<h3 style="margin-left:0px;">Musings on Evolution</h3><p style="margin-left:0px;">Evolution by natural selection (the full name) was co-discovered/announced by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in 1858 (that co-discovery is a remarkable story in and of itself). Evolution is a simple, elegant, <i>obviously true </i>description of how organic life came to be - and is always changing - on our amazing planet. I say “obviously true”, because when you think about it, how the “theory” explains life on Earth, you come to realize that it <i>has</i> to be this way, that to deny evolution is to deny logic itself. At least that's how I see it. Which, I suppose, should go without saying.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Back in 2011, I decided that it was time to do more than simply accept evolution as valid - it was time to understand it more fully. I knew the basics of evolution by natural selection, but hadn't studied it for decades. OMG, the things we now know - I was totally blown away. It changed the course of my life in many ways. Including becoming obsessed with invasive plant removal.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">Interestingly, I had a fundamentally <i>moral</i> response to my study of evolution (I blame this on my Jewish upbringing). For me, evolution above all shows that humans are <i>not better</i> than other species. We are simply <i>different</i>. We are not any more or less unique and amazing than any other species. We - every species, every individual on earth - are <i>all</i> unique and amazing. Unfortunately, some of the things humans do that make us unique are….well, horrifying. We poison water, the very source of organic life. We pollute the air, without which most life on Earth would perish. We kill, kill, kill - not for survival, but for comfort, convenience, and entertainment. Another way to put it is that after discovering evolution (humans are so smart!), we then did everything we could to <i>exempt</i> ourselves from it.</p><p style="margin-left:0px;">I am sorry to sound so grim, but I expect this is not news to many of you. And what it said to me in no uncertain terms was: </p><ul><li>Minimize complicity in this killing, as much as you can.</li><li>Take direct and positive action to save non-human life, as much as you can.</li></ul><p style="margin-left:0px;">To minimize complicity, I try to follow this simple rule: <strong>Buy what you need, not what you want.</strong> Or to put it another way: reduce, reduce, reduce. In the process, I rearranged my diet to <strong>avoid consumption of plastic</strong>, especially single-use plastic, and <strong>buy organic</strong> whenever possible. Buying in bulk takes care of a lot of this. I also buy eggs from a friend with chickens.<br><br>As for direct and positive action, that's where my work removing plant invasives comes in. I figure I can do this for the rest of my life, as long as my body holds up, and <i>know</i> that I am having a positive impact, <i>know</i> that I am helping native species survive and thrive. </p><p style="margin-left:0px;">If it's been a while since you've refreshed or updated your understanding of evolution, <a href="https://penguinrandomhousesecondaryeducation.com/book/?isbn=9780307277459">Your Inner Fish</a> is a great place to start remedying that situation.</p><p>May I suggest a small vow to take for the planet? I urge myself to <i><strong>Every day do something to heal the planet</strong>.</i> Sometimes the thing I do is “big”, sometimes it might only be a small act, such as pulling up some honeysuckle in my yard. But every day, <i>something</i>.</p><p>Take care, <br>Steven Feuerstein</p> |