Evolutionary Magic VI: Oxygen and the Miracle of 21%
I have been writing this series on Evolutionary Magic to try and instill a sense of wonder and magic into people’s lives, and into their view of the universe. It’s something that is sorely missing in our modern day consciousness. We have lost our sense of connectedness and are paying a tragic price for it, both individually and globally.
The Problem of the Lone Individual
As we look out at our withering planet, we can see telltale signs that this view of a magical universe is sorely lacking.
The modern worldview begins with the individual who stands tall and strong, a la John Wayne, fighting injustice and tyranny. That is our modern day myth. The lone wolf, on his or her own, taking on the world. It’s such a sham.
The problem with the modern worldview beginning with the individual standing alone against the world, is that he or she is isolated, separate, and yes, alone. How can that be a basis for any worldview?
Pre-Modern Worldviews Begin With A Creation Story
Pre-modern and indigenous cultures begin their worldviews with their universe story. Instead of starting from the smallest entity, the individual, it starts from the largest entity, the cosmos. It then shows how everything is a part of that.
So, in the beginning instead of isolation, we have interconnectedness. We can all relate to the cosmos in a properly told universe story. So, by the time we reach the individual in this cosmic story, he or she is tightly nestled in a web of interconnections. There is no separation, no isolation, no lone individual standing against the world, for he or she is the world.
In the Modern Worldview, Everything Is An Object For Use
The modern worldview, seeing everything as separate, means everything that is not me is an object for my use. The earth, other creatures, other people, and even our own selves are objects to be used and manipulated.
It is English philosopher Thomas Hobbes’ “War of all Against All” where individuals battle it out with other individuals for power, prestige, and position. How can such a worldview lead to anything other than the mess we see now with psychologically damaged individuals causing the floods, droughts, superfires, wars; and food and energy shortages we are now experiencing.
Do we really think we can solve these problems from this worldview? As the oft repeated saying goes,
“We can’t solve a problem from the same mentality that created it.”
The Need For a New Worldview
In order to change our mentality; we have to change our worldview. And to do that, taking from the pre-modern and indigenous cultures, we need a new creation story. That is why I have written this series on “Evolutionary Magic”, and my book, The Magical Universe: Answering the Call of Climate Change for Global and Personal Transformation. If we only see our planet and its inhabitants as objects for use, then we are toast.
However, if we can see ourselves, the Earth, and the cosmos as interconnected and magical, then we might just think it’s all worth preserving. So, like the pre-modern and indigenous peoples, let’s begin our new worldview with a new cosmic creation story that interconnects everything.
In my series on Evolutionary Magic I have tried to show specific instances where this magic is apparent. In my last article, I explored the creation of cyanobacteria and photosynthesis; a miraculous response to the food crisis the first life forms, the single-celled bacteria called prokaryotes, faced from feeding off a shrinking supply of chemicals emanating from deep ocean vents.
If you want more detail, here is a link to that article. Photosynthesis
In Solving the Problem of Oxygen, the Universe Created Another Problem
It’s hard to imagine a more magical development from a seemingly mindless universe. But as I hinted at the end of my last article, the problem with this new creation was that one of the by-products of photosynthesis is oxygen which, at the time, destroyed everything in its path. It was the first great life threatening pollutant on the planet.
The universe in creatively solving one problem had inadvertently created another one. What was it to do?
One would think, a universe filled with dumb matter could do little, but that would be wrong. The universe ingeniously came up with not only a solution to the immediate problem, but one that also set the stage for all the future evolutionary developments that were to come. Pretty heady stuff for a mindless universe.
But let’s continue the story.
The Story Continues From Photosynthesis
As these cyanobacteria with their photosynthesis multiplied, so did their waste product (O2). It spread throughout the oceans, killing most of the other one-celled bacteria existing before it. Eventually, the O2 combined with all the ocean’s matter, creating for the first time free O2 in the water.
About 2.5 billion years ago, the ocean gradually began releasing its excess O2 into the atmosphere where it accumulated as ozone (O3). Miraculously, this formed an outer layer of atmosphere protecting the Earth from the most active and harmful aspects of the Sun’s radiation. Earth had created a womb, an envelope in which life could grow. Was the universe showing foresight here?
The Perfect Balance
Unfortunately, the O2 continued to build up until it comprised 21 percent of the atmosphere, and then the build-up stopped, just at the perfect level for the creation of life as we know it. Any more O2 would have ignited massive fires, destroying everything, and any less would not have allowed the proper metabolism to generate life.
Evolutionary biologist, Lynn Margulis called the stabilization of O2 at 21 percent of the atmosphere “a mute consensus reached by the biota millions of years ago; indeed, it is a contract still respected today.”
In their book Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution, Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan write:
“The present high, but not too high, level of oxygen in our atmosphere gives the impression of a conscious decision to maintain a balance between danger and opportunity, between risk and benefit. . . . If oxygen levels were a few percent higher, living organisms themselves would spontaneously combust. As oxygen falls a few percent aerobic organisms start to asphyxiate. The biosphere has maintained this happy medium for hundreds of millions of years at least.”
An interesting fine-tuning on the part of the universe to say the least, paving the way for life’s evolution. Next time we will take a look at how the universe used this dangerous element, oxygen, to fuel future evolution.
To learn more about the magic of the universe: Click this link: The Magical Universe.
Photo by Terry Vlisidis on Unsplash
