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October 29, 2026
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The Technology and Nature Initiative works to improve the assessment and governance of emerging technology. We focus on the environmental hazards associated with innovations such as nanotechnology, geoengineering, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. We believe that nature matters for its own sake and is essential for the survival of humanity.
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There is a shift taking place in the nature of nature; traditional views of the natural world are being challenged by emerging technologies such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, geoengineering and artificial intelligence. The field of biotechnology is experimenting with new and sometimes hazardous techniques that will force us to question our assumptions about what it means to be an organism, a species, and an intact ecosystem. Nanotechnology is allowing us to build objects so small that they interact with living systems in ways we do not understand. Geoengineers are proposing to modify the atmosphere just as we are beginning to appreciate the complexity of Earth's life-supporting systems. And artificial intelligence firms are ignoring ecological values and accelerating other technological fields. These developments create the conditions for both positive outcomes and severe ecological hazards, and they are emerging during a period in human history that is so full of uncertainty that it demands caution and humility, not recklessness.
Technological innovation today can feel like it is out of control, but none of these trends are inevitable. Societies make choices. We can choose to either embrace change, exercise caution or reject specific innovations. Unfortunately, our current approach to assessing and managing emerging technology is not working. Humanity has obviously benefited from many technological developments, but we are also locked in a pattern of technological innovation that helps drive the global ecological crisis; societies rush to embrace emerging technology, fail to act on early warnings of environmental hazards, and then struggle to deal with the consequences. This pattern is evident across areas such as pesticides, plastics, chemicals, and energy systems, and the pattern repeats itself like a series of overlapping waves. We need to get ahead of the coming waves; learn from past mistakes, scan the horizon, and adopt a cross-cutting analysis of technological assessment and governance.
Environmentalists, nature lovers and conservationists should work to understand these issues, debate the benefits, hazards and uncertainties of specific technologies, and take action to ensure that nature is well represented as emerging technologies evolve.
With this in mind, The Technology and Nature Initiative (Tech and Nature) works to improve the assessment and governance of emerging technology. We focus on the environmental hazards associated with innovations such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, geoengineering, and artificial intelligence. We believe that healthy ecosystems help humanity flourish and that nature matters for its own sake.
The Technology and Nature Initiative is a project of the Small Change Fund. It is led by its founding Director, Graham Saul, supported by consultants and volunteers, and counseled by an Advisory Group. The work of Tech and Nature is just beginning and this website is currently under construction. In the coming months we will be elaborating on the themes outlined above. In the meantime, please sign-up to receive updates on our work here.
Graham Saul is the founding Director of the Technology and Nature Initiative. Graham has more than 30 years of experience working on social and environmental issues around the world. He began his career with Oxfam International in Maputo, Mozambique in the mid-1990s, and worked for the Bank Information Centre (an environmental watchdog that monitors the World Bank Group) in Washington, D.C. in the early-2000s. Since returning to Canada in 2005, Graham has served as the International Programme Director for both Friends of the Earth Canada and Oil Change International, and the Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada, Ecology Ottawa and Nature Canada. Graham holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from McGill University and a Masters in the Philosophy of Science from the University of Exeter.