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Why should an evolution-believing environmentalist think he/she needs to help guide natural processes?

Update:

If everything evolves, and, according to evolutionary thinking, everything has been in process for billions of years, why should anyone think they should try to control that process?

Please offer an on-point, kind, well-considered response.

9 Answers

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  • 5 years ago

    Perhaps if you read a book?

    I have supplied a link to a government site that is working with such a problem. Perhaps if you just started with a tiny bit of knowledge it wouldn't hurt your brain. In the 1980s evolutionary science saved lives, now it is being applied again to saving lives. The religious just fly planes into buildings.

  • Keith
    Lv 7
    5 years ago

    The Holy Spirit of God, is my Ultimate Guide to Life and Heaven.

    Don't make this more complicated, than it needs to be.

  • ?
    Lv 6
    5 years ago

    Natural elements like, fire, earth, water, air, revolve creating natural energy. Natural opposing forces. Evidenced by natural disasters. Conflicting energy natural or unnatural, creates disturbances. Our natural environment depends on mankind to weather and maintain our side in the conflicts. Hold ground, Hold position!

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    "Guide natural processes? What are you babbling about. He thinks we shouldn't destroy the planet or all the animals and plants because we need them to survive.

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  • 5 years ago

    OK

    Within any single species, each individual will be a tiny bit different—have different traits: Some individuals are taller, hairier, stronger, smarter, faster, etc.

    For any given population (i.e., subset of a species) living with in any given habitat, some individuals are going to be more successful (success is measured by the ability to produce offspring).

    There are unique challenges within each habitat: the availability of food, the climate, the combinations of predators, parasites, the minerals in the soil—different within different habitats. It is not always possible to move to a better habitat. Sometimes a population finds itself starting out in a new habitat—perhaps washed onto a new island by a tsunami—and must make do, if possible.

    For any given population living with in a specific habitat, some individuals are going to do less well than others. Sometimes entire populations die out, but oftentimes, the individuals with the best combination of traits are the ones most likely to contribute genetic information to the subsequent generation. (e.g., It could be the shortest ones that do less well, and with each successive generation, fewer short ones manage to breed. Take a snapshot of the population today, and compare it to a snap shot of the population 50 years from today, assuming that the habitat has been more or less constant, the average height of all the individuals in the future will be taller).

    BTW, changes which occur over time to a population living within a specific habitat is evolution.

    Farmers have exploited this for centuries (e.g., selecting the calves of the cows that give the most milk to produce next years dairy herd and sending the rest of the calves for slaughter; selecting the biggest cobs of corn to seed next year’s fields and eating the rest of the corn).

    One thing which separates humans from other species is that we have learned how to modify our habitats, so even in a harsh environment like Las Vegas, there is air conditioning, piped in water, truckloads of food that could never grow there naturally. Sure, ants can build hills, and beavers can build dams, but humans take the prize. Oftentimes, when we make our habitats better for ourselves, we destroy habitats for other species (e.g., fracking for oil to run our cars destroys habitat for many species of wildlife). Although we are part of nature, many of us recognize that we are responsible for nature.

    Another thing which separates humans from other species is that most of us recognize that the diversity of life on Earth is important to us (and to the other species). Many of the medicines discovered to treat many of our illnesses originated from molecules that used to only be produced by some unique plant living in a unique habitat that we nearly bulldozed. We can’t keep polluting the oceans if we want the oxygen produced by sea weed. If we don’t take care of nature, we’re soiling our own habitats.

    So yes, everything evolves and has been evolving for billions of years, but evolution can be a harsh process. There have been many extinctions. Extinction is part of evolution. Extinction is a natural process. We could go extinct (just as our actions have caused many other species to go extinct).

    The next big challenge (if we don't nuke ourselves) will be to control human population growth—we've been far too successful for our own good (success is measured by the ability to produce offspring) and we need to control that process. We're running out of clean water and arable farm land. In about 35-50 years, we're going to start seeing massive, large scale famines. Famines, drought, & plagues are natural processes and all contribute to evolution.

    If we don’t step in to control or modify the process, evolution can take us in directions we won’t like. As Sookey said, usually the aim is to counteract the damage humans have done to natural processes.

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    I don't really know what you mean. What natural processes are you referring to?

  • Beyond
    Lv 6
    5 years ago

    example: Deborah Kellerman??

  • 5 years ago

    Why should you ask such an absurd question.

  • Anonymous
    5 years ago

    lol

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