The Lessons of Daisyworld: Adaptation And the Anthrocentric Error

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisyworld

The Daisyworld was a simplified experimental planet designed to show how natural selection could help stabilize the environment and make the environment more condusive to life.

The two daisies: black which absorb light and white which reflect light, will flourish and decline as needed to stabilize the temperature of the planet orbiting a sun whose temperature is gradually increasing.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StandardDaisyWorldRun2color.gif

Up to a certain threshold the planet's temperature is remarkably stable. And in fact further experiments with more species beyond just the daisies themselves produced and even more robustly stable temperature. 

nature has no will of its own. But the complex rules that govern those things we collectively call nature, cause nature to act as though it had a will, and that its will was driven by a desire to preserve life.

But here is the rub, nature does not care what life survives. Observe the line of the black daisy. As the hypothetical world is bombarded with increasing solar radiation, the black daisy dies off and the white daisy flourishes- right up to the tipping point where it can no longer mitigate the increasing radiation. 

There are two lessons there. First, life will not be destroyed by climate change. The Carboniferous period shows that both global warming and global cooling are things that ecosystems can adapt to. 

http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/Carboniferous_climate.html

But just because life will survive, does not mean everyone makes it out alive. And our naive assumption that we will be here until the end of earth, that if we go the Earth must also therefore go, is ridiculous.

Now, of course, once the assumption is said out loud it sounds ludicrous. Most people will readily admit that the Earth will outlast humans and that like the Dinosaurs, we will one day unwillingly bequeath this planet to our successors. But we don't act as though we believe this or understand this.

Like a small child saying "Mom, I understand!", and then promptly proving that we don't; we act in a way that consistently indicates that we believe:

• We are the center of all life.
• Damage that we do to the rest of life could impact them but not us.
• There is no story beyond ours.

By blithing continuing down the path towards runaway climate change we are playing the part of the black daisy, encouraging an environment that we can't live in. Life will go on, but unless we stop acting like black daisies, we likely won't go on with it.