Edward studies ants and through that understands life

Having just begun TheSocial Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson it was only the second paragraph of the first chapter headed “The Human Condition”, that he wrote:

Edward O. Wilson.

“Humanity is like a waking dreamer, caught between the fantasies of sleep and the chaos of the real world. The mind seeks but cannot find the precise place and hour. We have created a Star Wars civilization, with Stone Age emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology. We thrash about. We are terribly confused by the mere fact of our existence, and a danger to ourselves and to the rest of life.”

Adding the challenge of species diversity to our cauldron of troubles



Our world is presently troubled by a human-induced changing climate, oil scarcity and imploding economy, and now we can add another concern, the loss of genetic and species diversity.



"Biophilia" by Edward
O. Wilson.

Although he was not alone in his concerns, Pulitzer Prize winning author and evolutionary biologist, Edward. O. Wilson has written of his fears for species diversity in Biophilia, published in 1984.

Wilson writes: “What event likely to happen in the next few years will our descendants most regret? Everyone agrees, defense Ministers and environmentalists alike, the worst thing possible is global nuclear war. I it occurs the entire human species is endangered; life as normal human beings wish to live it would come to an end. With that terrible truism acknowledged, it must be added that if no country pulls the trigger the worst thing that will probably happen – in fact is already well underway – is not energy depletion, economic collapse, conventional war, or even the expansion of totalitarian governments.

Edward O. Wilson

“As tragic as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired within a few generations. The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.”

Wilson's work is recommended.