Allison Burbach (10/25): Ecology of Eden

In my Ecology of Eden presentation on chapter 30 “Hot and Cool,” I posed the discussion question: Do you believe nature has the genes to survive this next global warming period? What about humans? 

Personally, I believe nature has the genes to make it through the next global warming period and mass extinction; however, the species composition may look vastly different. Biologically, the environment will survive in whatever conditions, but it may not resemble an environment humans are used to. This is where the human alarm comes from. We are very concerned about things like the loss of biodiversity and droughts because those changes impact the human way of living. From an anthropogenic viewpoint, the changes feel monumental. For plants and animals, however, it is more black and white. The humans that survive the next global warming period will likely have to live in different areas of the planet and dwell in unfamiliar ways. Humans may have the genes, but I am hesitant to say they have the ability to shift their attitude about the environment when there is a loss of both beauty and function of nature.


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