genome Project at the University of California, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill at Caltech, and a dozen things in between. She's an occasional educator at local community colleges and a passionate advocate for greater science communication. When there's not a global pandemic underway, you can catch her doing outreach at Earth Day events, K-8 classrooms, and library lecture series.

In this episode… How environmental microbes act as the planet’s immune system, supporting the Gaia theory that the Earth is intelligent Patricia’s work at petroleum spill sites The human microbiome Symbiants in the body and in the soil Metaorganisms The Porter Ranch gas leak near Los Angeles, California Speculations on our ecological future

• Aerovoyant: The Industrial Age, Volume One by Patricia Tavormina

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• Patricia on Twitter: @pltavormina

• Giuliana Viglione: What did we learn from the Deepwater Horizon disaster?

• Sharon McNary: After Aliso

• John J. Berger: Can soil microbes slow climate change?

• Anthony Finbow: How Microbiomes could save the planet

• Ram Swaroop Meena et al: Impact of Agrochemicals on Soil Microbiota and Management: A Review

• Anne Armstrong, Marianne Krasny, and Jonathan Schuldt: Communicating Climate Change: A Guide for Educators