The paradox of time: NOW is the only moment of time that is real – but the past is present in the now in the shape of things that originated before the present, and the future is present in the now in the shape of things that maintain their shape after the present. So, when we look for a change, we have to start NOW. – But what kind of changes are possible? For how long do changes take? – Let's look arund and try to figure out, what sort of changes happen and how we can influence their direction and speed.
Yrjö Haila is professor of environmental policy (emeritus) at the University of Tampere. He was educated as an ecologist, with theoretical philosophy as his secondary subject; his main research interests have centered on the nature–society interface and eco-social dynamics, from several complementary perspectives. His books include Humanity and Nature, Ecology, Science and Society, together with Richard Levins (Pluto Press, 1992), and How Nature Speaks. The Dynamics of the Human Ecological Condition, co-edited with Chuck Dyke (Duke University Press, 2006), as well as several books in Finnish.