Evolution, Accelerated
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 05.15.07
Scientists have mostly discussed and understood evolution as a process whose effect can only be ascertained over the course of thousands, if not millions of years. In essence, evolution is defined as a change in a population's genetic composition over many generations, due to the effect of natural selection acting on individual genetic variation, that results in the development of new species. And although this notion still holds true for the most part, researchers have increasingly begun to notice the growing role that climate change has played in accelerating the rate of evolution in certain species. http://www.treehugger.com/mt/mt-static/images/formatting-icons/field-smaller.gif
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In an effort to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions being spurred by the advent of global warming, species of plants and animals have been engaging in an evolutionary arms race to take advantage of declining resources and space. Warm-weather animals such as shallow-water squid and weed field mustard, in particular, have been able to outcompete their cold-weather colleagues for precious food and territory. Upon encountering changing weather regimes, species are forced to tweak their physiological mechanisms and reproductory rates to quickly conform to their new environment, adaptations that can accumulate in the form of genetic mutations and get passed down to their offspring, eventually leading to speciation.
The effect of these invading species can be detrimental and often results in fundamental ecosystem-level changes. Shane Wright, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, notes that tropical animals will only benefit up to a certain point, however, remarking that, "There can be too much of a good thing."
See also: ::What if Darwin Did Davos?
"Scientists have always discussed and understood evolution as a process whose effect can only be ascertained over the course of thousands, if not millions of years."
Not true. Look at bacteria. Or the food we eat. This is occurring within life times.
Unfortunately, this rapid evolution means that climate change is essentially meaningless. Life will go on, and it will find ways to adapt. Neat!
"Unfortunately, this rapid evolution means that climate change is essentially meaningless. Life will go on, and it will find ways to adapt. Neat!"
Meanginless? Not at all.
Few people argue that NO life will be left on Earth in the mid-term, but what species will disappear and how uncomfortable and miserable it will be for others (including us) is not meanginless...
Digg front page! Congrats :)
We need to evolve! The critical mass needs to change its thinking. Mankind can not go back, but our technology has to go forward.
Constantly we are hearing "How can we cope with changing climate?" We are making it inevitable for all life on Earth because we are asking the wrong question.
The question should be "Why are self defeatist scientists telling us there is not a viable alternative to fossil fuels?" I suspect that scientists tell us what their sponsors what us hear. World economic models might possibley fail if we produced our own energy for free, imagine the losses of tax in fuel!
Look around us - energy is everywhere. Seething at a quantum level, transforming our environment constantly, moving planets and powering the stars.
I beleive emphatically that Zero point energy is the solution and that the solution is out there. What we need a critical mass of people to experience this directly and to force our technological evolution for the good of all life on earth.
I think the piece of info that alarmed me the most in this article was barely glossed over in the second paragraph:
a 12 degree temperature shift in 10,000 years caused a massive extinction - our current temp. shift will raise the temperature up to the same amount in just 100 years... ouch.