Homo sapiens. The ultimate masterpiece of
the evolution. Although not the only species which are able to shape its
environment, we do shape it a lot more than any other one. We build
skyscrapers. We make giant aeroplanes. We control the rivers. We split the atom. We travel to outer
space, also into the deep ocean. We live everywhere, from the deserts to
rainforests, and to the ice covered lands. But are we really owners of the
earth? How much undisputed our rule over the world? Are we the sole master race
among all other creatures sharing this same planet? If we are, then how can we
claim this status?
Our life conditions and capabilities
changed a lot since first Homo sapiens evolved. In 200 000 years ago, we were
much more vulnerable to the environmental conditions. Unlike our big ape
cousins who evolved in rainforests with the protection of trees, the savannah
was much more brutal place to exist for us. We were easy prays for big
predators, yet we had to compete with them for food sources. Our biggest
competitors were perhaps lions in Africa, who live and hunt as big flocks and
physically much stronger than us. As a result of the evolutionary process, we
learned how to collaborate together to ambush and hunt bigger prays, with
better hand tools and spears, and provided ourselves more food to increase our
population.
Our ideas and inventions never stopped
being generated. The first agricultural revolution helped us to feed millions
and to secure our food supply, to provide better collaboration and community
living in cities. This created much more complex relationships, hierarchical
status and social classes among mankind, which increased our power. The ability
to produce metal tools gave us better weapons. The invention of writing, and later
on printing spread the ideas, knowledge and secured the communication rapidly
all over the globe, which gave us an incredible superiority among other
species; the ability to communication globally, which is much powerful than the
distances the howling of wolves and the songs of dolphins could reach. The
industrial revolution enabled us to build amazing structures and vehicles, fed
billions. There are lots of evidences we demonstrate that we are the most
awesome creature ever existed.
The question is, now, how powerful we are. Let’s
suppose all the mankind, 7 billion people decided to work together for one
purpose, and created a budget, wiping out whole population of a kind, for some
reason. In 200 000 years ago we were unable to exterminate the entire lion
populating on purpose, but now, we are, if we wanted to. We do not need to use
anything from our nuclear arsenal, some riflemen with automatic weapons with
helicopters and jeeps are enough to do the job, in a very short period of time.
We can put baits and poison many of them. We already know most of their
dwelling locations and migration routes. If we consistently pursue from
satellites and spy airplanes, we can find the remaining individual and hunt
them down.
We can do the very same thing to wolves,
bears, tigers, elephants, giraffes and any other big mammals. Tigers might hide
in the deep rainforest, so we could destroy its ecosystem with Agent Orange and
napalm in order to reach the isolated individuals. In the past, we almost wiped
out the wolves, declaring them the enemies of mankind. Today they are
reproducing thanks to our decision to protect them. This shows some of our
power and capabilities among the big animals.
What if we decrease the size, and look for
other kinds. Can we kill all the mice? How about cockroaches? They are not in
savannah or rainforests, hiding inside our homes, living with us side by side. Are
we capable to destroy the entire of them? Not the entire human race, but most
of us already fighting with them, usually using high amounts of poisons,
chemicals and traps. But all those methods are temporary, and we pursue our
fight individually, just to keep them in control locally. But if all of us,
come together to intentionally destroy cockroaches, and does not care about any
cost at all, whether economically or environmentally, there is a big chance we
could do it.
Today, we are seriously thinking to
exterminate the mosquitoes. The mosquito is the animal causes the most of human
deaths each year by far. According to World Health Organisation, the mosquito
related diseases, such as malaria, yellow fever and zika virus, kills over 3
million people each year. One method is considered to do this job is producing
genetically modified mosquitos in laboratory environment and release them to
the nature. The modified gene, called HEG, will be transferred to the next generation
when the affected mosquito mates with the unaffected one. And in case of the
breeding two mosquitos who carry HEG, will produce totally infertile generation
who are unable to reproduce. According to the scientists, this method would
wipe out four fifth of all mosquitoes within 36 weeks. A similar method could
be applied to any other developed multicellular organism.
What about simpler life forms? Are we
capable to destroy any kind of bacteria in theory? The bacteria invade
everywhere on the surface of our planet, even in harsher conditions we could
not bear to exist. What about viruses? We are trying to destroy them. The
problem is those kind of life forms do evolve incredibly fast, being resistant
to anything we throw at them. It seems we do have some cracks on our throne, to
rule over every kind of animal.
Even if in theory we are capable doing
something does not mean we actually are in reality. Even killing the
mosquitoes, the most dangerous animal in the world, would bring some serious
consequences to the balance of nature and food supply chain, as the male
mosquitoes cause the pollination of plants and those feed many other animals.
The ultimate result could harm the humanity more than the mosquitoes are doing
today. Wiping out a species may even indirectly cause our own extinction.
It seems we are far from being the owner of
the world, but highly dependent to it, even how awesome we are and
technologically developed we are. Our existence is still mostly out of our
control, and mostly by chance. We need to remember our other human cousins, how
did they lost the competition of being exist, and how are we still alive, still
as a result of the evolution, more than the result of our own achievement. Our
species is only 200 000 years ago, and yet despite of our 7 billion population,
extremely strong communication and all abilities, there is no guarantee we will
continue being in existence in the near future.
No comments:
Post a Comment