Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:- The trajectory of life on Earth has always been predicated by genetic evolution, but two scientists from the University of Maine argue that culture is now the main force shaping our lives.
- A new study analyzes this phenomenon and attempts to quantify the evolutionary transition coming with it.
- Although a gene-culture coevolution framework can be incredibly adaptable, the authors’ earlier work argues that its foundation in resource extraction and sub-global groups could make solving problems like climate change particularly challenging.
For the billions of years that life has been on Earth, genetic evolution has been in the driver’s seat, slowly but steadily honing species as they face various environmental pressures. And then, roughly 600,000 years ago (by some estimates), a particularly big-brained member of the Great Ape family began displaying evidence of cumulative culture, as evidenced by increasingly complex stone tools. Those early technological steps blossomed into full, complex societies that have taken over from genetics as the key driver of evolution, according to a new paper by Timothy Waring and Zachary Wood at the University of Maine.
Surprise! This summer is extremely hot.
How hot? July 4 was the hottest day on Earth since record-keeping began more than 40 years ago, according to scientists at the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer project. As Americans grilled burgers and set off fireworks, the global average temperature reached 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit (17.2 degrees Celsius). The month of June, meanwhile, was the warmest on record, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reported Thursday.
The heat index neared 100 degrees this week in New York City. That’s nothing compared to the 120-degree temperatures that baked parts of Texas in late June, smashing dozens of records, straining the power grid, and sending thousands of Texans to the emergency room with heat-related ailments. More than a dozen people in the state have died.
On just one day at the end of June, more than 120 million Americans were under some form of heat advisory, according to the National Weather Service. That’s more than one in every three people.
Regions outside the US have also been blasted by spring and summer heat. In April, temperatures in Spain were already breaking 100 degrees; they’ve since exceeded 110 in some places. The heat in Beijing and other regions of China broke records in June, and warm weather is fueling unprecedented wildfires in Canada.
All this, and we’re only a few weeks into summer. READ MORE...
