Biol 350

Where are we now?

State of our civilization

Problems of input

Shortage of resources

Food

Agricultural land

Water

Acceleration of mineral extraction

Problems of output

The Great Acceleration

Growing population

Increased demand for resources

Waste

Unclean water

Pollution

Increased carbon emissions

How did we get here?

Darwin's Theory of Evolution

Natural Section

Acts on traits

Influenced by environment

Depends on genetic variance

Sexual reproduction

Mutations

Heritability

Evolutionary fitness

Becoming Human and Discovery of Self

Bipedalism

Stone tool use

Fire

Increased socialization

Geographical expansion

Geographical isolation

Local phenotype variation and adaptation to local climates

Xenophobic hostility

Extinction of Neanderthals

More meat consumption

Larger brain size

Social intelligence

The Great Leap Forward

The Mind's Big Bang

Art

Religion

Religious wars

Fall of Rome

Spoken language

Formation of empires

Empire expansion

The Renaissance

Modern inventions

Barbarism/genocide

Infectious disease/resistance

Prolonged periods of childcare

Natural disasters

Agricultural revolution

Specialization of individuals

Class divisions/sexual inequalities

More conflict

Environmental effects

Factory farming

Plant and animal domestication/irrigation

Permanent settlements

Government, trade, and commerce

Metallurgy

Domestication of horses

Wheeled vehicles

First written text

The Great Forgetting

Decline in species diversity and human health

Climate Change

Mass Extinction

Floating topic

Industrial revolution

Coal/oil production

Fossil fuel energy