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I would imagine the more probable scenario is that, if plastics truly have a deleterious effect on human health, as many people say, then we will evolve to have
by Invictus0 4y ago
I would imagine the more probable scenario is that, if plastics truly have a deleterious effect on human health, as many people say, then we will evolve to have more plastic-resistant bodies. But this can only really occur if we incur so much damage due to plastic that it broadly effects our reproductive potential at a relatively young age--a very high bar, and at which point it is probably much too late.
- JoeAltmaier 4y agoIt can work more subtly than that, but takes admittedly a much longer time. If being slightly more plastic tolerant give you a slightly longer reproductive window, then those genes will become more common. Simple as that.
- munk-a 4y agoYea - the thing that a lot of comments seem to be missing here is that evolutionary pressure comes in the form of mass die offs of those unfit for the new environment. If some people just have a higher incidence of cancer when they're 40+ there will be essentially no evolutionary pressure unless it's socially enforced (aka eugenics which is a really bad idea).
- bee_rider 4y agoI don't think we could possibly evolve fast enough to keep up with the rate at which we change the environment (downside to having giant brains -- we can change the world at an incredible rate, but our generations iterate at a glacial pace compared to, say, bacteria)
- bogdanoff_2 4y agoIt could be more subtle than that. If someone feels depressed and low-energy, they're less likely to find a mate and reproduce, and less likely to be able to take good care of their kids.