Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
between dif erent species, and increases in the numbers of predator-prey,
host-parasite, and pollinator-plant interactions. We will encounter some of
these processes in the next chapter, as we explore how speciation actually
happens. It is this positive side of the Earth's tumultuous history, the ten-
dency for diversity to increase even in the face of extinction, that can give us
hope as we look at the future of our planet.
But we are hitting a giant speed bump on this road. We humans are caus-
ing a great wave of extinctions. This human-caused catastrophe, unlike the
meteorites and vast volcanic eruptions of the past, is in a category of its own.
The present time is the fi rst time in the history of our planet that an intelli-
gent species has appeared. We have betrayed our own intelligence by trash-
ing the environment and sending other species into oblivion. As a species
we have already wreaked far more havoc than the Toba eruption. We are
fragmenting irreplaceable habitats, diverting more than half of the planet's
biological resources toward the feeding and clothing of our exploding popu-
lation, poisoning our environment with chemicals, and altering the planet's
very climate.
But the disaster that we are causing is dif erent from the millions of disas-
ters that preceded it. The meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs was unable
to say “Oops, sorry!” and swerve to miss our planet. We, in contrast, should
be able use our intelligence to control our numbers and behavior, in order to
halt and reverse the damage that we have done. Will our grandchildren be
able to look back and say proudly, “Yes, they swerved in time”?
