Year: 2025

Caligula as a Pharmacology Nerd

We still have lots to learn from the ancients… I’m hoping AI will help us process some of the lessons we’ve forgotten over the millennia, particularly with pharmacology…

Ancient Rome’s Most Notorious Emperor Was Also a Medicine Nerd, New Study Reveals (art net):

Conventional wisdom suggests Caligula was a madman, hence the apocryphal story of appointing his horse as a senator. But despite his character, and questionable sanity, Caligula was also man of great intellect and learning with a particularly keen knowledge of pharmacology. This is the conclusion of Andrew Koh and Trevor Luke, faculty in the Yale Ancient Pharmacology Program, who have delved into the unflattering histories concerning Caligula and found an Emperor who knew his medicinal plants.

Tech Fiefdoms (for real)

I’ve been saying this for a while now… Ursula Le Guin tries to warn us still:

Tech Billionaires Accused of Quietly Working to Implement “Corporate Dictatorship”:

“It sees a post-United States world where, instead of democracy, we will have basically tech feudalism — fiefdoms run by tech corporations. They’re pretty explicit about this point.”

Substack’s AI Report

Interesting stats here…

The Substack AI Report – by Arielle Swedback – On Substack:

Based on our results, a typical AI-using publisher is 45 or over, more likely to be a man, and tends to publish in categories like Technology and Business. He’s not using AI to generate full posts or images. Instead, he’s leaning on it for productivity, research, and to proofread his writing. Most who use AI do so daily or weekly and have been doing so for over six months.

Mistral’s Report on Environmental Impact

I’m generally skeptical about these sorts of tech related impact reports, but it is a good sign to see a mainstream AI-focused company put this together when we all are aware that the AI systems we are using water, rare earth minerals, and our electrical grid in non-sustainable and often coloinalistic ways (reflecting the larger global tech culture that has expanded over the last decade of decadence):

Our contribution to a global environmental standard for AI | Mistral AI:

Today, as AI becomes increasingly integrated into every layer of our economy, it is crucial for developers, policymakers, enterprises, governments and citizens to better understand the environmental footprint of this transformative technology. At Mistral AI, we believe that we share a collective responsibility with each actor of the value chain to address and mitigate the environmental impacts of our innovations…

In this context, we have conducted a first-of-its-kind comprehensive study to quantify the environmental impacts of our LLMs. This report aims to provide a clear analysis of the environmental footprint of AI, contributing to set a new standard for our industry.

Mullins in the Political Spotlight

Have to say, I did not have Newsom touring my beloved and small rural hometown of Mullins, SC on the BINGO card for 2025… but glad to see Mullins and the Pee Dee getting some attention from national candidates!

I wasn’t sold on Obama in 2007 until I heard his stump speech in Columbia that year and he rolled out the famous “YES WE CAN” call and response (along with “Fired up” at the same speech…. it was pretty electric and inspiring when he said we can do a better job teaching children how to read in Dillon County)…

Column: Newsom needs to stop kidding around. He’s running for president – Los Angeles Times…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom tours downtown Mullins, S.C., with Mayor Miko Pickett on July 8.

GMail

I was cleaning up my inbox this morning and realized that I had built up about 21 years of muscle memory working in GMail (was an ardent Eudora fan before that) since 2004. Amazing to me how quickly that span happened.

Dalai Lama’s Succession Plans

Religion and politics aren’t only enmeshed here in the West… fascinating situation unplaying here…

The Dalai Lama announces plans for a successor : NPR:

The English translation published on his website said the search for his successor will be carried out by The Gaden Phodrang Trust, a religious body of Buddhist monks who are part of the office of the Dalai Lama in India.

In what appears to be a nod to China, the statement adds that “no one else has any such authority to interfere in the matter.” China has stated that it alone has the authority to appoint the next leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibet is an autonomous region controlled by China…

… The Tibetan spiritual leader had previously speculated that his successor might be an adult, could be an “attractive” woman, or there might not be one at all. In his recently released book Voice for the Voiceless, he said that the new Dalai Lama will be born “in the free world” and outside of China.

