Humanity is in for a rough ride in the coming years.

I'm not trying to scare people. Just pointing out what is happening here on planet Earth and how it's bound to impact all life forms, including us.

It doesn't matter what you believe. It doesn't matter if you're liberal or conservative. You don't have to accept evolutionary theory. You don't have to trust the government. It makes no difference whatsoever.

The earth is changing. The earth has been changing for hundreds of thousands of years. It's the present rate of change that is likely to change all forms of life on earth. Skip global warming for now. You either believe it or you don't. Or maybe you believe the earth is warming but it is a "natural" cycle not caused by mankind.

It doesn't make any difference what you as an individual believe. Only how we as a species handle the change.

About 70 percent of the earth's surface is ocean, and the oceans are rapidly turning acid. Furthermore, according to the National Academy of Science, the rate of change "exceeds any known change in ocean chemistry for at least 800,000 years."

We've been warned about other environmental hazards — particulates in the air, chemicals in the soil and industrial pollutants in the water — but these problems are generally perceived as local. In other words, they're only happening here and there and therefore don't threaten humanity as a whole. But when the chemistry of over two-thirds of the earth's surface changes, all life on the planet will feel the impact.

Change, even rapid change, is not necessarily bad. Biologists believe environmental change is the driving force behind evolution. It drives out one species and opens space for another to flourish. It may even be linked to the development of the frontal cortex in the human brain. Radical environmental change forced our ancestors to stretch their reasoning capacity. The new brain survived. The old didn't ... or something like that.

I am putting this in very broad terms because I don't want to get into a religious debate. Call it the hand of God or explain it in scientific terms. Once again, it doesn't mater. We are all subject to the same forces of nature.

Mankind lives in all corners of the globe: in space, under the sea, in extreme heat and bitter cold. Mankind's most outstanding attribute is his ability to adapt. On the other hand, every adaptation can become a liability to the extent that we, or any other life form, becomes trapped in an environmental dead end.

The earth is stressed; therefore humanity is in trouble. The earth will survive; I'm not sure about humanity, unless we begin thinking globally and not as one political faction or another. Ideology is a character trait, not a survival tool.

I am serious about not trying to scare people. Fearful people do not necessarily make good decisions. Instead, we should look at this as an exciting time to be alive. Difficult times can often be the best of times because one must live intensely and with purpose.

I grieve for those who suffer people in hard times, but we are all capable of doing something about it, even if it is only listening and sharing comfort with one another. The point is this: Rapid and worldwide change is going to impact every living thing on the planet.

Our species has the ability to adapt to meet these new conditions, but first we have to understand the limits of our present culture. Modern technology may well be an evolutionary or environmental dead end. It depends on how we use it. Our present political and social mores may be another dead end, if they keep us fighting with each other.

So what do we need?

Faith in God, the universe or life itself. It's not what you call it, but how you practice it.

Joan King lives in Sautee. Her column appears every other Tuesday and on gainesvilletimes.com.