The Long Emergency

The cold truth is that the condition of the planet is dire. The facts are just too frightening and too difficult for people to accept. The radical changes we need to make in the organization of our societies, energy sources, diet, and processing of materials; along with the critical need to limit and ultimately reduce the human population are all so daunting that people prefer to turn away. Meghan Markle's baby is bigger news that the consensus UN report.

Here's the link to the primary document, issued by The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). They scream at us with the headlines:

Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’
Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’

Current global response insufficient;
‘Transformative changes’ needed to restore and protect nature;
Opposition from vested interests can be overcome for public good

Most comprehensive assessment of its kind;
1,000,000 species threatened with extinction

Chair Robert Watson writes:

The Report also tells us that it is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global. Through ‘transformative change’, nature can still be conserved, restored and used sustainably – this is also key to meeting most other global goals. By transformative change, we mean a fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values. 

Yes, we still need to be concerned about a range of subjects and we need to take a break and amuse ourselves sometimes, as well as continuing with our jobs and our daily responsibilities. But everyone, everyone, must focus on the urgent challenges facing humanity and do our part to save nature and a human civilization worth being a part of.

So I'm going to add another regular feature to this blog. Every Monday will be dedicated to some aspect of the Long Emergency, with an emphasis whenever possible on effective actions we can take.