Re-envisioning Boundaries: Ecological Theology & Migration in the Carolinas

I presented this paper earlier today at the ISSRNC conference in beautiful UC Santa Barbara…

Re-envisioning Boundaries: Ecological Theology & Migration in the Carolinas:

Today, I presented this paper at the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture’s 2025 conference titled “Crossing Borders, Transgressing Boundaries: Religion, Migration, and Climate Change.”

Here is the abstract of my paper, followed by the full paper below, as well as the slides to help those who enjoy such…

“This paper proposes a fresh theological framework for addressing climate-driven human and non-human migration by re-envisioning ‘boundaries’ as sacred membranes rather than fixed walls. Starting with biblical exile narratives and covenantal land ethics, the study traces a scriptural arc from Edenic displacement to the open-gated New Jerusalem. Drawing on Thomas Aquinas’s Aristotelian metaphysics of diverse participation in divine goodness, it affirms the intrinsic value of every creature and landscape. A phenomenological lens, as seen in Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s ontology of “flesh” and Edith Stein’s embodied empathy, reveals the porous intersubjectivity of humans, animals, and ecosystems, thereby challenging the modern Human/Nature divide.

Integral Ecology, AI, and Wage Futures of the Carolinas

Long piece I just published on Carolina Ecology…

Integral Ecology, AI, and Wage Futures of the Carolinas:

The kind of future we want is one where the Carolinas are thriving, ecologically flourishing, socially just, economically inclusive, and spiritually fulfilling. No one will hand us this future ready-made. It will be crafted, decision by decision, action by action, by us, the people of this beautiful corner of Earth.

From Clockwork to Communion: Preaching Process Ecology for a Planet in Crisis

I posted this ~10 min podcast yesterday on Carolina Ecology and thought I’d share here as well!

From Clockwork to Communion: Preaching Process Ecology for a Planet in Crisis:

I’m always surprised by how poorly we “preach” ecology in church settings. I don’t mean that in terms of just formal sermons from a Minister during Sunday Service (although I’ve heard some rough ones over the years, particularly dealing with ecology), but instead the type of preaching that we do in Sunday School discussions or Children’s Sermons.

So, I offer these ten minutes with thoughts on a few influential thinkers and how they have helped shape my own conceptions of God, Communion, Ecology, and even “Events,” and how that might impact other ministries.

Lincoln Memorial and Mall Barriers

Lily was cracking everyone up with her “device” and saying “CHEESE!” to fellow tourists (and ducks in the Reflecting Pool)

We made it to the Lincoln Memorial as well as the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials last night for our first evening here in the D.C. area.

I was particularly struck by the number of barriers and fencing that has been “deployed” all over the National Mall (I’m guessing in preparation for the “parade” on June 14). I’m sad that even getting a glimpse of our White House is buried behind rows of police and security lines like something out of a dystopian future-movie (compared to just a decade ago).

We’re heading off to the Smithsonian Museums and then the Capitol this morning. I’m hoping that I the barriers we’ve erected don’t just strike me as something that we should strive to have no need for in our Nation’s capitol in the very near future, but something we resolve to do in our collective consciousness.

Launching Carolina Ecology

I’m excited to launch Carolina Ecology this week. This is a project I’ve been working on in my head for a while, and I’m excited to see it come to fruition. 

The idea is to provide a place to bridge the worlds that make up our region’s ecologies: to draw on spiritual traditions, ecological science, and grassroots activism so that each informs and deepens the other. There will be regular essays (already a couple there written by me) as well as a weekly podcast that will hopefully include voices from around North and South Carolina exploring these ideas, possibilities, thoughts, or events.

From the about page:

What You’ll Find Here

Essays & Reflections: Essays highlighting the vastness of ecologies in the Carolinas as well as explorations of theological frameworks and their relevance to Carolina landscapes, from the Coastal Plain’s salt marshes to the Piedmont’s waterways (from myself and others).

Local Conservation News: Updates on land-preservation efforts, watershed restoration projects, and progress (or setbacks) in state and municipal environmental policy.

Indigenous Perspectives: Profiles of initiatives, interviews with tribal leaders, and deep dives into traditional ecological knowledge, especially fire and water stewardship practices in our region.

Faith & Ecology Resources: Sermons, liturgy ideas, and study guides for congregations seeking to integrate environmental ethics into worship, outreach, and education.

