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CHAPTER 1

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE LAWS OF NATURE

Subhead: Natural laws have governed life on Earth since the planets

beginnings 4.5 billion years ago. Today, in the Philippines as well as allover the world, man has come up with new laws to steward the Earth, while

ironically pushing his home planet closer to the brink of total destruction.

PART I:On Space, Time and Man

Subhead: Its been a long way since the beginnings of our galaxy to the time

man first walked the Earth

SOMEWHERE in that vast ocean of space called the Universe lies an archipelagoof stars, the Milky Way. By galactic standards, the Milky Way is not large,

only about 80,000 light years from one end to the other.

About three-fourths of the way to the outer rim of this galaxy is a star that

glimmers like a firefly in the dark night. We call it the sun. It is the center of

some nine planets that continuously circle around it, and is the source of all

heat and energy.

The third heavenly body away from but turning around the sun is the Earth.In relation to the planets in our solar system, ours is not very large; in fact, it

is the fifth smallest planet. By galactic standards, the Earth does not even

amount to a grain of sand in the sea of space.

But the Earth is quite special. It is not too close to the Sun to be too hot, but

neither is it too far away to be too cold and frozen. In other words, it is just

right, and as far as we know, it is the only planet that contains life.

Some scientists have tried to guess at the age of the Earth. They say it is

about 4.5 billion years old, give or take a few hundred million. But let usthink about that for a little while: four billion and five hundred million years

old. Considering that humans have an average life span of only 60-70 years,

our frame of reference makes it difficult to think in terms of a thousand, a

million, let alone 4.5 billion years.

We know that at the beginning, the Earth was a mere cloud of gases that

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condensed and became a solid mass. By the magic of Creation, the swirling

gases formed a delicate mixture of airthe first element of life. In time, the

gases turned into vapor that condensed to become waterthe second

element of life.

In ancient times, the Greeks called the Earth theiroikos, Greek for the word

home. They figured out that Earth was indeed a common home to human

beings and to the other forms of life that shared this space.

Oikos is also the root word of eco, the root word of ecology. Ecology is

therefore the study of the Earth and of all things, living and non-living, that

can be found in it. Oikos is also the root of the word eco-nomics, the study

of the material provisions of one of Earths inhabitants, man. Economics is

therefore only a tiny part of Ecology, and is quite irrelevant to the lives of

the other inhabitants of this common living space.

Life in the last four billion years

We generally think that life came to be when the Earth itself came into

being. But for most of Earths history, there was no life on this planet. Of the

Earths 4.5 billion years, life did not start to appear until about 600 million

years ago, and then only in the form of single-celled organisms.Add a few

more millions of years, and in time these single-celled organisms began to

form into the more complex algae, then fungi, and then other soft-bodied

marine animals.

It was during the first period of visible life that clams, mollusks, starfish, and

seaweed began to populate the sea, when almost all of the Earth was covered

with water. After several millions of years more, a skeletal structure with a

more complex nervous system began to take shape. This became fish, many

of which still live in the sea. This was the period when the fish dominated

the planet, the period is known as the era of the fish that lasted from 600

million to 200 million years ago.

In time the skeletal structure of the fish became more sophisticated. Theycrawled out of the water and began to live on land. To adapt and to be able

to breathe air, these early creatures developed lungs. This age marked the

birth of reptiles. Crocodiles, snakes, lizards and turtles are living examples

of our reptilian ancestry. A kind of reptile that lived during this period, now

known as the Jurassic period, was called the dinosaur. Their species lasted

from about 200 million to about 70 million years ago, after which they

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became extinct.

One interesting explanation for the dinosaurs mass extermination is the

asteroid theory. A large asteroid was said to have hit the surface of the Earth,

kicking up great clouds of dust. The dust was so thick and so widespread

that the resulting clouds covered the Earths atmosphere like a blanket,

which the suns rays could no longer penetrate. Without the sun, plants

started to die and the dinosaurs ran out of food.

About 70 million years ago, there appeared a more sophisticated kind of

animal, the mammal. While reptiles bore their offspring in the form of eggs,

mammals gave birth to smaller versions of themselves. Also, mammals fed

their young with the mothers breast milk. It was the time of animals like

cats, horses, monkeys, and apes, which were distinctive because of their

more complex nervous system and level of intelligence. The mammals grewin number and variety. In natural history, the period we are living in today

is known as the age of mammals.

