VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Houston Museum of Natural Science presents a special lecture entitled The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive?

Peter Ward, Ph.D., (pictured) University of Washington
Monday, May 18, 6:30 p.m.

Using the latest discoveries from the geological record, renowned paleontologist Peter Ward argues that life might be its own worst enemy – because of life's relationship with the Earth's biosphere. His idea is named after Medea, the mythical mother who killed her own children, in stark contrast to the Gaia hypothesis – the idea that life sustains habitable conditions on Earth, drawing on the idea of a "good mother" who nurtures life.

Ward demonstrates that all but one of the mass extinctions that have struck Earth were caused by life itself. He looks at our planet's history in a new way, revealing an Earth under an alarming decline of diversity and biomass – a decline brought on by life's own "biocidal" tendencies. Could life by its very nature threaten its own existence? Yes, but Ward does offers hope! Life on Earth doesn't have to be lethal, but warns that our time is running out.

Peter Ward is professor of biology and Earth and space sciences at the University of Washington, and an astrobiologist with NASA. His paleontological research is specialized in the in the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction and mass extinctions. His many books include the highly acclaimed Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe and Under a Green Sky.

He will be signing copies of his latest book, which will be released in May, The Medea Hypothesis following the lecture.