Events & Calls to Action: Listings of Carolina-centered conferences, citizen science opportunities (like stream monitoring or butterfly counts), and gatherings where activists, faith communities, and scientists come together.

Here’s the essay I just published there regarding World Oceans Day and Pentecost as well…

Sustaining What Sustains Us – by Sam Harrelson:

It’s World Oceans Day across our planet today. There won’t be many sermons about that here in the Carolinas, I fear. However, I am hopeful that a young person somewhere in our two states will be inspired today to think about our oceans from its amazing creatures to the quizzical nature of the ever present tidal cycles to the circulation that helps regulate our climate despite our worst intentions at control or extraction (whether with intent or not). Folly Beach is hosting a gathering if you’re in the Charleston area or the Lowcountry of SC.

I hope you’ll subscribe if you’re interested in such topics and tell a friend or two!

Estonia’s AI Leap in Schools

I tended towards doing more oral responses and having students complete assignments in class on paper in the classroom the last few years (and have always fought against giving homework although some admins were not big fans of that…), but I think this approach also has serious merits if you have qualified and well-intentioned teachers (and parents) on board (big if)…

Estonia eschews phone bans in schools and takes leap into AI | Schools | The Guardian:

In the most recent Pisa round, held in 2022 with results published a year later, Estonia came top in Europe for maths, science and creative thinking, and second to Ireland in reading. Formerly part of the Soviet Union, it now outperforms countries with far larger populations and bigger budgets.

There are multiple reasons for Estonia’s success but its embrace of all things digital sets it apart. While England and other nations curtail phone use in school amid concerns that it undermines concentration and mental health, teachers in Estonia actively encourage pupils to use theirs as a learning tool.

Now Estonia is launching a national initiative called AI Leap, which it says will equip students and teachers with “world-class artificial intelligence tools and skills”. Licences are being negotiated with OpenAI, which will make Estonia a testbed for AI in schools. The aim is to provide free access to top-tier AI learning tools for 58,000 students and 5,000 teachers by 2027, starting with 16- and 17-year-olds this September.

Relational Roots and Ecological Futures: Bridging Whitehead, Cobb, and Gullah Wisdom Toward a Decolonized Ecological Civilization

I spoke today at the Center for Process Studies’ conference, Is It Too Late?: Toward an Ecological Civilization on the topic of Gullah Geechee insights and practices that would urge the process philosophy of Whitehead or Cobb towards active participation and engagement in local communities. Here’s my paper and the presentation below…

Presentation on Gullah and Ecological CivilizationDownload

R.I.P. Holmes Rolston III

Holmes Rolston III, Pioneer of Environmental Ethics, Dies at 92 – The New York Times:

But the dismissal propelled him on to a restless intellectual and spiritual journey, with stops as a trained theologian and a natural historian, until, as a newly minted philosophy professor, he posed a question that had been unasked or routinely dismissed since before Plato: Does nature have value?

His answer — that nature has intrinsic value apart from that derived from human perspectives — appeared in a groundbreaking essay in 1975 that launched his career as the globally recognized “father” of environmental ethics. Moreover, in tune with rising public concern about land, air, water and wildlife, his thesis heralded what the philosopher Allen Carlson called the “environmental turn” in philosophy after millenniums of neglect…

Professor Rolston’s essay “Is There an Ecological Ethic?” was published in the prestigious journal Ethics. It was the first major article in a philosophical journal to accord value to nature.

Dead Sea Scrolls and AI

Fascinating (and much needed) work here on texts that still have much to teach us…

Many of Dead Sea scrolls may be older than thought, experts say | Archaeology | The Guardian:

“Overall, this is an important and welcome study, and one which may provide us with a significant new tool in our armoury for dating these texts,” he said. “Nevertheless, it’s one that we should adopt with caution, and in careful conjunction with other evidence.”

Center for Process Studies Presentation June 2025

I’m excited to present a paper this weekend at the Center for Process Studies’ conference (Pomona College, CA), “Is It Too Late?: Toward an Ecological Civilization.”

My paper is titled Relational Roots and Ecological Futures: Bridging Whitehead, Cobb, and Gullah Wisdom Toward a Decolonized Ecological Civilization and I’ll be posting that up after the conference this weekend!