Mark Plotkin
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Articles by Mark Plotkin
The Amazon is ablaze again. What it means for us (commentary)
The Amazon rainforest, devastated by over 70,000 wildfires in 2019, is once again ablaze, threatening even greater destruction of wildlife, human health, and ecosystems. Climate change is now a tangible global threat, with rising sea levels and extreme heat affecting entire regions, while indigenous communities, like the Kogi in Colombia, have long warned of these environmental dangers, argues Mark J. Plotkin, an ethnobotanist who co-founded the Amazon Conservation Team.
A Amazônia está em chamas novamente. O que isso significa para nós (comentário)
A floresta amazônica, devastada por mais de 70.000 incêndios florestais em 2019, está novamente em chamas, ameaçando uma destruição ainda maior da vida selvagem, da saúde humana e dos ecossistemas. A mudança climática é agora uma ameaça global tangível, com a elevação do nível do mar e o calor extremo afetando regiões inteiras, enquanto comunidades indígenas, como os Kogi na Colômbia, há muito alertam sobre esses perigos ambientais, argumenta Mark J.
Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcast: Plants of the Gods: S5E4. Part 1 — Coffee, the World’s Favorite Stimulant — Chemistry, History, and More on Apple Podcasts
Coffee is the most widely consumed mind-altering plant product in the world. The human species arose in or near the Rift Valley in East Africa, the northern edge of which abuts the forests of Ethiopia in which the coffee plants originated. The drunk monkey hypothesis proposes that human consciousness was born when our ancestors ingested fermented grapes. The stoned ape hypothesis suggests that the consciousness is due to proto humans consuming magic mushrooms.
CFIUS Issues Guidance On Disclosure of Information About Limited Partner Investors and Application of Mandatory Filing Rules to Multi-stage Transactions
May 23, 2023, Covington Alert The U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), in its capacity as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”), recently posted two new frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) to CFIUS’s website that have important implications for parties planning transactions subject to the Committee’s jurisdiction.
CFIUS Issues Guidance On Disclosure of Information About Limited Partner Investors and Application of Mandatory Filing Rules to Multi-stage Transactions
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), in its capacity as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”), recently posted two new frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) to CFIUS’s website that have important implications for parties planning transactions subject to the Committee’s jurisdiction.
Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcast: Plants of the Gods: S4E6. Part 1 — Ayahuasca and Tobacco Shamanism: an Interview with Ethnobotanist Dr. Glenn Shepard on Apple Podcasts
Today's episode features ethnobotanist and anthropologist, Dr. Glenn Shepard. This two-part discussion between Dr. Shepard and Dr. Plotkin covers an array of fascinating topics including the role language plays in ethnobotany, shamanism in a changing world, and personal encounters and experiences with tobacco in indigenous Amazonian communities (revisit our last two episodes to brush up on tobacco!). Join us today for part one of this captivating interview.
Scars on the Land
Scars on the Land is the first comprehensive history of American slavery to examine how the environment fundamentally formed enslaved people's lives and how slavery remade the Southern landscape. Over two centuries, from the establishment of slavery in the Chesapeake to the Civil War, one simple calculation had profound consequences: Rather than measuring productivity based on outputs per acre, Southern planters sought to maximize how much labor they could extract from their enslaved workforce.
Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcast: Plants of the Gods: S3E10. Part 2 — 21st Century Healing Magic with both Fungi and Herbs: A Conversation with the Remarkable Dr. Christopher Hobbs on Apple Podcasts
Dr. Christopher Hobbs is a world-renowned author, clinician, botanist, mycologist, and research scientist, with over 35 years of experience with herbal medicine. He is the author of the classic, "Medicinal Mushrooms: The Essential Guide." In this second half of a two-part episode, Dr. Hobbs and Dr. Plotkin look at the history of medicinal herbs and fungi, discuss the benefits and questions surrounding microdosing, and ponder their healing potential in the context of modern times.
