Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet, 2021a

D.6 Too Smart to Succeed? 410
as we “outsmart” nature—we run a grave risk as nature <strong>and</strong> evolution
cease to protect us. In other words, a species that lives completely within
the relationships established by the same evolutionary pressures that
created that species is operating on firm ground: well adapted <strong>and</strong> likely
to succeed, having stood the test of time. 66
66: Since evolution is slow, any species has
a reasonably long track record of success
behind it.
Once we part ways with nature <strong>and</strong> create our own reality—our own
rules—survival is no longer as guaranteed. Even 10,000 years is not
enough time to prove the concept, when human evolution works on
much longer timescales. This is especially true for the fossil fuel world,
being mere centuries old. Nature will be patient while our fate unfolds.
The situation is similar to establishing a habitat on the lunar surface: an
artificial environment to provision our survival in an otherwise deadly
setting. The resources that were available to construct the habitat are not
continually provided by the lunar environment, just as the fossil fuels
<strong>and</strong> mined resources <strong>and</strong> forests are not continually re-supplied 67 as we
deplete them. Just because the habitat could be built does not mean it can
be maintained indefinitely. Likewise, the world we know today—being
rather different from anything that nature prepared—may be a one-off
that proves to be unsustainable in the long run.
Since evolution is incremental, we cannot expect to have been made
wise enough to avoid the pitfalls of being just smart enough to exploit
planetary resources. And being slow, it seems unlikely that wisdom
will evolve fast enough to interrupt our devastating shopping spree.
It is possible 68 that we can install an “artificial” wisdom by using our
intelligence to adopt values <strong>and</strong> global rules by which to ensure a
sustainable existence. Probably most smart people assume that we can
do so. Maybe. But living in a collective is difficult. Wisdom may exist
in a few individuals, but bringing the entire population around to
enlightened, nuanced thinking that values nature <strong>and</strong> the far future
more than they value themselves <strong>and</strong> the present seems like a stretch.
67: Forests can grow back, but not at the
rate of their destruction at present.
68: What hope we have lies here, <strong>and</strong> provides
the underlying motivation for writing
this book. The first step is appreciating in
full the gravity of the challenge ahead.
One way to frame the question:
Are humans collectively capable of leaving most shelves
stocked with treats, within easy reach, while refraining from
consuming them, generation after generation?
Do we have the discipline to value a distant <strong>and</strong> unknown future more
than we value ourselves <strong>and</strong> our own time? Successful non-human
species have never had to answer this question, but neither has any
species been smart enough—until we came along—to develop the
capability to steal all the goodies from the future <strong>and</strong>, in so doing,
jeopardize their own success. 69
69: Success here means preserving civilization.
It is far easier—<strong>and</strong> perhaps more
likely—to at least survive as a species in a
more primitive, natural state.
© 2021 T. W. Murphy, Jr.; Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Lic.;
Freely available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/energy_ambitions.