Over the last two million years, however, there has been a significant

addition to life on Eartha form of mammal known as man. Man has two

physical characteristics that distinguish him from other animals. First, he

stands on two feet and walks erect, the only animal that does so. Unlike his

other cousins from the Hominid familyapes, gorillasman does not need

his front limbs to walk or climb.

Kingdoms of life

Before discussing the dominance of man, we would do well to first examine

the two classifications of life on Earth.Inhabitants of the Plant Kingdom are

classified in ascending order of complexity. At the bottom are

phytoplankton, algae and mosses. Higher up are the grasses, vines, shrubs,

and bushes, and all the way up is the most biologically sophisticated kind of

plant, the tree. For this reason, trees are known as the climax species in the

Plant Kingdom.

As a living organism, the tree is quite complex. It can absorb water from the

soil and then pump it high up to the leaves. It can absorb carbon dioxide

from the atmosphere, and with the energy of sunlight, chemically process it

into food and then convert it into matter. Trees exhale oxygen, the gas

needed by animals, and inhale carbon dioxide, the gas discharged by

animals. Trees also serve as the home of birds, monkeys, lizards, insects,

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ferns, orchids and thousands of other plants and animals. A tree is also

capable of reproduction through the seeds of its fruits, fruits that animals

feed upon.

The other kingdom is the Animal Kingdom. Through time, single-celled

organisms evolved into anemones, mollusks and fish. The ladder rose further

to include land-dwelling animals such as insects, worms, snakes, lizards,

crocodiles, bears, pigs, cattle, cats, monkeys, baboons, chimpanzees, and

apes. At the peak is the Animal Kingdoms version of a climax species,

man.

Perhaps because they are the climax species of their respective kingdoms,

there is a special bond between man and trees. This probably explains why

humans feel an indescribable sense of majesty when in the presence of a

large tree, and a sense of solace by simply sitting in its shade.

But there is a difference in their ecological functions. Whereas a tree

performs essential ecological services, like holding soil and water and

providing a habitat for others, man does not. He is not a producer, but is only

a userand consumer of both plants and animals, for food and for fancy.

Like the dinosaurs, man is an omnivorehe eats almost anything and

everything. Man is also an omni-userhe uses almost everything. Whereas

dinosaurs had no need for lifeless rocks, in this day and age, humans use

rocks and metals for various (and some very silly) purposes.

What is even more alarming is that after use, man throws away what is left

as waste. Even at the height of their dominance on Earth, the dinosaurs

waste served to nourish the soil.

Biologists and anthropologists have long studied what makes man different

from other animals. Let us begin with the similarities. In terms of physical

structure, humans are not very different from apes. In fact, a recent study

indicated that our DNA make-up is almost 99 % identical to that of achimpanzee.

In the science of ethology, the study of animal behavior, there are three

imperatives common to all animal life: food, sex, and politics. All animals

eat to sustain themselves; all animals breed to perpetuate themselves; and all

animals have some form of social organization.

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It was once thought that only humans used tools, until we discovered that

chimpanzees also did, ingeniously using twigs to poke into holes for

termites. Humans once thought that affection and care for others, the trait

known as altruism, was unique to man. Recent discoveries, however,

reveal clear evidence that dolphins and elephants, among other creatures, are

just as caring for their sick and injured, often even at risk to their own life.

Humans also once believed that only they used language. Once again this

has been proven wrong. With the use of sophisticated sonar equipment, we

have learned that whales, monkeys and even birds use some form of

language to communicate with one another.

Scientists have concluded that the differences between humans and other

animals lie in the degree and sophistication of particular traits. Mandiscovered the use of fire, and that made all the difference. However, it

seems that since he began to use fire, he has done so in a manner that has

caused himself great harm.

The evolution of man

Physically, there is now little doubt that monkeys, apes and humans have a

common ancestor. What this common ancestor looked like are still the

subject of much research, thus the continued search for the so-called

missing link.

Somewhere along the path of our evolution, our species branched off from

that common ancestor and we acquired physical characteristics distinct from

our cousin apes. Our pelvic bones allowed us to walk on only our hind

limbs, which became two legs and feet. This event marked the point of

emergence of our early ancestors, the species Homo erectus, the erect

human.

As the hind limbs became devoted to walking, the front limbs became

the hands. Having been freed from the drudgery of locomotion, the humanhands began to follow the directives of a naturally curious mind and became

the extension of the human brain. Holding and manipulating things was

made easier by an opposable thumb.

We do not know for sure how the hand became useful. Man probably first

learned to use his hands to repel the attack of fellow animals, resorting to

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