Celebrated biologist’s new book outlines an audacious plan to save the biodiversity of EarthHe is also the author of numerous biological concepts, including island biogeography and biophiliaIn a wide-ranging interview, he also discusses the Trump phenomenon and decries de-extinction and so-called ‘Anthropocenists’ At 87, E.O. Wilson has lost none of his intellectual rigor. His sentences are long, rolling, full of enough parentheticals to make Proust smile, and delivered in a wonderfully soothing, southern voice. He has an incredible ability to jump from subject to subject, to provide detailed context and endless lines of proofs for every argument. He can spout data like fertility statistics or findings from the latest research on the fly. But, for all his accomplishments, he has retained a politeness that is pleasantly disarming and a humility that is astounding. When you speak with him – even as I did over the phone – you feel like you’re talking to a grandparent (who just happens to be a genius) and not one of the foremost scientists of the last hundred years. It’s not hyperbole to contend that E.O. Wilson is the greatest biologist since Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace sailed the Earth armed with butterfly nets, microscopes and piles of notebooks. In a career that spans six-plus decades (and ongoing) Wilson aided in developing the concept of biodiversity, biophilia, and uncovered – along with partner Robert McArthur – the theory of island biogeography, all of which overturned how conservationists, ecologists and, yes even, world leaders looked at the natural world. But these revolutionary discoveries were actually a tad outside Wilson’s main expertise. Wilson is regarded as the world’s leading expert on that taxonomic family that outweighs collectively all others: ants. Wilson was instrumental in discovering how ants communicate via pheromones and has spent a lifetime studying their intricate, social structures – so like, and unlike, our own. It’s from his study of these tiny-bodied, six-legged world conquerors that he developed the evolutionary concept of sociobiology, meaning that social behavior – of ants and humans – can be attributed to the potent power of evolution. According to Wilson our sociability is hardwired in the genetic material passed down through generations. Through this, he has described both human origins and human nature – an idea fully outlined in his 2013 book, The Social Conquest of Earth – with much controversy and not a little debate. E.O. Wilson. Image via PBS.org. But even as Wilson time-and-again revolutionized the natural and evolutionary sciences, he has also been one of those rare beings in science who communicates comfortably with a general audience. Wilson has written about a dozen books meant for a general audience, including a memoir, a series of letters to evangelicals, and a novel about a young boy’s adventures with ants and awakening into conservation – including a famous section from the point of view of the ants themselves. He is also a truly expansive soul. Although considering himself a non-believer, he has the humility and humanity to converse respectfully and constructively with religious leaders. Today, Wilson has once again, made a career turn. Although he spent much of his career working toward greater conservation efforts, it’s only in the last few years that he has formulated a plan for something truly audacious: setting aside half of the planet for biodiversity. In his new book: Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life, Wilson outlines with characteristic passion and beauty why Half-Earth is necessary – though he leaves out some of the particulars of how exactly this could work. Mongabay interviewed Wilson largely to unpack this idea of Half-Earth – which like so many of Wilson’s ideas has not been without its critics. He argues that the process of setting aside half the Earth doesn’t mean moving people out, but being creative with park designations, restoration, and encouraging private-public partnerships. Still, reflecting Wilson’s boundless curiosity and knowledge, the conversation veered into unexpected corners, including Donald Trump, overpopulation, de-extinction, the so-called ‘Anthropocenists,’ the human need for big goals, faith, hope, and legacy. (You can also listen to excerpts of this conversation between Jeremy Hance and E.O. Wilson here.)