EARTH AS ABODE FOR MAN

Southland Times, Issue 24828, 21 August 1942, Page 5

EARTH AS ABODE FOR MAN

Probably Suitable For 1,000,000,000 Years

The earth was likely to remain a suitable abode for man for perhaps another 1,000,000,000 years, said Dr F. J. Turner, lecturer in geology at Otago University, in an address to the Southland Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand last night. Man h ,d shown his ability to adapt himself to the conditions of the earth, and the outlook for his struggle with his physical environment was bright, but his failure to develop sociologically in a scientific manner might ultimately be a cause for him to fail in his perpetual struggle for survival, he said. The earth had been solid for perhaps 1,500,000,000 years, and advanced life had existed on the earth for at least 500,000,000 years with primitive life existing for a similar period before that. Dr Turner said. Temperatures on the earth’s surface had varied only slightly in that period, and it was reasonable to suppose that they would remain fairly constant in the future. There was the possibility that the earth and the solar system might be disrupted, but that was the province of the novelist rather than of the scientist. Such a disruption was possible, but an occurrence of it had been observed only once in all the observations of the heavenly bodies, so the chance of it happening to the earth was only one in millions. It followed, therefore, that the earth would probably remain a fit abode for man for 1,000,000,000 years. He thought it could be accepted as quite certain that the human race would long since have vanished and been replaced by something much different before the end of that period. CHANGES IN CLIMATE The experiences of the past suggested that oscillations in climatic conditions would occur with slight variations in temperatures resulting in the spread or recession of the polar ice caps. The continents were now unusually high above the sea level, and a long period of erosion, during which the mountains would be worn down, could be expected. A complementary question was the ability of the species of man called homo sapiens to survive the period during which the earth would provide a suitable environment. The reptiles of the past had completely dominated the earth, but they had vanished because of a failure to adapt themselves to changing conditions. Very few families of mammals had lasted more than 1,000,000 years, and perhaps the average life of a race was 300,000 years. Man was more than holding his own after about 50,000 years, but would he continue to do so? the speaker asked. History showed that the unfit were always weeded out. Man was a specialist in adapting himself to his environment and even to adapting his environment to his wishes. His struggle with bacteria had so far been successful. The struggle between individuals and groups of men continued unabated and might lead to disaster. Man had taught himself to think logically In science and medicine, but not so in politics and sociology. That might be the cause of failure and the extinction of the species. The progress of the race had hitherto been a sharply rising curve, but it might be that man was approaching the zenith of his mental development and might begin to fail, Such an event .would lead to the extinction of 'his superiority- in the world and his eventual disappearance. A vote of thanks was moved by Mr F. M. Corkill and carried by acclamation.