If you consider deep-earth microbes, soil organisms, plankton, seaweeds/algae, and plants to be humble parts of our world, Ferris Jabr may change your mind! Microbes provided the grease that got plate tectonics moving and continents growing. Without the complex orchestra of soil organisms, nothing would grow and those continents would be barren wastelands. The amazing bulk of plankton in our oceans provide the majority of the oxygen we breathe and influence our weather in addition to feeding a plethora of creatures up to the size of baleen whales.
“[T]he vast majority of chalk and limestone formations on Earth, including large sections of the Alps, are the remains of plankton, corals, shellfish, and other calcereous creatures. Every impossible edifice that humans have constructed with limestone, including the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Colosseum, Notre Dame, and the Empire State Building, is a secret monument to ancient ocean life.”
We are used to centering the narrative on humans (we're hubristic that way) and we have definitely made a mark on our planet, not in dreadfully positive ways. Unfortunately, we have thrown the carbon cycle of the planet way out of whack. One of the best things we could do at this point would be to break our addiction to plastics. Micro- and nano-plastics are found everywhere on Earth now. Eventually there will be a natural process to deal with them, but probably not until we are as extinct as Australopithecus.
If the plastic situation was dismal, I gained encouragement from Jabr's discussions of soil management and fire regimes. Healthy soils and forests are fabulous at sequestering carbon, exactly what we need. I could wish that we could get everyone moving in the same direction, but these things never seem to be easy. People are resistant to change, even sensible changes. At least we have some options. Preservation of grasslands, forests, bogs, swamps, bayous, and peatlands looks like one of our best paths forward. Here in Western Canada, we have lived through several catastrophic fire seasons now, and I hope that our governments can finally admit that fire suppression sets us up for these major events. Controlled burning, using the expertise of our aboriginal peoples, would seem to be a good future path. As a bonus, healthy oceans and forests can create beneficial weather, a good cycle to get going.
We need to readjust our focus—quit only considering ourselves and look to the health of microbes, plankton, algae, fungi, and plants. Invest in renewables, sequester carbon dioxide, plant trees, protect land, farm smarter. Everyone will benefit. So, the meek shall certainly inherit the Earth. In fact, they seem to have orchestrated Earth as we know it and will be around to rehabilitate it when we quit making a mess of it.
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