WHY LIFE IS PRECIOUS: EXPLAINED SCIENTIFICALLY FROM THE BEGINNING TILL NOW AND POSSIBLY FOR FUTURE ALSO
BY:-ER. AMIT BANSAL
We take the Sun for granted.
So is it about the Moon, water, air, and even MOTHER NATURE?
In a nutshell, we take LIFE for granted.
In our Milky Way galaxy, there may be billions of planets that may nurture life. In our universe, there are at least trillion such galaxies. With the debate of multiple universes in our cosmos, the possibility of life thriving at numerous locations is immense.
We have been trying in vain to contact aliens since the last century. Presently, we know only about a solitary residence of life: the Earth. Life was possible due to numerous factors coming together. Even if one major factor goes haywire, there can be a catastrophe. This event can happen at any moment.
Religions and philosophies preach vehemently that life is precious. Let us analyze this belief scientifically.
Opportune time spent by the universe, correct place in the galaxy, correct star, correct planet, correct satellite, and many other factors are of fundamental importance to life anywhere in the cosmos.
Universe:
Our universe has existed for the last 1,400 crore years. The universe began with a big bang. For all these years, it has been continuously expanding. It has reached a stage of stability, which has given adequate time for life to advance on planets such as Earth. The existence of dark matter and dark energy have chipped in their roles too.
Trillions of years down the line, our universe may either explode or contract to terminate all the forms of life.
Galaxy:
The galaxy in which we reside is called the Milky Way and has existed for the last 1,320 crore years. Our galaxy is traveling at a speed of 600 km per second. The matter within the galaxy is also orbiting the galactic center at a high velocity.
Within the Milky Way, our solar system lies in an area known as the galactic habitable zone. This is the region within the galaxy where life can evolve over a period. If the solar system is closer to the galactic center, the gravitational pull, radiation, and the bombardment of comets will render the possibility of life impossible. If the solar system is away from the galactic habitable zone, the radiation from the formation of stars will kill life. This means most parts of the Milky Way are not habitable.
The location of the Milky Way in the universe and the location of the solar system in the Milky Way are both critical. Our galaxy has suffered fewer collisions and the black hole at the center is perfect.
About 400 crore years down the line, the Milky Way galaxy will collide with the Andromeda galaxy most probably terminating all forms of life.
Star:
Our star, the Sun, has existed for 460 crore years. The most important role of the Sun is to provide sanity to the planets in the solar system through gravitational pull. This makes the planets move in an orbit around the Sun.
The Sun emits sunlight, which is a vital source of energy on Earth. The energy provided by the sunlight is consumed by living beings such as plants for photosynthesis. The by-product of photosynthesis is oxygen, which is essential for animals and humans. Sunlight also provides energy to keep water in liquid form. Without the Sun, the Earth will be a lifeless icy planet.
Sunlight enables us to see. It affects our mood and emotional well-being. It provides vitamin D for the skin that helps absorb calcium for stronger bones and muscles. It produces nitric oxide that reduces blood pressure. It regulates melatonin, which regulates sleep. It strengthens the immune system and fastens metabolism apart from many other health benefits.
The Sun causes the movement of the wind. Its energy has been stored as fossil fuels. It drives precipitation, which is responsible for rain and snow otherwise the Earth would be a desert. It generates our weather patterns and drives our climate. Changes in the temperature patterns of the Sun might also result into ice ages on Earth.
Our Sun has the correct size and temperature for life to flourish on the Earth. Stars hotter than the Sun emit a relatively greater amount of ultraviolet radiation, and cooler stars emit greater amounts of infrared radiation.
The Sun cannot explode as a supernova because it does not have enough mass. It is becoming hotter gradually and has become 30% brighter in the last 460 crore years. Currently, its brightness is increasing by about 1% per 100 million years. In another 500 crore years, it may turn into a red giant and swallow Mercury, Venus, and most probably the Earth. Even if it does not swallow the Earth, the temperature will be enough to vaporize water and collapse the atmosphere.
Earth:
Earth was formed 454 crore years back most probably due to solar dust. The Earth, a rocky planet, is the launchpad for life. Without the existent factors on Earth, life won’t exist. Thus, it plays the most vital role in the process of evolution of life. Life, as we know, evolves due to a set of chemical reactions where a liquid medium interacts with raw materials and energy sources.
