This was the keynote speech delivered by Dr. Marilyn Hamilton at Globe Forum, Dublin November 17, 2010 Thank you for this invitation to share what I am learning about cities as innovation ecosystems. James Lovelock – innovator of the Gaia hypothesis – says that humans are Gaia’s most reflective organ. That means that evolution has [...]
A domesticated cousin to the apis melifera honey bee, is raising questions about how life conditions - including those created by humans - can offer a species the opportunity to expand its territory because of its natural but transplanted capacities. It is a good example of unintended consequences, and may prove to us (yet again) that resilience [...]
Colony collapse disorder (CCD) for the honey bee has been giving me warning signs to look at the equivalent possibility for the human hive. Three stories from this week's news offer some strong "weak signals" that may be indications of onset of the human hive's CCD in America. The Tucson shooting of Gabrielle Giffords and many others are [...]
November Greetings, Integral City-zens and Friends of Integral City Today's Integral City Sparkie for the City Brain : … a tension in favor of the values and behavior that are most coherent with the current life conditions will tend to be maintained. The flip side of this behavior is that the dominant culture will protect itself against [...]
I have been watching the outcome (or not?) of the recent Australian election with some interest. I have been thinking about swarming (as in what can we learn from the bees when they swarm?). My bee sources (books, articles, movies) tell me that the swarming process is a kind of hive decision. That when it [...]
This artcle in Vancouver gives updated information about the role of honey bees in human systems -- particularly the food system. It points out the disrespect we (the most evolved species of vertebrates) pay the species that is the most evolved species of invertabrates. You can learn more about the lessons bees have for humans in [...]