Photosynthesis is the engine of life. By capturing the sun’s energy and converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and biomass, plants create the foundation on which all other life rests. Without photosynthesis, there would be no food chain, no ecosystems, and no human civilization. But today we can see the opposite process – a reverse photosynthesis driven by human actions.
By breaking down diversity, exploiting land and water, and maximizing production efficiency, we are undermining the systems that photosynthesis has built up over billions of years.
When diversity is replaced by uniformity
A healthy ecosystem is built on three levels of diversity.
- Species diversity, where many species interact and balance each other.
- Genetic diversity, where variation within species makes them resistant to disease and change.
- And ecosystem diversity, where different environments interact and provide living space for everything from microorganisms to large mammals.
When we humans instead strive for uniformity for efficient production, a dangerous shift occurs.
Agriculture is a clear example. Monocultures of cereals, soy or palm oil replace forests, wetlands and pastures. We get enormous productivity in the short term, but at the expense of resilience. It is as if nature has just chosen one plant and tried to squeeze it everywhere, even though life is fundamentally based on differences and variation.
The wrench as a universal tool
The human way of dealing with nature can be compared to believing that a wrench can replace all tools. It works great for unscrewing nuts, but if we try to saw wood with it, the result will not be good.
Similarly, we use the effects of photosynthesis as a raw material for mass production without taking into account that different ecosystems have different functions. When we expand fields, deforest and drain wetlands, we replace complex systems with simplified ones, and create a dependence on artificial fertilizers, pesticides and fossil fuels that in turn reinforce reverse photosynthesis.
When we pass tipping points
The most worrying thing is that this process is not linear. Nature has built buffers and resilience, but when we push the systems too far, we reach breaking points. Coral reefs that bleach, forests that turn into savannah, insect populations that collapse.
These tipping points mark when the balance of nature is so severely disrupted that it cannot return to its previous state.
For nature as a whole, this is not a problem. It will develop new forms of life over millions of years. But for humanity, which depends on functioning ecosystems here and now, it is serious.
Reverse photosynthesis in everyday life
We can see the effects of reverse photosynthesis in everyday life. Agriculture that overuses land until the soil becomes depleted. Forests that are cleared to make room for a single crop. Fish stocks that are overexploited until the balance of the oceans is disrupted. All of these actions counteract the basic idea of photosynthesis: cooperation and variation.
Take pollinators as an example. Bees and other insects are essential for many crops. When their habitats are replaced by monocultures and toxic pesticides, their populations collapse. Then so do the crops that depend on them. It becomes a chain reaction that shows how tightly intertwined all life is.
The path back to balance
However, there are ways to slow down and partially reverse the reverse photosynthesis.
Agroforestry, which combines forestry and agriculture, is based on the principle of mimicking the diversity of nature. Circular economies that reduce resource use can give ecosystems space to recover. And restoration projects, such as restoring wetlands and replanting forests, can give back functions we have lost.
But above all, a shift in thinking is needed. To stop viewing nature as a machine for production and instead see it as a living system of which we ourselves are a part.
It is not about going back to a pre-industrial era, but about making diversity and resilience as important goals as efficiency and profitability.
A defining moment for humanity
We are at a unique historical moment. Our knowledge of nature is greater than ever, while our impact is stronger than ever.
If we continue on the same path, we risk amplifying reverse photosynthesis until our ecosystems collapse. However, if we use our creativity and innovation to mimic nature’s own principles, we can create societies that interact with, rather than break down, the engine of life.
We are testing nature’s patience, but it is the future of humanity that is at stake.
