HOME.docx
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HOME.docx
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Yannauthus
Listentome,please.You’relikeme,ahomosapiens.Awisehuman.Life,amiracleintheuniverse,appearedaroundfourbillionyearsago,andwehumansonly200,000yearsago.YetwehavesucceededindisruptingthebalancethatissoessentialtolifeonEarth.Listencarefullytothisextraordinarystory,whichisyours,anddecidewhatyouwanttodowithit.
Thesearetracesofourorigins.Atthebeginning,ourplanetwasnomorethanachaosoffire,formedinthewakeofitsstar,thesun.Acloudofagglutinateddustparticles,similartosomanysimilarclustersintheuniverse.Yetthiswaswherethemiracleoflifeoccurred.Today,life-ourlife-isjustalinkinachainofinnumerablelivingbeingsthathavesucceededoneanotheronEarthovernearlyfourbillionyears.Andeventoday,newvolcanoescontinuetosculptourlandscapes.TheyofferaglimpseofwhatourEarthwaslikeatitsbirth---moltenrocksurgingfromthedepths,solidifying,cracking,blisteringorspreadinginathincrust,beforefablingdormantforatime.ThesewreathsofsmokecurlingfromthebowelsoftheEarthbearwitnesstotheEarth’soriginalatmosphere.Anatmospheredevoidofoxygen.Adenseatmosphere,thickwithwatervapor,fullofcarbondioxide.Afurnace.ButtheEarthhadanexceptionalfuture,offeredtoitbywater.Attherightdistancefromthesun---nottoofar,nottoonear,theEarthwasabletoconservewaterinliquidform.WatervaporcondensedandfellintorrentialdownpoursonEarth,andriversappeared.
TheriversshapedthesurfaceoftheEarth,cuttingtheirchannels,furrowingoutvalleys.Theyrantowardthelowestplacesontheglobetoformtheoceans.Theytoremineralsfromtherocks,andgraduallythefreshwateroftheoceansbecameheavywithsalt.Waterisavitalliquid.Itirrigatedthesesterileexpanses.Thepathsittracedareliketheveinsofabody,thebranchesofatree,thevesselsofthesapthatitbroughttotheEarth.
Nearlyfourbillionyearslater,somewhereonEarthcanstillbefoundtheseworksofart,leftbythevolcanoes’ash,mixedwithwaterfromIceland’sglaciers.Theretheyare-matterandwater,waterandmatter-softandhardcombined,thecrucialalliancesharedbyeverylife-formonourplanet.MineralsandmetalsareevenolderthantheEarth.Theyarestardust.TheyprovidetheEarth’scolors.Redfromiron,blackfromcarbon,bluefromcopper,yellowfromsulfur.
Wheredowecomefrom?
Wheredidlifefirstsparkintobeing?
Amiracleoftime,primitivelife-formsstillexistintheglobe’shotsprings.Theygivethemtheircolors.They’recalledarchaeobacteria.TheyallfeedofftheEarth’sheatallexceptthecyanobacteria,orblue-greenalgae.Theyalonehavethecapacitytoturnthesuntocaptureitsenergy.Theyareavitalancestorofallyesterday’sandtoday’splantspecies.Thesetinybacteriaandtheirbillionsofdescendantschangedthedestinyofourplanet.Theytransformeditsatmosphere.Whathappenedtothecarbonthatpoisonedtheatmosphere?
It’sstillhere,imprisonedintheEarth’scrust.WecanreadthischapteroftheEarth’shistorynowherebetterthanonthewallsofColorado’sGrandCanyon.TheyrevealnearbytwobillionyearsoftheEarth’shistory.Onceuponatime,theGrandCanyonwasaseainhabitedbymicroorganisms.Theygrewtheirshellsbytappingintocarbonfromtheatmospheredissolvedintheocean.Whentheydied,theshellssankandaccumulatedonthesealed.Thesestrataaretheproductofthosebillionsandbillionsofshells.Thankstothem,thecarbondrainedfromtheatmosphere,andotherlife-formscoulddevelop.Itislifethatalteredtheatmosphere.Plantlifefedoffthesun’senergy,whichenabledittobreakapartthewatermoleculeandtaketheoxygen.Andoxygenfilledtheair.
TheEarth’swatercycleisaprocessofconstantrenewal.Waterfalls,water,vapor,clouds,rain,springs,rivers,seas,oceans,glaciers.Thecycleisneverbroken.There’salwaysthesamequantityofwateronEarth.AllthesuccessivespeciesonEarthhavedrunkthesamewater.Theastonishingmatterthatiswater.Oneofthemostunstableofall.Ittakesaliquidformasrunningwater,gaseousasvapororsolidasice.InSiberia,thefrozensurfacesofthelakesinwintercontainthetracesoftheforcesthatwaterdeployswhenitfreezes.Lighterthanwater,theicefloats,ratherthansinkingtothebottom.Itformsaprotectivemantleagainstthecold,underwhichlifecangoon.
Theengineoflifeislinkage.Everythingislinked.Nothingisself-sufficient.Waterandairareinseparable,unitedinlifeandforourlifeonEarth.Thus,cloudsformovertheoceansandbringraintothelandmasses,whoseriverscarrywaterbacktotheoceans.Sharingiseverything.
