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Originally Posted by borked
You sir, are clearly misinformed. I do agree that evolution happens because it can - nowhere did I say otherwise. But of course you can stop evolution - a panda only eats bamboo, nothing else. Now if you eradicated bamboo from the planet by non-natural means you have stopped evolution of panda, because he will not survive.
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There is no such thing as non-natural. Humans and what we do are not above or beyond evolution. We're a part of it just like everything else. Implying that our actions are non-natural is like implying it was non-natural for creatures to come out of the sea and onto land. Coming onto land was a product of evolution. Us developing nuclear weapons was a product of evolution.
Stop looking at evolution as something you can observe from a perspective that puts you apart from it. Everything we do is part of it. It's not right, it's not wrong, it's evolution.
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You could of course look at it the other way, that you have accelerated evolution bcause panda was always doomed for extinction, ever since he evolved into a bear that only ate bamboo. Evolution can be a negative thing as well. Either way like you said evolution happens because it can, if the animal is nolonger alive, it can't therefore you have stopped evolution
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Evolution is always taking place. You do not start or stop it. While you may think the death of a species is the stopping of evolution, it is advancement of another. Evolution goes one way. Foward. Even if we nuke the entire planet, evolution still goes that one way. The death of the dinosaurs didn't stop evolution did it? Just because a species dies doesn't mean the way evolution works changes.
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If you introduce pest-resistant mutations of genes into crops, you have accelerated evolution of that species - it may well have evolved to introduce a mutation that made it more restant of its own accord, and it may hav happened tomorrow or in a billion years time. But man introduced it today.
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Ever think the introduction of pest-resistant mutations is also a part of evolution? Your ideas of things being non-natural or being able to positively or negatively influence evolution are incorrect. Whatever happens is evolution, plain and simple.