Ecologist E.O. Wilson Who Stood on the Shoulders of Ants Passes
Academicians often use the phrase standing on the shoulders of giants to represent the leanings of major thinkers of past decades and centuries for the sake of intellectual growth. Edward O. Wilson (1929 – 2021) was a stalwart and a major ecological thinker of our times. He was often referred to as the New Darwin. He stood not only on the shoulders of giants, but also on those of the ants and revealed to the world the greatness of the tiny ants and related insects.
His most recent initiative, Half-Earth, called for all nations to spare half of their geographical area for biodiversity to prosper. If not for the selfless reason why we should do this for, it is also common sense to give space to the species and ecosystems on whom we depend for our survival on a daily basis. Biologist, naturalist, ecologist, and so much more, Wilson passed away on 26 December 2021 at the age of 92.
Watch a 6 minute interview with E.O. Wilson and learn about the man and the mission he was on, for the sake of the present and future generations.
E.O. Wilson was not just a scientist but also a science communicator. Among many awards, he also received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. “Perhaps the time has come to cease calling it the environmentalist view, as though it were a lobbying effort outside the mainstream of human activity, and to start calling it the real-world view,” Wilson’s quote could help save the present and future of humanity on Planet Earth.