Richard Evans Schultes
Features Brief life of a pioneering ethnobotanist and conservationist: 1915-2001 by Mark J. Plotkin Born into humble circumstances in East Boston in 1915, Richard Evans Schultes ’37, Ph.D. ’41, was a most unlikely candidate to become the archetypal Amazon explorer, the leading authority on mind-altering plants and fungi, and a “founding father” of rainforest conservation.
Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcast: Plants of the Gods: S2E10. The Plants of the Apes
Dr. Plotkin continues the discussion of zoopharmacognosy with part two of “Plants of the Apes: How Animals Use Medicinal Plants." From the carefully selected flora used in certain birds’ nests as insect repellents, to the tropical daisy species eaten by chimpanzees as an antibiotic, we’ll learn how some creatures have a sophisticated knowledge of the healing power of plants.
Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation podcast: Plants of the Gods: S2E9. The Plants of the Apes
We have all seen dogs eat grass to alleviate illnesses; why would we not think that other animals do not consume other plants for therapeutic purposes? In fact, it was the great Jane Goodall and other colleagues in East Africa who recorded chimps and even elephants eating medicinal plants. This episode ranges from Tanzania to eastern Brazil to Wisconsin to document animals' use of medicinal and even toxic plants. Acosta, William.
Hallucinogens, Healing, Culture and Conservation” on Apple Podcasts
1 min “Plants of the Gods” is a new and unique podcast focusing on the hallucinogenic plants and fungi whose impact on world culture and religion – and healing potential. Unlike other podcasts relating to these issues, “Plants of the Gods” is hosted by renowned ethnobotanist Dr. Mark Plotkin, an award-winning scientist and best selling author, Dr, Plotkin is a spellbinding storyteller who will be speaking from personal experience and will be joined by other leaders in the field.
La Amazonía podría salvarnos la vida
Los científicos están analizando el potencial medicinal de plantas y animales en los vastos bosques tropicales de la región. El sistema de curación de la medicina occidental es el más exitoso jamás ideado, y lo es cada vez más a medida que mejora la tecnología y proliferan las medicinas sintéticas. Pero la madre naturaleza ha estado sintetizando maravillosos químicos medicinales durante más de tres mil millones de años, muchos de los cuales los científicos ni hubieran podido soñar.
Opinión: La Amazonía podría salvarnos la vida
Los científicos están analizando el potencial medicinal de plantas y animales en los vastos bosques tropicales de la región. El sistema de curación de la medicina occidental es el más exitoso jamás ideado, y lo es cada vez más a medida que mejora la tecnología y proliferan las medicinas sintéticas. Pero la madre naturaleza ha estado sintetizando maravillosos químicos medicinales durante más de tres mil millones de años, muchos de los cuales los científicos ni hubieran podido soñar.
The Weekender
Venezuela, Once an Oil Giant, Reaches the End of an Era By Sheyla Urdaneta, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Isayen Herrera Venezuela’s oil reserves, the world’s largest, transformed the country and the global energy market. Now its oil sector is grinding to a halt. Will it ever recover?
Vita: Alexander Hamilton Rice
A certified Boston Brahmin, Alexander Hamilton Rice, A.B. 1898, M.D. 1904, was a true Harvard man who served as a faculty member and director and founder of the Harvard Institute of Geographical Exploration (1929-1952). His ultimate passion, though, was green rather than crimson: he traversed and mapped enormous tracts of Amazonian rainforest in the first quarter of the twentieth century.
Opinion | Could the Amazon Save Your Life? (Published 2020)
Scientists are looking at the medicinal potential of plants and animals in the region’s vast tropical forests. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. By Mark J. Plotkin Dr. Plotkin is an ethnobotanist who has spent more than three decades working in the Amazon.
Opinion | A Amazônia pode salvar sua vida?
Cientistas estudam o potencial medicinal de plantas e animais na vasta floresta tropical da região. Por Mark J. Plotkin Dr. Plotkin é etnobotânico e passou mais de três décadas trabalhando na Amazônia. Oct. 2, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET Este artigo faz parte da série de Opinião A Amazônia viu nosso futuro, sobre como os povos da região estão vivenciando as versões mais extremas dos problemas de nosso planeta.
