Creating climate change is just one of the major changes humanity is causing in Earth’s matrix of life. Here’s is somthing you probably have never heard or even thought about. We, as a species, must evolve in our thinking to make fostering the wellbeing of the matrix humanity’s highest priority. And we are about to begin a government that has only power and greed as a priority. The only thing that will change this is us, you and me, making our every quotidian choice of the options available the one that is the most compassionate, life-affirming, and fostering of wellbeing.
A tuskless African elephant in Gorongosa national park, which saw heavy poaching during Mozambique’s civil war. As elephants were killed for their ivory, the genes for large tusks were removed from the population and many adults, especially females like this one, now have no tusks at all. Credit: Jennifer Guyton
As people have shaped the natural world, so wildlife – from mahoganies to magpies – has had to evolve to survive. From the highest mountains to the depths of the ocean, humanity’s influence has touched every part of planet Earth. Many plants and animals are evolving in response, adapting to a human-dominated world. One notable example came during the Industrial Revolution, when the peppered moth turned from black and white to entirely black after soot darkened its habitat. The black moths were camouflaged against the soot-covered trees, surviving to pass on their genes to the next generation.
As human influence has expanded, so too have the strange adaptations forced on the natural world. We asked researchers around the world for similar changes they have noticed in the 21st century.
