ABSTRACT
Two Princeton University evolutionary biologists have for twenty years been studying the particular species of finches on the Galapagos Islands that inspired Charles Darwin’s reflections on the origin of species. They have observed several generations of the birds and have actually witnessed evolving changes in their beaks and DNA as the finches have adapted to changes in that natural setting. Reflecting on the meaning of their findings, the two scientists point out that “evolution” originally meant the unfolding of a scroll. Darwin understood this process of continuing creation as the scroll being written on continually as it unfolds. They conclude with these words: “We are not complete as we stand. … There can be no finished form for us or for anything else alive, anything that travels from generation to generation. The Book of Life is still being written. The end of the story is not predestined. Our evolution continues.” 1 The global ecojustice crisis makes clear that the human species now has unprecedented power and therefore unparalleled opportunities to influence this global process in directions that will make for either a sicker or a healthier earth home for all living creatures.
