Micro Evolution In A Global Warming Future

This is just one example of my concern of many years that it is going to be the little things that kill us. Since well before 1999, when I mentioned it to a microbiology researcher, I have been worried that the much faster lifecycle of micro-organisms, and their resultant increase in evolution speed would be very dangerous to humans. They evolve much faster than we do. It is obviously already happening with bacteria and antibiotics. And it is happening with viral diseases as well.

I wonder what the anti-evolutionists think about seeing evolution happen right before our eyes. I am sure they can come up with some unprovable non-sequitur to explain it all away. That's the thing about faith-based explanations - they never have to make sense or be provable. I mean, do they think some "intelligent" designer is sitting somewhere pointing his/her magic wand at all the DNA in world and saying, "Let's mutate that one today!"?

We can (and should) worry about the big stuff like nuclear war and terrorism, but I think it is going to be some sneaky mutated, highly contagious and resistant virus that puts the biggest hurt on humanity. Let's not forget global waming either - what changes to the microbiotic community will be created by a warmer, more hospitable Earth? My daughter gets a dog tick in Vermont in January? Birds out and about in my yard that I shouldn't see until March? Buttercups in Montana in January? This stuff is just getting ridiculous. And it is just the tip of the iceberg of course (pun intended - there won't be any icebergs in the future).

It is the same type of people who are anti-evolution who say that technology will save us from whatever stupid, selfish, short-sighted harm we are doing to the planet. Well, they can't have it both ways - most of our technology was developed using the same scientific method used to develop the theory of evolution. If they don't agree that the scientific method is the best we have, and its conclusions are valid whether they agree with them or not, then they shouldn't benefit from its results (see my previous post on evolution). If there is an outbreak of a nasty virus, and a vaccine is developed, then the folks who don't believe in the scientific method and ALL its conclusions can get to the back of the line!

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