Proteins are the essential building blocks of complex life. Many elements are required for proteins to be created. These elements include the Sun, moderate temperature, water, and certain chemical elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
The Earth has the correct amount of mass and gravity for the continuation of life on it. It is at a correct distance from Sun. Its natural satellite, the Moon, has a stabilizing effect. The Sun aids precipitation that ensures a stable water cycle. The Earth has a suitable climate, and its temperature does not swing from one extreme to another. Nearly 72% of the Earth’s volume is water, which breeds complex life.
The Earth has an atmosphere that remains intact because of the gravitational pull. Of all the gases present in the atmosphere, oxygen is breathable. Oxygen exists in water and the atmosphere. Living beings require oxygen existing in the atmosphere and water. The atmosphere also contains a small amount of CO2, which is consumed by plant life through a process called photosynthesis. CO2 also helps maintain temperature on the Earth. The atmosphere protects us from the shower of asteroids and meteorites. It keeps out excessive radiation. The atmosphere has an ozone layer, which shields us from UV rays.
The Earth takes 24 hours to spin on its axis, which ensures that the whole planet receives light at regular intervals. Due to the tilt of the axis, the Earth witnesses seasons. Its solid and liquid core creates an electromagnetic field, which protects the Earth from solar storms. The rocky crust provides a stable surface for life.
Plate tectonics causes volcanic activity releasing energy and chemicals. Jupiter shields the earth from as many as 10,000 stellar strikes annually. Earth has a diversity of life, which provides a source of food for all living beings. It has provided us with fossil fuels and wood.
Earth’s future depends on the behavior of the Sun.
Moon:
We have a satellite known as the Moon. The Moon is nearly the same age as the Earth. It is believed to have formed due to an impact of a Mars-sized object on Earth. This impact has also caused the tilt of the earth.
The Moon is largely responsible for tidal waves. Some theories suggest that tidal waves must have filled oceans with chemicals leading to the formation of nucleic acid. Without tidal waves, complex life would have taken even much longer to evolve. Our marine environment is rich in species due to the same reason. The tidal waves transport heat from the equator to the poles, which leads to ice ages and interglacial changes. This further leads to the migration of animals and birds helping speciation.
The Moon makes the winds on the Earth bearable and aids volcanism. It has also increased the length of the day from 6 hours to 24 hours. Its gravity also attracts interstellar objects, which protects the earth. Coincidentally, the Moon is moving away from the earth at 3.8 cm per year and millions of years down the line, a solar eclipse will be a part of history.
The moon might face the same future as the Earth.
Goldilocks zone:
This is the correct distance between a star and a planet where the planet can harbor water under appropriate atmospheric pressure and temperature. If the planet is closer to the star, the water evaporates resembling Mercury or Venus, which leads to the dissolution of the atmosphere. If the planet is too far from the star, the water freezes resembling an icy planet. Water is the most essential element that makes complex and intelligent life feasible. The right amount of sunlight ensures photosynthesis happens, a process through which plant life produces oxygen.
The Goldilocks zone ensures the sustainability of all the building blocks of life such as water, atmosphere, chemicals, temperature, climate, sunlight, photosynthesis, and others.
Ice age:
In the ice age, most water on earth is frozen. Since the inception of earth, five major ice ages have occurred. These extreme cool ages are called glacial ages. In between the glacial ages, there are warmer times called interglacial periods such as the one we are living in now. The last interglacial period started 12,000 years back. The reasons for the occurrences of ice ages are not known. As per scientists, the probable causes can be decreased solar activity, changes in the position of the earth-orbiting the Sun, the composition of the atmosphere, and variation in the flow of ocean currents.
Ice ages uncover land. Most probably, all the continents were joined by land bridges aiding migration. Cooler temperatures led to the development of clothes and the perfection of the use of fire.
Ice age leads to mass extinction. Due to the last five ice ages, 99% of all species have become extinct. Only the species that adapted or migrated survived.
Humans are pushing the next ice age by at least 50,000 years because of the greenhouse gases we are emitting. During a major ice age, very few patches on earth are habitable, which can endanger humans too.
Mass extinction:
A mass extinction is an event where there is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on earth. Numerically, it is an event where at least 70% of the species are extinct within a short duration. This is supposed to occur when the rate of extinction is more than the rate of formation of species.