Thegreenexpansepeekingthroughthecloudsisthesourceofoxygenintheair.Seventypercentofthisgas,withoutwhichourlungscannotfunction,comesfromthealgaethattintthesurfaceoftheoceans.OurEarthreliesonabalanceinwhicheverybeinghasaroletoplayandexistsonlythroughtheexistenceofanotherbeing.Asubtle,fragileharmonythatiseasilyshattered.Thus,coralsarebornfromthemarriageofalgaeandshells.TheGreatBarrierReef,offthecoastofAustralia,stretchesover350,000squarekilometersandishometo1,500speciesoffish,4000speciesofmollusksand400speciesofcoral.Theequilibriumofeveryoceandependsonthesecorals.
TheEarthcountstimeinbillionsofyears.Ittookmorethanfourbillionyearsforittomaketrees.Inthechainofspecies,treesareapinnacle,aperfectlivingsculpture.Treesdefygravity.Theyaretheonlynaturalelementinperpetualmovementtowardthesky.Theygrowunhurriedlythesunthatnourishestheirfoliage.Theyhaveinheritedfromthoseminusculecyanobacteriathepowertocapturelight’senergy.Theystoreitandfeedoffit,turningitintowoodandleaves,whichthendecomposeintoamixtureofwater,mineral,vegetableandlivingmatter.Andso,gradually,thesoilsthatareindispensabletolifeareformed.Soilsarethefactoryofbiodiversity.Theyareawordofincessantactivitywheremicroorganismsfeed,dig,aerateandtransform.Theymakethehumus,thefertilelayertowhichalllifeonlandislinked.
WhatdoweknowaboutlifeonEarth?
Howmanyspeciesareweawareof?
A10thofthem?
Ahundredthperhaps?
Whatdoweknowaboutthebondsthatlinkthem?
TheEarthisamiracle.Liferemainsamystery.
Familiesofanimalsform,unitedbycustomsandritualsthatsurvivetoday.Someadapttothenatureoftheirpasture,andtheirpastureadaptstothem.Andbothgain.Theanimalsatesitshunger,andthetreecanblossomagain.InthegreatadventureoflifeonEarth,everyspecieshasaroletoplay,everyspecieshasitsplace.Noneisfutileorharmful.Theyallbalanceout.
Andthat’swhereyou,Homosapiens-“wisehuman”-enterthestory.Youbenefitfromafabulousfour-billion-year-oldlegacybequeathedbytheEarth.You’reonly200,000yearsold,butyouhavechangedthefaceoftheworld.Despiteyourvulnerability,youhavetakenpossessionofeveryhabitatandconqueredswathsofterritorylikenootherspeciesbeforeyou.After180,000nomadicyears,andthankstoamoreclementclimate,humanssettleddown.Theynolongerdependedonhuntingforsurvival.Theychosetoliveinwetenvironmentsthataboundedinfish,gameandwildplants.There,whereland,waterandlifecombine.Humangeniusinspiredthemtobuildcanoes,aninventionthatopenedupnewhorizonsandturnedhumansintonavigators.
Eventoday,themajorityofhumankindlivesonthecontinents’coastlinesorthebanksofriversandlakes.Thefirsttownsgrewuplessthan600yearsago.Itwasaconsiderableleapinhumanhistory.Why
towns?
Becausetheyallowedhumanstodefendthemselvesmoreeasily.Theybecamesocialbeings,meetingandsharingknowledgeandcrafts,blendingtheirsimilaritiesanddifferences.Inaword,theybecamecivilized.Buttheonlyenergyattheirdisposalwasprovidedbynatureandthestrengthoftheirbodies.Itwasthestoryofhumankindforthousandsofyears.Itstillisforonepersoninfour—overoneandahalfbillionhumanbeings—morethanthecombinedpopulationofallthewealthynations.TakingfromtheEarthonlythestrictlynecessary.Foralongtime,therelationshipbetweenhumansandtheplanetwasevenlybalanced.Foralongtime,theeconomyseemedlikeanaturalandequitablealliance.Butlifeexpectancyisshort,andhardlabortakesitstoll.Theuncertaintiesofnatureweighondailylife.Educationisarareprivilege.Childrenareafamily’sonlyasset,aslongaseveryextrapairofhandsisanecessarycontributiontoitssubsistence.TheEarthfeedspeople,clothesthemandprovidesfortheirdailyneeds.EverythingcomesfromtheEarth.Townschangehumanity’snature,aswellasitsdestiny.Thefarmerbecomesacraftsman,traderorpeddler.WhattheEarthgivesthefarmer,thecitydwellerbuys,sellsorbarters.Goodschangehands,alongwithideas.
Humanity’sgeniusistohavealwayshadasenseofitsweakness.Humanstriedtoextendthefrontiersoftheirterritory,buttheyknewtheirlimits.Thephysicalenergyandstrengthwithwhichnaturehadnotendowedthemwasfoundintheanimalstheydomesticatedtoservethem.Buthowcanyouconquertheworldonanemptystomach?
Theinventionofagriculturetransformedthefutureofthewildanimalsscavengingforfoodthatwerehumankind.Agricultureturnedtheirhistoryonend.Agriculturewastheirfirstgreatrevolution.Developedbarely8,000to10,000yearsage,itchanged
theirrelationshiptonature.Itbroughtanendtotheuncertaintyofhuntingandgathering.Itresultedinthefirstsurplusesandgavebirth
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