Evolution might stop humans from solving climate change

Human culture has evolved to allow humans to extract resources and helped us expand to dominate the biosphere. But the same evolutionary processes may counteract efforts to solve new global environmental threats like climate change, according to a new study. Tackling the climate crisis will require worldwide regulatory, technical and economic systems supported by strong global cooperation. However, this new study concludes that the group-level processes characteristic of human cultural evolution, will cause environmental competition and conflict between sub-global groups, and work against global solutions. Adapting to climate change and other environmental problems will, therefore, require human evolution to change. …read more