Introduction
Ever since we first formed civilizations, we humans have been shaping our environment. First, we have diverted rivers from their natural course for the purposes of irrigation, quarried and hewn stone to build monuments and communication routes, extracted minerals for warfare and defense, and eradicated species we deemed a threat or danger. In a second phase, we have industrialized our processes for extracting raw materials, for weaving, for cultivating and breeding, multiplied our movements and extended our infrastructures. In the course of our expansion, we destroyed natural spaces, subdued and even eradicated species we considered useless - and undesirable, polluted our atmosphere, the surface of the continents, the deepest oceans, even triggered earthquakes. In the space of just two centuries, we humans have appropriated all the mineral, vegetal and animal resources of value to us, at the risk of exceeding planetary limits. By what right? With what consequences?
Nature is at the heart of this new section. A growing number of photographs accompanied by short texts will be published. Because a sense of wonder and understanding of what's at stake is a step towards protecting and safeguarding ...
3.5 billion years of evolution
What were the first traces of life on Earth? In what context did they appear? When did they appear? How did they modify the composition of the oceans and atmosphere? What happened shortly before the Cambrian? How can we explain the complexification and explosion of different life forms some 500 million years ago? How did plants colonize the surface of continents? What is the link between algae and mosses? When did flowering plants first appear? What are mass extinction events? How many have there been in the past? How have different forms of plant, animal, fungal, bacterial life gradually transformed the Earth's surface? What is species evolution? Have we managed to reconstruct the entire tree of life?
These are just some of the questions - and many more - to which photographs taken in the Occitanie region, a few texts and various conference proceedings attempt to provide answers. View these various media ...
Human-Nature Cohabitation
Our species (homo sapiens) is the ultimate descendant of a genus (homo) that appeared on the African continent several million years ago. This genus has produced numerous species that have adapted to different terrestrial environments and taken advantage of various ecological niches.
As evidenced by the many works of cave art (drawings, sculptures) scattered across Europe, Asia and South America, homo sapiens gradually colonized all the Earth's continents. Shortly after the end of the last Ice Age, homo sapiens became sedentary: he domesticated herds of sheep and cattle, selected various seeds, cultivated the land, extracted from the soil and plant cover the materials needed to build monuments, settlements - and then cities, linked by communication and trade routes.
Gradually, landscapes changed. Our species extended its presence and influence, encroaching on original ecosystems, fragmenting the habitats and areas of distribution of other taxa. Man's cohabitation with Nature became increasingly complex. The breaking point was reached at the very beginning of the industrial era, marked by the extraction of fossil fuels and minerals in ever-increasing quantities. This was the beginning of the Anthropocene ...