Apart from many minor extinctions, between five to more than twenty mass extinction events have occurred in the last 500 million years. Since its inception, it is assumed that 99% of the species on earth have been wiped out due to mass extinctions.
Mass extinctions can occur due to many reasons such as giant volcanic eruption, sea-level fall, stellar impacts, global cooling or global warming, methane gas eruption, oceans become deficient of oxygen, hydrogen sulfide emissions, surface water of the oceans sinking, supernova or gamma-ray burst, the weak magnetic field of the earth, movement of continents, epidemics, and many more.
The last major mass extinction wiped out dinosaurs. Some studies suggest that the extinctions happen over regular intervals, and it takes millions of years for life to recover. The next one can wipe out humans too. In the future, the biggest mass extinction is supposed to occur when the Sun grows in size by 10% and vaporizes the water on earth killing all forms of life.
Sixth mass extinction:
The ongoing extinction event due to human activity is called the sixth extinction. This event is known as the sixth mass extinction because it is sixth in line after the five great mass extinctions recorded. It started 12,000 years back and has affected almost entire species of plants and animals. It is supposed to be the greatest loss of biodiversity since the extinction of dinosaurs.
Every species has an ecosystem associated with it. When it becomes extinct, there is a snowball effect that leads to a larger number of species becoming extinct.
Scientists believe that 150-200 species become extinct every 24 hours. This implies about 140,000 per year. This rate of extinction is 100 to 1,000 times higher than the normal rate since the extinction of dinosaurs. The normal rate being 10 to 25 species per year.
At this rate, 50% of all species will disappear by 2050. Due to human activity, the ecosystem in oceans could get disrupted for millions of years. There is a possibility that there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans by weight by 2050.
Since the end of the last ice age, numerous species started disappearing due to humans migrating to all the continents and hunting. This continues in the current century with meat consumption, ocean acidification, deforestation, pollution, human population growth with materialistic behavior, industrialization, the spread of cities and farms, climate change, habitat destruction, invasive species that displaces native species, over-harvesting (hunting, fishing, and gathering), UV light exposure, disease, land clearing, and many such factors.
Humans have essentially become the top predator not only on land but also across the sea.
Humans:
Humans are one of the latest species to evolve on earth. During this evolution, the human brain has become the most sophisticated machine known to us in the cosmos. Apart from the brain, there are many other organs such as the liver that we do not understand completely.
Humans have survived wars and epidemics. The life span of humans has risen from 30 years to 70 years. Vaccines have taken care of most deadly diseases. Yet, nature is making us deal with new mutations such as swine flu, SARS, Ebola, zika virus, corona, and many others.
Humans have also survived natural and environmental hazards. They have been subjected to extreme weather such as tropical cyclones, hurricanes, or typhoons that dominate life in those areas. They are subject to earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, sinkholes, blizzards, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other calamities and disasters.
We also faced human-made pollution of the air and water, acid rain and toxic substances, loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, species extinction, soil degradation, soil depletion, and erosion.
We can become extinct because of natural causes or the result of our own actions. Natural causes such as geological or cosmological disaster due to impact of stellar objects, supervolcanic eruption, epidemics, or lethal gamma-ray burst. Human action can include nuclear or biological war, overpopulation and materialistic behavior, and global warming leading to long-term climate change.
Humans have survived because of ideal conditions supporting life for the past millions of years.
Warning in the Indian philosophy:
We always believed in the philosophy of beginning (Brahma), middle (Vishnu), and end (Shiva). That means everything ends, so will the life on Earth. Whatever ends begin again, may not be in the same format.
The journey of life has taken 1400 Cr years to reach the present stage. We should not take life for granted. This life is fragile. Let’s preserve life. Life is precious.
The writer works as a technical writer with Cybage Software Pvt Ltd, Pune. He is active on FaceBook. The article has been edited by Abhay Burande.
B. TECH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IN 1997 FROM GOVT. COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING PUNE, MBA MARKETING IN 2003 FROM UNIVERSITY OF PUNE. 24 YEARS POST QUALIFICATION EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD.
He has two years of marketing experience with MNCs in Dubai and Sharjah. And 14 years experience in Technical Writing with MNCs such as Symantec and Cybage. His articles have appeared in Times of India, Indian Express, and The Hindu. He is very active on Facebook where he expresses his views regularly.
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