La Amazonía podría salvarnos la vida
Comentario Los científicos están analizando el potencial medicinal de plantas y animales en los vastos bosques tropicales de la región. Por Mark J. Plotkin Es etnobotánico y ha pasado más de tres décadas trabajando en el Amazonas. 2 de octubre de 2020 a las 05:01 ET Este artículo es parte de la serie de Opinión La Amazonía ha visto nuestro futuro, sobre cómo los pobladores de la región están viviendo las versiones más extremas de los problemas de nuestro planeta.
COVID is killing Indigenous leaders (commentary)
Jose de los Santos Sauna Limaco, a political leader of the Kogi peoples of the Sierra Nevada of Colombia, died last week of COVID-19. He was 44. Santos Sauna is one of several indigenous leaders who’ve fallen during the pandemic. Mark Plotkin, an ethnobotanist who founded the Amazon Conservation Team, says the world is a poorer place with the loss of people like Santos Sauna. “Not only have the Kogis lost a great, wise and inspiring leader, but so has the entire world,” Plotkin writes.
Missing Puzzle Pieces: How Structures of Patriarchy and Notions of Motherhood Shaped My Social Change Work
One of my first childhood memories is of a never-ending sea of small yellow rooms, sprawling across a desert with not a single tree. Many people wore the same kind of clothes. I saw men, women, children all working to reconstruct their lives. It was 1949 and what I was seeing was a settlement for the refugees pouring into Pakistan, newly divided from India two years prior. My parents were among the millions who migrated to Pakistan. This would be my community for the first 12 years of my life.
The Role of Urban Innovation in Africa’s Emerging Cities in the Time of COVID-19
When we set out to organize an event on urban innovation in Africa as part of this year’s virtual Skoll World Forum week, we knew we wanted to draw attention to Africa’s urban future. Two-thirds of the world’s population expected to live in cities by 2050. Africa and Asia may account for 90 percent of the world’s urban population growth between now and then.
Democrats are all talk when it comes to DC statehood
One of the most invisible topics in American political life is the issue of statehood for the District of Columbia. You probably are reading this and wondering, “What is he talking about?” Unless you are a resident of the nation’s capital, your lack of knowledge is understandable. The last time the subject had a scintilla of coverage was nearly a quarter of a century ago.
Six Books for Your Reading List by 2019 Skoll World Forum Speakers
Looking for the perfect bedside reading as you prepare for the Skoll World Forum? Whether you’re joining us in Oxford or engaging through the Digital Pass, there are plenty of great reads by Forum speakers to expand your perspective. The Skoll World Forum brings togethers leaders and big thinkers who are thoughtfully asking a central question: what is possible?
Certain people should not vote, says the Supreme Court
Larry Harmon is a software engineer and a Navy veteran who lives in Ohio. Harmon voted in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections but he choose not to vote in 2012 because he says he was unimpressed with the candidates. In 2015 a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana was on the state ballot. Harmon discovered that his name had been struck from the Ohio state voting rolls, thus forbidding his vote on this issue.
Corker’s Senate seat is up for grabs - and Republicans are worried
Tennessee is a very Republican state. This has been the case for quite a while. You will remember that, in the 2000 presidential election, Democrat Al Gore Albert (Al) Arnold GoreHillary Clinton's 'ass-covering' on bin Laden raid 'rattled' Biden Keith Olbermann signs new deal with ESPN Legendary speechwriter Richard N. Goodwin proved the power of words MORE lost his home state.
A country as wealthy as the United States should make affordable housing a right
One issue which never seems to rise to any degree of national visibility is residential housing. Yes, during local campaigns, you hear much talk about the “homeless crisis” and the need for “affordable housing.” But these topics are almost never mentioned or brought up in a presidential campaign or even a U.S. Senate contest. These supposed “local” matters, for some inexplicable reason, are deemed not “serious” enough for a national discussion. This makes no sense.
