DATING A CATHOLIC, BEING A SCIENTIST

The Sister Forces of Climate Change and Evolution

(also known by their stage names: The Puppeteers of Nature)

Three years ago, I came to America for the very first time to study at Rice. But what I didn’t realize right away was that coming to Texas would be a separate experience in itself. A couple months into my freshman year, however, it became quite readily apparent why people had warned me that there would be some “strange folks” where I would be going.

One of my very first dates as a college student was with this conservative, Catholic guy. In the middle of a lighthearted conversation about personal beliefs, I was suddenly taken aback by his unaffected, self-assured declaration of his disbelief in the “theory” of evolution, and the “theory” of climate change. It was all I could do to stop myself from launching into a tirade right then and there. Hindered in any physical retaliation by a table laden with lobster ravioli and fondue, I listened incredulously to this otherwise completely engaging boy, as he calmly dissed two issues whose validity I had always assumed was a given.

Now, I am a tad wiser. Evolution and climate change are two hotly contested topics in America, both mangled and marred by politics and religion. I have even heard many very plausible and interesting points of view from the other side of the fence, and I have acquired more respect for the people who are cautious in accepting scientific evidence with regards to this topic. Climate change and evolution are considered two topics in a list of many others which define a person by virtue of his or her belief in them.



Anti-evolution sticker

However, they are not mutually exclusive. I personally believe that climate change and evolution are two issues that are intertwined and overlapping, and hence enhance their significance in the course of our futures. Thus it is even more pressing that people understand that regardless of their moral, political or religious beliefs, it is important to view evolution and climate change together, for the interplay of these phenomena has long-standing ramifications in influencing the ecological trends in structured populations and might have already shaped the present for us humans. They are comparable to yin and yang – it would be futile to look at the consequences of one unless it is in the light of the other.

Recent research has proven that climate change might enhance evolution, in what could be considered as a last-ditch effort by a species to weather unfavorable climate fluctuations, even though it does not always ensure survival. This is great news for scientists, as this shows unprecedented increases in speeds of microevolution not observed before, and could signify an enhanced coping mechanism. The evolution of faster evolution because of climate change? Truly fascination stuff!

On the other hand, there are studies conducted by the NSF that have shown climate change and evolution to be opposing forces working together in what can be compared to a race, or a tug of war. The winner ultimately decides the species’ survival. Can the species evolve fast enough to  outcompete the menacing advances of climate change? Or will it get swallowed up by the tide? The answer lies in how fast evolution can strengthen its adaptive responses.

I have mentioned above that climate change could be responsible for driving human evolution for millions of years. But what if climate change is the very factor that kick-started human evolution to begin with? Would that not be an incredible revelation? Does that mean that the climate change that all of us are so worried about, is a natural step in the sequence of evolution, and that the scary, impressive statistics presented by Al Gore are actually the very statistics that will shape a future human generation, more refined and better adapted that we are right now? Will our meddling with Nature give rise to a new age human that can cope with the consequences of doing exactly that? Has evolution already accounted for the fact that human will be the cause of climate change, thus leading to a positive feedback loop that will factor out the harm we have caused? So many questions, and so few answers.

 
Five fossilized human skulls show how the shape of the early human face evolved: (left to right) Australopithecus africanus, 2.5 million years old; Homo rudolfensis, 1.9 million years old; Homo erectus, 1 million years old; Homo heidelbergensis, 350,000 years old; Homo sapiens, 4,800 years old. Scientists believe that climate change had a major impact on the development of early humans.

I guess my point is that I finally forgive the boy who almost made me walk out on my gnocchi (which, let me tell you, NEVER happens) all those years ago. He just couldn’t see the invisible strings pulling around him. He couldn’t see climate change and evolution gleefully cackling and slapping hi-fives as they decided what to do next. Possibly evolve out of people like him in the next round?

… Just kidding!