THE SURVIVAL STRATEGY OF OUR SPECIES IS THE POSSESSION OF A large and complex brain that has endowed us with the ability to project ahead into the future and anticipate the possible consequences of our actions. As a result of this foresight, our species is unique in being able to make choices. We can recognize options, weigh their hazards and benefits, and then deliberately choose the action that will maximize the likelihood of benefit while minimizing dangers. This evolutionary strategy has succeeded wonderfully for Homo sapiens and has given us a position of unparalleled dominance on the planet. So it is ironic that in a time of enormous amplification of human brainpower through computers, telecommunication, scientists, and engineers, we no longer seem able to do what our ancestors did routinely, that is, to assess the hazards that confront us and to choose the best option for long-term survival.
As biological creatures with organs to inform us about the state of our surroundings, we are very good at reacting when an immediate crisis hits. A car accident, fire, earthquake, flood, or storm leaves us no choice but to do the best we can to survive and recover. But it’s far better to anticipate possible difficulties or hazards and act to minimize the likelihood of their occurrence.
Imagine that an immense alien from another galaxy arrives on this planet. Each of its two feet is about an acre in area, and it runs across the planet taking one step every second and crushing everything under each footstep. The creature has an insatiable appetite, draining lakes and rivers to slake its thirst, capturing huge quantities of fish in the oceans, ripping open mountains to get at minerals, spewing vast clouds of toxic fumes into the atmosphere from its mouth, and fouling the land and water with poisons excreted from its other end. Faced with such a monster, the entire world would be united in declaring a global emergency and launching a massive response that would dwarf the current mobilization to fight terrorism. Everything would be done to stop the creature from its destructive rampage.
The collective impact of human activity is comparable to that alien’s, and it is a puzzle why we aren’t responding appropriately. Instead, we are stopped by objections that the destruction is not really that bad, or the costs of stopping the rampage are unacceptable, so we let the monstrous activity continue. We are no longer using our foresight to wend our way safely into the future.
I believe that one of the reasons we seem unable to respond to the threats of human activity is that we no longer see ourselves as part of the natural world. As a species, we have been able to survive in surroundings as varied as high alpine regions, the Arctic, deserts, grasslands, forests, and wetlands. Our survival in such different circumstances has required a profound working knowledge of our environment. But more and more people dwell in the human-created environment of cities, where it is easy to accept the illusion that we no longer need nature because trade enables us to exist unrestricted by the limited productivity of our immediate surroundings and a strong economy enables us to have all of the trappings of modern life, including a clean environment.
When a species like ours becomes so numerous and demanding through technology, consumption, and economics, the repercussions for the rest of life on Earth are immense. Our transformation into a major force affecting the biological, physical, and chemical features of the planet has happened so suddenly that most of us have not yet recognized that for the first time in history, we must be aware of and concerned about the collective impact of our entire species.
The challenge of our time is to see that humanity as a whole has become that rampaging alien, to use our foresight and judgment to undertake preventive measures, and to marshal the kind of response we would get if there really was an invasion from outer space.