>> the, the, the intersection of climate change and evolution
is something I thought we might talk a little bit about.
Because there are commentators who have said that you know, climate
change has, it's been part of evolution for a long, long time.
Technology may amplify this, we may have more rapid changes right now,
but climate like humans are responding to evolution, or part of evolution,
and we ought to thing about it that way in the future.
>> Yeah, the relationship between climate
change and evolution is really fascinating because
The planet has not been stable in its climate throughout its entire history.
>> [INAUDIBLE]
>> And organisms have evolved, they've gone extinct
>> Yeah.
>> The environmental surfaces of the
planets have changed dramatically through time.
So the question is,
is, are we driving something different than.
That normally happens and should we be concerned about it.
And the answer is that we're actually driving it,
you know, in a, during a period when the earth should actually be cooling.
We're actually making the earth warmer when in
fact, natural processess would be making the earth cooler.
So we're
driving it in an articicial Way.
>> How do we know the process is, would be making it cooler.
And if, if there's a [CROSSTALK]
>> These, these [CROSSTALK]
>> If there's a quick answer, I don't know [LAUGH]
>> Brilliant Chief Physicists, you know, looking [CROSSTALK]
>> I see, at these patterns?
>> Looking at these patterns and where we are
in the relationship of the sun and everything else.
We should actually be in in a slight cooling period.
>> Mm-hm.
>> And, we are in a, in a very, very big warming trend.
>> So yes,
we're evolving, we're driving evolution in organisms that either can make
it or they can't make it, as I mentioned earlier, the
plant crops relating to human They're diminishing and humans
have to make a are, are making a change it's having different differential impact.
But the fact to the matter is, is that through big
climatic catastrophe's that have happened on the
planet we've had this Big mass extinctions.
>> Right.
>> And in those there have been losers and winners.
For example, after the last natural one, mammals, and,
and, and as a result humans actually came into being.
>> Right.
>> After the crustaceous, the big crustaceous tertiary extinction.
So, is it a good thing, is it a bad thing?
The answer is is >> And if you're a mammal.
[LAUGH]
>> If you were a mammal it was a good thing.
If you were a dinosaur, well now you're a bird.
So maybe that's a good thing too.
But the fact of the matter is we're driving this more quickly.
And, as not entirely due to climate change, but certainly a big part of it.
We are currently in the sixth, what's now been recognized as the six,
sixth mass extinction to which climate change certainly plays a part.
The heating of oceans The diminishing coral reefs.
You know, we're just seeing extinctions due to climate change all over.
Other things are evolving. That's absolutely true.
>> So it's, it's, I, I gue-, I guess it would be accurate to say that what, one
of the things that's really particular about this mass
extinction is that there is a species that is talking
about mass extinctions. >> That's right.
>> And that.
Ss, at least in principle seems capable of self-consciousness about the process.
And this t gets back to what we were talking about before.
We can s, we are capable. I mean, here we are talking about it.
Our brains are capable, right left brain integration of thinking these terms.