Darwin’s evolution and humanity’s fate

This year will be the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Evolution suggests basically that all living things are related and ultimately descend from a single common ancestor. This revolutionary theory has troubled many throughout history because it challenges the idea of divine creation. As a result countries where religion is important are least accepting of evolution. Seeing how many people in rich countries, America especially, do not embrace evolution despite mounting evidence is hugely disappointing for humanity. If even people who believe themselves to be living in ‘developed’ countries blessed by higher level of education cannot rid themselves of dogma and embrace the more rigorous discoveries of science, the future of humanity will remain at great risk. The survival of our species depends on our ability to adopt to new environments and use our scarce natural resources to survive natural disasters. This will be impossible if we do not realize that humans of all races and beliefs are part of a shared family whose survival depends on adaptation rather than divine intervention. Let us educate, not pray for, our children about who we truly are.

Evolution and the value of extinctions

The human species is made up of emotional beings who often seem to prefer the status quo to change. This is unsurprising given the uncertainty that change ushers in but change is vital to both nature and our existence. Our sensitive souls are fed with images and messages that the animal kingdom is on the verge of mass extinction. The aptly named International Union for Conservation of Nature recently published its annual inventory of species under threat and the news is not good: out of the 44,838 species considered, 16,928 are threatened with extinction, including almost a quarter of the world’s mammals. While some endangered species are recovering due to human intervention less photogenic beasts are receiving much less attention. This could be a cause for disaster, we are told, because natural cycles and the food chains are fragile and yet vital to our survival. The problem with conserving nature, preserving its current state, as if it was a still life painting sitting on a musuem wall, is that fails to appreciate what nature truly is. The world we know has been shaped by millions of years of natural changes beyond our control and extenctions have always played a critical role. Leveraging evolutionary process, nature is able to select the species that are best fitted to adopt to a emerging ecosystems and eliminate those who are unfit to survive. This process sounds cruel but is it is actually what has created humans and the wonderful planet we live on. Fighting these evolutionary processes and the very idea of preserving nature goes against the very essence of nature and the changes it fosters. If humans are truly concerned about the risk of their own species becoming extinct, they should stop wasting time and money saving butterflies and whales and stop wasting scarce resources on senseless wars and political games. We should invest in research, science, education and innovation to provide our children with the tools, knowledge and wisdom to survive and adopt to the inevitable natural changes that mother nature will create whether nostalgic conservationists like or not.