The future is bleak my friends... In case
you were not already aware, even though we all know that each and everyone one
of us has a very limited time span here in this life on earth, so too does
humanity. Life—our very
existence—is something we all like to take for
granted as a species, but I would simply like to put some perspective on
things. If you are able to read this article, you must therefore also be a
primate—it almost goes without saying. I say almost because there are a good number
of unscientifically-minded people who would argue against evolution, against
science, and even against all of the
archaeological and anthropological evidence that shows that we are primates. It
is estimated that there is an astonishing 38% of people in the United States—lesser in Canada, 21%—who believe that God
recently put us on earth some time in the past 10,000, however—thankfully!—the majority of us
know better (1). My intention is certainly not to bust your bubble if you
belong to this ‘Young Earth’ creationists’ camp. (But, if you do believe in
such tales, then you might want to take a a gander at the image below to
see where your thick primate skull fits in as far as the primate scheme of things is
concerned.) Whether your skin colour is very pale or very dark or anywhere in
between, whether you live in some isolated Inuit Arctic community, a rural
African village in Angola, or even in a remote island in the South Pacific, or
right here in downtown Ottawa as I do, regardless, it does not matter because we
are all human—and
humans are primates. And, to be even more specific, humans are part of the primate
grouping called the Great Apes, named for our large bodies and larger brains, and
we share this category with the orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees. (If Adam
and Eve and a mythical garden of Eden come to mind, dear reader, you might want
to rethink your worldview.) Since a giant meteorite strike helped wipe out the
dinosaurs 65 million years ago, we presently find ourselves to be living in a
very significant age. We live in a time when the natural world is being
destroyed by humans, and we can bear witness to the greatest mass extinction
that has occurred since the dinosaurs have disappeared.
Above: A skull of Homo erectus, a direct ancestor to later
hominins such as Homo neanderthalensis and
Homo sapiens among others. Homo erectus existed over one million
years ago and maybe even finds its origins as far back as over two million
years ago.
The
closest relative of the modern human species, Homo sapiens, is the chimpanzee. In addition to all the obvious
physical similarities and types of behaviour we share with chimps, there is now
also DNA evidence that confirms humans and chimps diverged from a common
ancestor some time between 8 and 6 million years ago, and scientists estimate
there is only a 1.2 percent genetic difference between modern humans and chimps
when comparing the differences between our genetic codes (2). Going back even more
in our family tree (pun intended), Notharctus
is the scientific name given to one of the first modern primate—about 40 cm long,
it had opposable
thumbs and stereo vision to help them move around and find food in the
three-dimensional world of the trees where they lived—and you may be surprised to learn
that Notharctus was strikingly
similar to today’s lemurs and tarsiers. Therefore, looking at these animals now,
it is almost like travelling back and catching a glimpse of our earliest
ancestors that lived in the trees 50 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch
(which lasted from 56 to 33.9 million years ago), when these primates lived in
North America and Europe. (It is certainly too much for the Young Earth
creationists to fathom... Adam and Eve certainly makes more sense to them. And,
as for the conspiracy theorists, they prefer alien intervention scenarios in
order to make sense of human evolution.)
Above: Tarsier tarsius (from North Sulawesi, Indonesia). Below: Lemur catta (from Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar).
Above: Chimpanzee, the
closest relative of the modern human species, Homo sapiens. Below: Forensic
reconstruction of Homo habilis, , exhibit in LWL-Museum für Archäologie,
Herne, Germany (2007 photograph). Homo
habilis is a proposed archaic species of Homo, which
lived between roughly 2.1 and 1.5 million years ago.
Why
bring up the subject of primates? Where am I going with all this? Well, in case
you live in a bubble (because FB is your only news source), then I would like
to point out that scientists have been warning us for years that animals such
as orangutans and chimpanzees are species that are in danger of being wiped out
in an imminent mass extinction of primates.
Sadly, humans—as stewards of the earth—are directly responsible for this terrible state of affairs. Over time, a radical separation has been ‘invented’ by ‘civilized’ humans to remove ourselves from the rest of the assemblage of life on this planet and the natural scheme of things. With more than half of the world’s population now living in urban areas, because of the overexploitation of natural resources, overpopulation, encroaching urbanization and habitat destruction, to put is bluntly, humans are royally effing it up. We have had such an impact on our planet’s capacity to sustain life on it that scientists usually refer to this geological time period as the Anthropocene Epoch, which the Encyclopaedia Britannica (4) defines as follows:
“Primate
species including chimpanzees and orangutans are on the brink of extinction, and
scientists fear that without a concerted global effort they will soon be gone
for good. An international group of primate experts has called for urgent
action after finding parts of the world home to the most monkeys, lemurs and
apes will see those populations pushed to breaking point by the end of the
century. Just four countries harbour two thirds of all primate species—Brazil,
Madagascar, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—and
60 per cent of those species are threatened with extinction. Among them are
some of our closest relatives, including chimpanzees, orangutans and lowland gorillas.”
