Lyle Lewis
@race2extinct.bsky.social
My book “Racing To Extinction” analyzes the imminent disappearance of humanity through the lens of my 30+ years as an ecologist with federal environmental agencies in the U.S.
https://race2extinct.com
https://race2extinct.com
Fifteen days in the wild, and this truth feels sharper than ever:
We are drying up the fountains of life….forgetting they’re what quench both body and soul.
We are drying up the fountains of life….forgetting they’re what quench both body and soul.
November 23, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Fifteen days in the wild, and this truth feels sharper than ever:
We are drying up the fountains of life….forgetting they’re what quench both body and soul.
We are drying up the fountains of life….forgetting they’re what quench both body and soul.
The Endangered Species Act lets us measure our virtue even as the world empties around us.
This is an excerpt from a larger piece about what protection means….and what it fails to capture.
open.substack.com/pub/lylel/p/...
This is an excerpt from a larger piece about what protection means….and what it fails to capture.
open.substack.com/pub/lylel/p/...
November 23, 2025 at 12:49 PM
The Endangered Species Act lets us measure our virtue even as the world empties around us.
This is an excerpt from a larger piece about what protection means….and what it fails to capture.
open.substack.com/pub/lylel/p/...
This is an excerpt from a larger piece about what protection means….and what it fails to capture.
open.substack.com/pub/lylel/p/...
The Endangered Species Act lets us measure our virtue even as the world empties around us. Tomorrow I’m sharing an excerpt from a new article that pulls at the threads we don’t like to see.
November 23, 2025 at 12:23 AM
The Endangered Species Act lets us measure our virtue even as the world empties around us. Tomorrow I’m sharing an excerpt from a new article that pulls at the threads we don’t like to see.
Time offline reminded me what writing can’t imitate: the resilience of living systems still holding on.
Thanks for sticking with my posts while I was off-grid.
New ESA piece tomorrow. Catching up this week….and here’s a moment from the wilderness.
Thanks for sticking with my posts while I was off-grid.
New ESA piece tomorrow. Catching up this week….and here’s a moment from the wilderness.
November 22, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Time offline reminded me what writing can’t imitate: the resilience of living systems still holding on.
Thanks for sticking with my posts while I was off-grid.
New ESA piece tomorrow. Catching up this week….and here’s a moment from the wilderness.
Thanks for sticking with my posts while I was off-grid.
New ESA piece tomorrow. Catching up this week….and here’s a moment from the wilderness.
The IUCN calls the extinction crisis a mix of “hope and concern.” But hope thrives in the absence of honesty. Humanity would rather lie to itself about endless growth than face the reality of limits.
November 21, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The IUCN calls the extinction crisis a mix of “hope and concern.” But hope thrives in the absence of honesty. Humanity would rather lie to itself about endless growth than face the reality of limits.
Weirdos and outliers often survive where “normal” individuals can’t — especially at the edges of a species’ range. Behavioral diversity is evolutionary insurance. As populations shrink, we lose not just numbers, but the quirks that could help species survive a shifting world.
November 20, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Weirdos and outliers often survive where “normal” individuals can’t — especially at the edges of a species’ range. Behavioral diversity is evolutionary insurance. As populations shrink, we lose not just numbers, but the quirks that could help species survive a shifting world.
To say plants or invertebrates perceive and respond to their world is still considered sentimental or unscientific. But not long ago, we said the same about animals…..and we were wrong then too.
November 19, 2025 at 5:00 PM
To say plants or invertebrates perceive and respond to their world is still considered sentimental or unscientific. But not long ago, we said the same about animals…..and we were wrong then too.
We’ve shredded the planet’s carbon-capture machinery. The atmosphere isn’t the disease….it’s the symptom.
November 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM
We’ve shredded the planet’s carbon-capture machinery. The atmosphere isn’t the disease….it’s the symptom.
We call it wilderness, but every branch, every tidepool, every bear carries the memory of what humans choose to forget.
November 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM
We call it wilderness, but every branch, every tidepool, every bear carries the memory of what humans choose to forget.
Long before agriculture, humans reshaped life on Earth — carelessly squandering millions of years of evolution.
November 16, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Long before agriculture, humans reshaped life on Earth — carelessly squandering millions of years of evolution.
Protecting a species without protecting its ecosystem is like saving a single lung and calling the patient cured. Stay tuned. My upcoming essay on the Endangered Species Act explores how policy too often mistakes paperwork for protection.
November 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Protecting a species without protecting its ecosystem is like saving a single lung and calling the patient cured. Stay tuned. My upcoming essay on the Endangered Species Act explores how policy too often mistakes paperwork for protection.
