What If There Were No Seasons? Without Earth's tilt, humanity would not be in the same state that it is today.
Forget modern technology, the steam engine, or sliced bread. In a world without seasons, there wouldn't even be wheat. According to Don Attwood, an ecological anthropologist at McGill University in Montreal, humans would probably never have advanced past a state of living in small, scattered settlements, scrounging for survival and often dying of horrific insect-borne diseases.
Scientists think an Earth without a tilt would be split into climate bands that would get progressively colder as you moved away from the equator. Humans would never survive the continuous winter of the high latitudes, and so we would likely all live in the planet's tropical midsection.
If the habitable world were a humid tropical zone like a rain forest, then unrelenting rainfall would quickly erode soil in any areas cleared for farming, and would take away nutrients down below the root level. Even today only low-density populations live in the rain forests of the world.
On top of our problems with agriculture humans would also be plagued by disease pathogens which thrive in warm, humid environments. Winter controls the growth of these deadly pathogens and their insect hosts. It has been vital for human development. The Industrial Revolution has roots in the existence of winter also. Though it usually isn't explained this way, modern technology can be thought of as a by-product of the development of new ways to keep warm.
Lucky for us, the moon ensures that Earth's tilt remains stable, so seasons won't ever vanish completely
Many scientists believe that the moon has been around almost as long as the Earth. You may not know that the moon phases have many benefits to people on Earth. In fact, the predictable patterns of the moon’s rotation of the Earth allowed humans to create ancient calendars.
Knowing the moon phases may even help you with your surfing, fishing, or farming. The gravity of the moon is what causes the tides in the ocean. During the new and full moon, the Sun, Earth, and moon are all aligned, and the tides are much higher than they are during the first quarter and last quarter moon. This is called a spring tide and surfers benefit from larger increases in the amount of water on the beaches. Surf’s up anyone?
Many fishermen also believe that fishing at night during a full moon will help you catch more fish. The belief is that because the moon is so bright in the sky that it allows light to penetrate through the water and the fish can see the bait much easier. There are still many farmers that use the moon to guide their planting schedule.
One belief that they have is that the new and first-quarter phases, known as the light of the moon, are considered good for planting above-ground crops, putting down sod, grafting trees, and transplanting.
Another one is that from the full moon through the last quarter, or the dark of the moon, is the best time for killing weeds, thinning, pruning, mowing, cutting timber, and planting below- ground crops.
We often take the moon for granted because it is so predictable, but the moon also holds a place of mystery in our hearts.
The rocky intertidal is the portion of a rocky coastline that is periodically covered or exposed by daily tidal changes. This interface is a complex environment where species are well adapted to the changing habitat conditions. Conditions are more terrestrial and higher in the intertidal and correspondingly more marine in the lower intertidal area, depending on the amount of exposure the area receives.
This range of environmental conditions influences the species that are able to adapt to changing habitat variables. These environmental conditions are, in part, responsible for the unique zones within the intertidal that are highly visible by the dominant species that occur in each area or “zone”.
The splash zone is the area above the high tide water line and mainly depends on sea spray and mist for water coverage. The characteristic species of the splash zone are the little acorn barnacles, sea lettuce, and the periwinkle snail. All species are adapted to withstand extended periods of exposure.
The high zone is the area of intertidal that is covered by most high tides. This zone is characterized by the larger acorn barnacle, but many limpets and chitons also call this “zone” home. Two species of rockweed are commonly observed in the high intertidal zone.
The mid zone is characterized by the three highly recognizable intertidal species: the sea star, the mussel, and the gooseneck barnacle. The mussel beds provide the characteristic texture and color for this zone.
The low zone is mixed with organisms that can be found in both the intertidal and subtidal habitats and is characterized by the large fleshy brown algae that begin to appear in this zone. Several algae species are common, but the characteristic brown algae of the low zone are the feather boa and the sea palm. The low intertidal zone provides more food, shelter, and protection from desiccation than the other intertidal zone and is therefore inhabited by a greater number of species