Josh Gabbatiss, Science correspondent for The Independent (3).
Sadly, humans—as stewards of the earth—are directly responsible for this terrible state of affairs. Over time, a radical separation has been ‘invented’ by ‘civilized’ humans to remove ourselves from the rest of the assemblage of life on this planet and the natural scheme of things. With more than half of the world’s population now living in urban areas, because of the overexploitation of natural resources, overpopulation, encroaching urbanization and habitat destruction, to put is bluntly, humans are royally effing it up. We have had such an impact on our planet’s capacity to sustain life on it that scientists usually refer to this geological time period as the Anthropocene Epoch, which the Encyclopaedia Britannica (4) defines as follows:
“Anthropocene
Epoch, unofficial interval of geologic time, making up the third worldwide
division of the Quaternary Period (2.6 million years ago to the present),
characterized as the time in which the collective activities of human beings (Homo sapiens)
began to substantially alter Earth's surface, atmosphere, oceans, and
systems of nutrient cycling. A growing group of scientists argue that the
Anthropocene Epoch should follow the Holocene Epoch (11,700 years ago to the
present) and begin in the year 1950. The name Anthropocene is derived
from Greek and means the “recent age of man.”
To give
but a few examples of how humans are having a significant negative impact on
earth (the
only planet that can support life!), let’s mention those that stand out the most,
such as—
INDUSTRY, POLLUTION, AND GLOBAL WARMING
Levels of air pollution rose during the Industrial
Revolution, sparking the first modern environmental laws to be passed in the
mid-19th century. All of the industrial chemicals in use today, ones that are
central to the world economy are produced by the chemical industry. Converting
raw materials (such as oil, natural gas, water, air, and other natural
resources like metals and minerals) into more than 70,000 different
products.
...NUCLEAR POWER, AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS
No larger than traditional bombs, a nuclear device can devastate an
entire city by blast, fire, and radiation. As weapons of mass destruction, the
proliferation of nuclear weapons in today’s world is often a focus of
international relations policy. In regards to the ongoing debate about nuclear
power, proponents such as the World Nuclear Association and Environmentalists
for Nuclear Energy, contend that nuclear power is a safe, sustainable energy
source that reduces carbon emissions, but opposing groups such as Greenpeace
and NIRS contend that nuclear power poses many threats to people and the
environment. If recent history can serve as a witness, catastrophic nuclear
accidents such as the one that occurred at Chernobyl accident, in northern Ukrainian Soviet Socialist
Republic, Soviet Union on 26 April 1986, as well as the more recent Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, are two good examples of how humans
in the Holocene Epoch are hellbent on killing the environment.
...THE PLASTIC INDUSTRY, NON-BIODEGRADABLE WASTE
As journalist Emanuela Campanella reports (5): “According to Over the
last 10 years, we have produced more plastic than all of the 20th century. [...]
Every year, about 8-million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans, which is equal
to five bags filled with plastic going along every foot of coastline in the
world, according to Plastic Oceans, a non-profit
organization. By 2025, they estimate the annual input will be about twice
that.”
...DEFORESTATION, ENCROACHING URBANIZATION AND HABITAT DESTRUCTION
...HUMAN CITIES
Not much greenery can be seen when looking at the Toronto skyline. As
Hans Vestberg (CEO, Verizon Communications), writes (6): “As recent reports
from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the US government make clear, climate change
and related environmental challenges are proceeding even faster than expected, with potentially grave consequences for humanity,
natural habitats, and the global economy. What makes the challenge even more daunting is the fact that the world
population (and therefore the demand for energy and natural resources) is
poised to expand significantly over the remainder of this century, reaching 9.8
billion human beings by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100.”
...AND WE CAN’T FORGET OIL REFINERIES, OILS SANDS, AND PIPELINES
 |
| Oil sands, Fort McMurray, Alberta. |
AND SADDEST OF ALL, ANIMALS EATEN INTO EXTINCTION
 |
| Mandril with child. |
As Damian Carrington (The Guardian)
reports (7): “Hundreds of mammal species—from chimpanzees to hippos to bats—are being eaten into extinction by people, according to
the first global assessment of the impact of human hunting. Bushmeat has long been a traditional
source of food for many rural people, but as roads have been driven into remote
areas, large-scale commercial hunting is leaving forests and other habitats
devoid of wildlife. The scientists
behind the new analysis warned that, without action, the wiping out of these
species could lead to the collapse of the food security of hundreds of millions of
people reliant on bushmeat for survival. The work comes against the backdrop of the natural world undergoing
the greatest mass extinction since a giant meteorite strike wiped out the
dinosaurs 65m years ago, with species vanishing far
more rapidly than the long term rate, driven by the destruction and invasion of
wild areas by humans and their livestock and hunting.”
