Up to now, planet Earth's environment (including climate, flora and fauna) has evolved mostly governed by `natural laws' (physics, random mutation, natural selection, competition of species, symbiosis etc.). Increasingly, Earth's environment is affected by human activity. Human activity has, thus far, been mostly driven by demographics, and by economic and political objectives. Humans are starting to realize that the quality of the environment they all share is valuable and needs to be preserved and managed. At this point humanity needs knowledge to make informed choices, and technology to have better options.
