Eco-Social Evolution

March 10, 2024

By Chelsey Moss

We are part of an intrinsic 4.5 billion year old evolutionary tapestry. The tree of life, a diversity of genetic adaptations which give breath to the very existence of life as we know it today. Connected through an evolutionary common ancestry, we share our planet with approximately 8.7 million biodiverse plant and animal species.

To understand nature and the impact we have on climate change, we must understand ourselves; pure and undiluted, not separate from nature but part of a greater eco-system. Humans as a species of the Earth, dependent and symbiotic.

Humans and nature are inextricably connected. Our bodies a delicate eco-system, comprised of 70 % water and six primary elements: oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, calcium and phosphorous. The same components found in the atmosphere and Earth’s crust. In order for our bodies to maintain a balanced nervous system for its efficiency and longevity, we must consume essential nutrients found in natures provisions.

Measurements of global warming since the Industrial Revolution reveal an alarming increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Human productivity, also a great measurement of not only global economics and social cognitive shifts but a contributing factor to the adverse health effects we see in humans today. The social shift from an agrarian society to a manufacturing economy has led to wider income inequality, unsustainable agricultural practices, and the climate crisis we see today.

The agrarian model is premised on practices that are dependent on the natural and social conditions specific to a particular region which, is the development of cultural responsibility based on social values of the community. Overconsumption, land degradation and pollution stem from an over industrialized profit first culture. The shift in holistic consciousness toward egocentric bias compromises our integral part within Earth’s biosphere and becomes the language in which we communicate; revealing our own dysregulation from the whole.

Earth’s complex physical properties which include; it’s magnetic core structure, convective mantle, plate tectonics, liquid water and dynamic climate, induce its own form of communication through a process called cybernetics. This process is an autonomic control system through which the Earth’s homeostatic properties are comparable to physiological homeostasis in all living things.

The dysregulation of the human nervous system has a profound impact on Earth’s homeostatic properties. A body disconnected to its senses becomes unaware of the environment around it. Disconnected communication is dysregulated and the self organizing feed back loop between eco-systems become compromised. Egocentrism relies upon this disconnect. Beliefs of superiority over Earth’s complex systems is likened to ‘cheat’ organisms that reap the benefits of the Earth’s abundance and homeostasis but lack the necessary reciprocal altruism required to maintain it, which therefore collapses the system.

Within natures ability to regulate itself lies its ability to adapt, however, even though adaptation will occur it does not mean that humans ability to adapt will prevail. Our survival is contingent upon modified processes, strategies and practices that are based on our understanding that we are also nature.

Recognizing our integral part of the greater whole shifts our consciousness from ego-centric to biocentrism, providing for effective environmental restoration. The causal relationship between our health and the health of the planet effects all of us regardless of our demographics. For within the systems of nature each individual plays an integral part toward coherence. The condition of our environment shapes the condition of our consciousness. To be in unity with nature is to know our inherent beauty and value in the world. We have one true home, planet Earth.

Tracing the tree of life back 4.5 billion years we arrive at the same conclusion; to be alive today is nothing short of a miracle. The very act of caring for and maintaining our internal human biomes will result in the care and maintenance of Earth’s biomes.

To live in a world that is intrinsically part of us, we recognize climate crisis as a humanitarian crisis. The earth will survive, we will not. Our ability to mitigate climate crisis through eco-social awareness, innovation and sustainability will ensure our human legacy for future generations.