Photo: We can learn from nature's genius

(Credit: Farlane via Flickr)

By David Suzuki


Think about a seed. Once it lands, it's stuck. It can't move to find better soil, moisture or sunlight. It's able to create every part of itself to grow and reproduce with the help of air, water and sun. After it sprouts and sends out roots and leaves, other species want to eat it. It can't run, hide or fight back. It's a wonder trees are able to survive at all, yet they can flourish and live for hundreds of years. They're evolutionary wonders that have developed a bag of chemical tricks to ward off predators, infections, storms and fires, and ways to communicate and even share scarce resources. In Ecuador's Yasuni National Park, I saw a tree that is reputed to "walk"!

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Almost all species that have existed are estimated to have gone extinct within an average of a few million years. Humans are an infant species, a mere 150,000 years old. But, armed with a massive brain, we've not only survived, we've used our wits to adapt to and flourish in habitats as varied as deserts, Arctic tundra, tropical rainforests, wetlands and high mountain ranges. We've accelerated the rate of cultural evolution far beyond the speed of biological or genetic change.


When I did my first television series in 1962, the medium was denigrated as the "boob tube". We said it jokingly, but it reflected an anxiety about the negative aspects of this new instrument. Over and over, we have become enamoured with the immediate benefits of technological innovation without recognizing deleterious consequences.


We need to look at the way we create and introduce technology. Perhaps it's time to ask, "Why do we need this?" "Does it improve our lives in a significant way?" And then we may ask, "What are the wider repercussions of this invention throughout nature and over time?" If we asked, with greater humility, "How does nature solve problems?" we might find solutions that would avert or minimize negative consequences.

I've always been struck by the fact that when an animal poops, insects and fungi immediately jump on and start feasting. Nature doesn't waste. If all the "waste" we create could become another organism's food or the material for another useful process, we might even eliminate the word waste altogether.

November 1, 2012

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1 Comment

Feb 21, 2013
9:21 AM

David Zuzuki Can you explain the origin of the 36 foot tall human skeletons found on Earth and have NOT unearthed a single APE like creature of equal to the humans dimensions. I am only asking this since you claim to be an expert in this field of evolution, also you may have a vision of what Man will turn into next in years to come? I know you are busy man and may not have the time to reply to my query, but all the same I would greatly appreciate your comment. Walter
