One of the major implications of theories of macro-evolution and natural selection is that as ecosystems change, the organisms there change as well. And I’ve also heard that the great diversity of species is soft evidence in favor of these theories.
Animals adapt to their environment, but in different ways. Some, like the Monarch butterfly, become poisonous. Others, such as the Viceroy, mimic their appearance, to fool predators. Thus adaptation leads to diversity.
But when anthropogenic climate change comes into the discussion, all of that goes out the window:
Climate change could create ecosystems that are unknown today. We do not know what plants and animals they will contain. We do not know what will result when the temporal webs that connect plants and animals are broken. It may be that generations to come will see nature’s wonders. But it is more likely that much of the awe and wonder that obtain from the diversity of life on earth that we know at present will be lost.
Ecosystems have been in constant flux since “the beginning”. Those that we have now are different than what existed a few thousand years ago. And those are different from what existed 10,000 years before. Ice ages come and go, weather patterns change, but diversity is always there.
Even the ecosystems that Mr. Kreitzman describes in his column are adapted from something. So why now is it more likely everything will be lost, rather than a new diversity emerging?
The whole premise is that this change is different from the others, and if we don’t stop it disaster will come. And oh yes, we can stop it.
I obviously don’t doubt valid temperature data can clearly see that the temperature is higher than a century ago. But that just might be because the earth’s been warming since the last ice age.
Let me compare our role in climate change with sailing. We’re like barnacles on the hull of a racing boat. We create extra drag, and a difference that’s noticeable to people who are looking for it. But for the most part, we can’t do anything. We can’t make the boat speed up, slow down, turn, or wreck. We’re just along for the ride.
