Should-Read: Olivia P. Judson: The energy expansions of evolution

Should-Read: Olivia P. Judson: The energy expansions of evolution: “The history of the life–Earth system can be divided into five ‘energetic’ epochs… https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0138

…geochemical… sunlight, oxygen, flesh and fire…. Oxygen, flesh, and fire are all consequences of evolutionary events. Since no category of energy source has disappeared, this has, over time, resulted in an expanding realm of the sources of energy available to living organisms and a concomitant increase in the diversity and complexity of ecosystems. These energy expansions have also mediated the transformation of key aspects of the planetary environment…. Using energy as a lens… illuminates patterns in the entwined histories of life and Earth, and may also provide a framework for considering the potential trajectories of life–planet systems elsewhere…. These expansions are consequences of events in the evolution of life, and they have mediated the transformation of the planet from an anoxic world that could support only microbial life, to one that boasts the rich geology and diversity of life present today. Here, I review these energy expansions…