These three Democrats are no sure thing in November
Republicans hold a slim majority, 51-49, in the U.S. Senate. They fervently believe they can add to that narrow majority in November by beating Democratic incumbents who hold seats in what they correctly consider to be Republican states.
Pompeo vote won’t guarantee Democrats a win in November
Individuals nominated to be secretary of State usually have overwhelming bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate. The job of chief diplomat is one so important that our representative to the world ideally should have the backing of both Democrats and Republicans in the initial confirmation process. This was not the case with Donald Trump’s first pick to be secretary of State.
A divided party for Democrats?
This seems to be a time in the political presidential season when everything is uncertain and in great flux. Rather than comment about that, there are some things which can be said that are definable and, in my opinion, irrefutable. I'll start off with the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.). She is supposed to be neutral in the presidential race. Her role as supposed leader of the party requires her to be of that persuasion. Quite simply, she is not.
2018 will test the power of political nobodies
You, I’m sure, have never heard the name — Nick Polce. Don’t feel bad. Very few, if any, know the name in Wisconsin’s First Congressional District.
Rosenstein has a duty to make Mueller's report public - even if it means facing Trump's wrath
Everybody seems to be watching special counsel Robert S. Mueller. There is good reason for that. But no one should forget that Mueller reports to the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein.
DC's lukewarm response to ‘Rothschilds controlling the climate’ comment is unacceptable
The Washington Post reported Monday that a city council member made outrageous remarks that were widely perceived as ignorant and blatantly anti-Semitic. D.C. Council member Trayon White, Sr. represents Ward 8, the most economically disadvantaged ward in the city. White, an African American and a Democrat, was elected in 2016.
For Tillerson, bucking Trump became a job-killer
From the very beginning, Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne TillersonFormer WH adviser: Trump will want to rejoin Paris climate pact by 2020 Why the US should lead on protecting Rohingya Muslims 'Bolivarian Diaspora' can no longer be ignored MORE was a particularly strange choice to be selected as the country’s top diplomat. I was at his confirmation hearing where he faced some very rough questioning even from Republican senators. Sen.
CFIUS Developments: House Committee on Foreign Affairs Considers CFIUS Reform and Related Export Control Regimes
We are writing to report on the latest Congressional hearings related to reform of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) and potential efforts to enhance and reform the U.S. export control regime.
Three states where Dems can pick up Senate seats
Much has been made of the fact that Democrats’ hopes of taking control of the U.S. Senate are very much in doubt because they are defending 24 seats. There are also 10 Democratic incumbents in states that Donald Trump Donald John TrumpAccuser says Trump should be afraid of the truth Woman behind pro-Trump Facebook page denies being influenced by Russians Shulkin says he has White House approval to root out 'subversion' at VA MORE won in 2016.
Taking money from the NRA makes 2018 candidates unelectable
The horrible tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 15 high school students and two faculty members were killed with a military assault weapon, has brought forth the predictable debate on gun control.
10 Senate Democrats are up for re-election in Trump country
Ten Democratic U.S. senators up for re-election in 2018 are in a special category, being from states that Donald Trump won in 2016. Previously, I catalogued five states where Democratic incumbents are considered most vulnerable: Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota and West Virginia. In the other five, Democratic incumbents are far less vulnerable and, in most instances, should feel confident of re-election. Let’s start with Ohio, which Dems definitely thought they had a decent chance to win in 2016.
The GOP could lose 40 House seats this November
There really is no one I can think of who knows more about the political make-up of the U.S. House of Representatives than former Republican Rep. Tom Davis. Davis represented Virginia’s 11th District for 12 years. During that time, he also served as the chairman of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee. This was a perfect fit. To say that Davis is a walking encyclopedia on American politics, past and present, is no exaggeration.
These Democrats will have a hard time keeping their seats in 2018
Despite conventional wisdom that 2018 will be a winner for Democrats, Republicans hope to defeat a number of Senate incumbents. I recently wrote that Democrats shouldn’t feel too confident about their chances in two states, with Sens.
