Vision for a Fresh View of Evolution

"Back of Hand Map", mixed media by Tim Holmes

Humanity is not just another species, we are God-like in our creative authority. Unfortunately for the
adolescent boy in us, that comes not only with a lot of power, but a huge responsibility. Like it or not, we have seized the wheel and are now in charge of evolution on this planet. With our unbridled enthusiasm for creating new species like pesticide-resistant corn, it's easy to forget Newton's 3rd law, that every action has a reaction. Meaning every pesticide is twinned with its bee slaughter and autism epidemic, every industrial revolution its climate change. 

Civilization has always had a tendency to seize the goodies first and ask how much is costs later. But while that didn't matter so much for most of history when our impact on nature was tiny the stakes are now getting higher. As a result we're getting closer to the day we make a quick deal and are shocked when the bill arrives to see that the cost is our survival!

Without carefully monitoring our steps into bioengineering we are likely to screw it up and assure a ruined planet left to the cockroaches, the algae and perhaps some supergerms that kill us off. But maturity means we take responsibility, step up to the plate and fulfill our calling to have "dominion"over the new garden; not ruling over but caring for while keeping a subservient position behind nature. We can jumpstart a new kind of evolution that both enriches our lives on the plot of earth we are lucky enough to ihabit and also takes us to the stars!