Set against the consuming blackness of space, the earth is a beguiling blue-green ball. Barely a handful of people have experienced the emotion of seeing the planet from space. Petty human squabbles over borders, oil and creed. Tiny everyday worries about life, love and money - all these whimsies vanish in the knowledge that this living, breathing, spinning marble surrounded by deep dark emptiness is our shared home. A home which we share with the most wonderful invention in the universe - wonderful, splendid, beautiful life.
How did it begin?
There was a time, many many years ago when night followed day swiftly. When the planet spun madly on its axis and a day was 5-6 hours long. A time when the moon hung heavy in the sky, far closer, and far bigger, than it is today. A time when stars rarely shone through the dull red envelope of the atmosphere. Humans could not survive then, no oxygen - we would have asphyxiated. Our eyes would have bulged our lungs would have struggled to find something to breathe. Yet 3,800 million years ago something momentous happened. This is the story of that high water mark event. This is the story of that showpiece extravaganza. This is the story of us and who we are. This is the story of life itself...everything else fades in comparison. Without understanding this you understand nothing. Without knowing this all of literature, all of poetry, all that has ever been said lacks context. This is the story of the Origin Of Life. Come and join me and I will take you on the finest adventure that Life has to offer.
It starts, well it starts like most great adventures stories, simply. It starts with a tree...