CFIUS Reform Supported by WH
We are writing to report on the latest significant developments in the effort to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). On January 25, 2018, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (“Senate Banking Committee” or “Committee”) held an open hearing entitled “CFIUS Reform: Administration Perspectives on the Essential Elements” in which senior CFIUS officials testified on potential legislative enhancements to CFIUS.
‘Pentagon Papers’: Even at its best the press didn’t stop war
“The Post” is a memorable movie. It tells an important story which needs to be told. We have a president today who calls the press “the enemy of the people.” And if that is not enough, he frequently labels news that is not favorable to him as “fake news.” “The Post” chronicles the role of The Washington Post in publishing the “Pentagon Papers,” the report commissioned in 1968 by then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara while he was in office.
Senate Committee on CFIUS reform
On January 18, 2018, the the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (“the Committee”) held a hearing to consider the Foreign Investment Risk Review Management Act (FIRRMA), a bill introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Senate and Congressman Robert Pittenger (R-NC) in the House to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Desperate Democrats shouldn't settle for Oprah
Will she or won’t she? To quote Clark Gable in “Gone With the Wind,” “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!” By that, I mean all this “Oprah” talk seems to me, in a word: ridiculous. All the conversation and hype, as everyone knows, has to do with her remarks at the Golden Globe Awards. Her performance created an overnight sensation and immediate calls for her to run for president. From Meryl Streep to numerous hard-nosed, tough-talking political operatives, they all sang her praises.
Blue wave of 2018 stops in Indiana and Missouri
As the New Year starts, the National Democratic Party feels highly optimistic. It is talking about a “blue wave” in 2018. This blue wave, Democrats believe, will cause a political tsunami which will result in the Democratic Party retaking both chambers of Congress. They hope that they will capture the 24 seats needed in the House and, more important, net the two seats required in the Senate. Control of the Senate is key. The Senate is the place where presidential appointments are confirmed or denied.
Voting their consciences shouldn’t cost lawmakers their jobs
They are widely considered to be without strong convictions, unable to give a straight answer, intentionally duplicitous and far too often disingenuous in their desire to please everybody. They will say whatever any crowd wants to hear and never deliberately seek to displease. This modus operandi leads to an enormous lack of candor and a total absence of genuine honesty. Why do politicians act this way? I have determined that the answer is simple: They like to stay in office.
Tied Virginia election proves every vote actually does count
Don’t ever say to me on Election Day, “Oh, I’m not voting.” Those who express such an indefensible sentiment often then try to justify it by saying, “My vote doesn’t count.” Just ask two people today, Shelly Simonds and David Yancey. Both were candidates for delegate to the Virginia state legislature from the 94th House District. Neither has been declared the winner. The election took place in November.
Thank Sen. Shelby and Charles Barkley for saving Alabama
Two people should be thanked for the unexpected upset victory of Democrat Doug Jones in Alabama. The first and foremost is the senior U.S. senator from Alabama, Republican Richard Shelby Richard Craig ShelbyObstruction of justice watch: Trump attacks the FBI The Hill's 12:30 Report Alabama businesses fear Moore victory would hurt state economy: report MORE. Shelby, a former Democrat who decades ago changed parties, could not have made it more clear. “I couldn’t vote for. I didn’t vote for Roy Moore.
All About Politics: Doug Jones, Mayor Bowser and Ballou High - The Georgetowner
Tuesday, Dec. 12, should have been declared a national day of jubilation. Doug Jones beat Roy Moore. Donald Trump is now a three-time loser. He backed Ed Gillespie for governor of Virginia and Gillespie got clobbered by Ralph Northam. Then he backed Luther Strange against Moore and Strange went down to defeat. Sweetest of all, he campaigned for, robo-called and exhorted his supporters to vote for Moore and Moore lost. Alabama can’t get more Republican.
Let's be real, it's Trump and Bannon on the ballot in Alabama
The voters of Alabama have made it very clear to anybody and everybody who has asked that no outsider will determine their vote. But two very well-known outsiders obviously have not been listening. The first, of course, is someone who can’t bring himself to stay out of the fray.
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