By romanticizing the past and rationalizing the present, we hide from the enormity of what we’ve done…..and are still doing to Earth’s living systems.
November 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM
By romanticizing the past and rationalizing the present, we hide from the enormity of what we’ve done…..and are still doing to Earth’s living systems.
We didn’t just fill the sky with carbon — we dismantled Earth’s ability to absorb it. Forests, wetlands, soils, oceans — the lungs, heart, skin, and blood of a living planet.
November 13, 2025 at 5:01 PM
We didn’t just fill the sky with carbon — we dismantled Earth’s ability to absorb it. Forests, wetlands, soils, oceans — the lungs, heart, skin, and blood of a living planet.
Ecology is as much art as science. It asks us to interpret a world too complex to fully measure, too interconnected to isolate, and too ancient to replicate. The deeper we go, the clearer it becomes: understanding life means listening, not just modeling.
November 12, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Ecology is as much art as science. It asks us to interpret a world too complex to fully measure, too interconnected to isolate, and too ancient to replicate. The deeper we go, the clearer it becomes: understanding life means listening, not just modeling.
Extinctions unfold not through one fatal blow, but through the slow convergence of many.
November 11, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Extinctions unfold not through one fatal blow, but through the slow convergence of many.
The things humanity clings to — corporations, money, nations, religions — are not anchors. They’re myths. And when the storm comes, they will turn to dust and blow away.
November 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The things humanity clings to — corporations, money, nations, religions — are not anchors. They’re myths. And when the storm comes, they will turn to dust and blow away.
In a world of increasing risk and uncertainty, you can only attempt to guide your life in the right direction. There will be times it gallops off another way. Do what you can. Enjoy what you can.
November 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
In a world of increasing risk and uncertainty, you can only attempt to guide your life in the right direction. There will be times it gallops off another way. Do what you can. Enjoy what you can.
Some of the most dramatic human-induced changes to the nature of life on Earth occurred before the dawn of agriculture — damage that remains etched into ecosystems planet-wide.
November 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Some of the most dramatic human-induced changes to the nature of life on Earth occurred before the dawn of agriculture — damage that remains etched into ecosystems planet-wide.
I’ll be heading offline for a while…..back to the wilderness, where signal fades and perspective returns. Posts will keep running while I’m gone, but I won’t be around to reply. See you when I return.
November 8, 2025 at 3:00 PM
I’ll be heading offline for a while…..back to the wilderness, where signal fades and perspective returns. Posts will keep running while I’m gone, but I won’t be around to reply. See you when I return.
“Planet is greening” has data behind it, but without context, it misleads. It’s become a lifeline for climate deniers who mistake leafier maps for recovery. That’s the illusion of green.
open.substack.com/pub/lylel/p/...
open.substack.com/pub/lylel/p/...
November 7, 2025 at 12:23 PM
“Planet is greening” has data behind it, but without context, it misleads. It’s become a lifeline for climate deniers who mistake leafier maps for recovery. That’s the illusion of green.
open.substack.com/pub/lylel/p/...
open.substack.com/pub/lylel/p/...
When a species finally begins to recover, it becomes a problem to be managed. We want to repeat what sent their population into a tailspin to begin with only now there’s less habitat left to support their existence.
November 6, 2025 at 4:30 PM
When a species finally begins to recover, it becomes a problem to be managed. We want to repeat what sent their population into a tailspin to begin with only now there’s less habitat left to support their existence.
Balance is a euphemism for keeping things the way we like them. There’s no solid evidence that hunting makes bears safer for people. Most conflicts happen where people expand into bear country, not the other way around. 2/3
November 6, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Balance is a euphemism for keeping things the way we like them. There’s no solid evidence that hunting makes bears safer for people. Most conflicts happen where people expand into bear country, not the other way around. 2/3
“Sustainable bear management” is the phrase we use when we want nature to conform to our whims and desires.
The hunt didn’t end because grizzlies were overpopulated. It ended because they were struggling to stabilize after centuries of decline.🧵
The hunt didn’t end because grizzlies were overpopulated. It ended because they were struggling to stabilize after centuries of decline.🧵
November 6, 2025 at 4:30 PM
“Sustainable bear management” is the phrase we use when we want nature to conform to our whims and desires.
The hunt didn’t end because grizzlies were overpopulated. It ended because they were struggling to stabilize after centuries of decline.🧵
The hunt didn’t end because grizzlies were overpopulated. It ended because they were struggling to stabilize after centuries of decline.🧵
We’ve framed the story as competition between two owls, but it’s really about what happens when ecosystems meet a predator they never knew. 4/4
November 6, 2025 at 5:33 AM
We’ve framed the story as competition between two owls, but it’s really about what happens when ecosystems meet a predator they never knew. 4/4