* * *
In
considering the earliest point to mark the beginning of a so-called
Anthropocene Epoch, around 11,700 years ago (which is when the Agricultural
Revolution began, 12,000-15,000 years ago), humans have effed it up to such an
extent that we’ve managed to forecast the very end of life on earth... This is no exaggeration... I wish it were,
but it is not. On this very subject, Thomas McMullan’s words are depressing (8):
“In May [2018] an analysis estimated that 83 per cent of wild mammals have been
lost since the rise of human civilisation. Other studies have warned that the
planet is facing “biological annihilation” at the hands of humans—a
sixth mass extinction is already underway.”
To put it quite bluntly, we humans are in
charge of our own extinction. We are primates who have somehow tricked
ourselves into thinking that we are not part of the natural order of things. The amount of
death and destruction that humans have managed to wreak on planet earth and all
of its life forms in such a short time frame is truly impressive. Is this it?
Is the end near? Does the Anthropocene Epoch represent the countdown to
‘biological annihilation’? It appears that it does.
So then, what exactly
does that make Homo sapiens? What
sense can we give humanity in light of our particular role as the harbingers of
doomsday? Is there any hope? What is our reason for our existence? Can human
life truly have any meaning, or is it devoid of any real purpose? What’s next
for us primates? A national ban on single
use plastic? Continuing to reduce our environmental footprint? Recycling? To stop
clear-cutting forests? To stop overfishing? Stop eating meat? Supporting the
Wet’suwet’en anti-pipeline camp? Making ethical choices... It’s a start.
About the author: Paul D. LeBlanc is dedicated to the study of culture, language and the origins of writing in the ancient world. He holds a master's degree in Religious Studies from the University of Ottawa, in the same city where he currently lives with his wife, two daughters, and his cat. He is the author of Deciphering the Proto-Sinaitic Script: Making Sense of the Wadi el-Hol and Serabit el-Khadim Early Alphabetic Inscriptions (2018). For more on this book, click http://protosinaiticscript.blogspot.com/2018/03/deciphering-proto-sinaitic-script-about.html
______________________________________________________________________
Notes:
(5) “Plastic
pollution crisis: How waste ends up in our oceans” By Emanuela Campanella, Global News
Toronto, June 17, 2018. https://globalnews.ca/news/4269163/plastic-pollution-waste-ocean/
(7) “World's
mammals being eaten into extinction, report warns” by Damian Carrington, The Guardian, 19 Oct. 2016
Image credits:
(1) Primate
skulls: Primate_skull_series_with_legend.png
Molecular Insights into Human Brain Evolution, Jane Bradbury, PLoS Biology Vol.
3, No. 3, e50 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030050 Author: Primate_skull_series_with_legend.png:
Christopher Walsh, Harvard Medical School (via Wikimedia
Commons), made available with the Creative Commons
Attribution 2.5 Generic
license.
(2) Homo erectus skull. Mafnoor (user), via Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/en/homo-erectus-skull-ancestor-2242425/
(3) Tarsier tarsius image. Author: Sakurai
Midori (via Wikimedia Commons) File:Tarsier Tarsius sp.jpg,
made available under the Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
license.
(4) Lemur catta image. Author: Yves
Picq (via Wikimedia Commons), File:Lemurien
1006a.JPG, made available under the Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
license.
(5) Chimpanzee. Author: Alexas_Fotos, via Pixabay.com
(6) Forensic reconstruction of Homo
habilis, , exhibit in LWL-Museum für Archäologie, Herne, Germany (2007
photograph). Reconstruction by W. Schnaubelt & N. Kieser
(Atelier WILD LIFE ART) Photographed by User:Lillyundfreya
(via Wikimedia Commons) - Photographed at Westfälisches Museum für Archäologie,
Herne. File:Homo habilis.JPG, CC BY-SA
3.0
(7) Industry. From cwizner (user), via
Pixabay.com
(8) Nuclear power (pic of a nuclear weapons test).
From WikiImages (user). https://pixabay.com/en/nuclear-weapons-test-nuclear-weapon-67557/
(9) Plastic waste. From MikesPhotos (user), via
Pixabay.com
(10) Toronto skyline. From brigachtal (user), via
Pixabay.com
(11) Oil sands, Fort McMurray,
Alberta. Author: eryn.rickard. Source: Flickr:
Oilsands1,
via Wikimedia Commons (dated 11 November 2010).
(12) Deforestation. From ChadoNihi (user), via
Pixabay.com
(13) Mandril. From gefun (user), via Pixabay.com
(14) Geological time spiral. From skeeze (user), via
Pixabay.com
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