{"content":[{"text":"would provide all the resources humans need and would shield them from climate changes, and (4) \n biological evolution would not produce any species that could compete with Homo sapiens. A new, \n short article seems advisable since world opinion on some major issues (e.g., global warming) has \n shifted significantly since the last article in 2004. \n Some illustrative examples related to the fate of the human species follow. \n (1) The biospheric life support system fared quite well without Homo sapiens, but humankind \n depends on it in its present form for survival. \n (2) The five great extinctions that life on Earth has survived were initiated by natural causes. The \n magnitude of these catastrophes dwarf the calamities that newly arrived humankind has experienced, \n even though humankind was not well prepared to cope with the less severe events it has experienced \n during its existence. \n (3) Continental drift has dramatically altered the geography of the planet over its 4½ billion years. \n (4) Species and ecosystems come and go, but evolutionary processes persist and even flourish. \n (5) Evolutionary processes have shaped life on Earth for billions of years, yet a majority of people in \n the United States deny that the processes exist. Denying the validity of the scientific evidence on \n both evolution and global warming accumulated and accepted by mainstream science is not a good \n foundation for aspiring to sustainable use of the planet. \n Humankind must make the transition to a sustainable economy in the 21st century or the \n probability of environmental catastrophes will increase dramatically. The probability that humankind is \n approaching a number of ecological and societal tipping points is increasing. Sustainable use of the \n planet is a multidimensional issue, but progress on such components as global warming is miniscule \n and export of greenhouse gases from thawed permafrost might offset the gains of the Kyoto Protocol, \n even if it is implemented. \n The elements of a worst case scenario are already evident: global warming, alteration of the \n hydrologic cycle, floods and drought, increased severity of storms, and the failure of government \n agencies to anticipate, prepare for, and quickly respond to emergencies. The additional 3 billion \n people on a finite planet estimated to arrive by 2050 will further stretch the food supply and social \n services. Under these circumstances, resource wars will both intensify and become more ubiquitous, \n diverting badly needed resources from social needs to social conflict. Anarchy is almost certainly a \n major component of a worst case scenario. If the planet’s biospheric life support system is severely \n impaired or sufficiently stressed to cause disequilibrium and alter the conditions that have so long \n favored Homo sapiens, a major loss of life will occur, and even the survival of the human species may \n be in doubt. Like most people, including most world leaders, I have avoided exploring my innermost \n feelings as deeply as the circumstances warranted. Diamond’s (2005) superb book has both \n examples of past civilizations that would not alter unsustainable practices and those that made social \n choices that would enhance the quest for sustainable use of the planet. Science is now under assault \n by people who deny scientific evidence and attempt to substitute faith based viewpoints for viewpoints \n based on verifiable evidence. Ethical and moral values are crucial, but so are the results of carefully \n structured scientific studies.","bbox":{"left":0.094118,"top":0.052521,"width":0.810267,"height":0.6259389999999999}},{"text":"The Homocentric Viewpoint \n With few exceptions, humankind has value to each individual — companionship, family, music, \n books, sports, security, help in troubled times, and the like. Individuals think that existence is their \n play, their stage, their theater, even their universe. Some people deny the fossil evidence and assert \n that humans have been onstage the entire time. A concomitant, but less fervently stated, belief is that \n humans will be center stage for the entire remainder of the play. \n Humankind’s lack of concern for posterity defies understanding. Humans are reluctant to \n abandon unsustainable practices and do something effective about global warming and other types of \n climate change that are strongly influenced by anthropogenic greenhouse gases. \n The prospect of Homo sapiens becoming extinct is depressing. All the attractive things \n associated with humans will be gone. A former graduate student gave me a striking photograph of a \n rhinoceros standing alone on a plain. Few other members of the species remained. How sad I \n thought, until I realized the rhinoceros was probably just being a rhinoceros and oblivious to or \n accepting of whatever nature had in store. I can accept my own mortality, but the prospect of Homo \n sapiens becoming extinct is troubling. However, humans cannot just continue being themselves if","bbox":{"left":0.094118,"top":0.691381,"width":0.8100269999999999,"height":0.2426069999999999}},{"text":"2","bbox":{"left":0.49451,"top":0.953106,"width":0.010901999999999967,"height":0.020818000000000003}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}