Sorting through the news every other week to work out what’s in and what’s out for The Know Show has never been easy, because it needs to reflect the whole world and the issues impacting the whole world. However, in these times, working out what to focus on is getting harder and harder, because there’s so much important stuff to share.
As someone who is consuming an enormous amount of news every day, we’re now at frenzy point, and this is due to an escalation which reflects the escalations in our world. From war to geopolitics to climate change to biodiversity loss to chemicals and plastics, and on it goes. It’s intense and I know many can’t face it.
But face it we must, because if we don’t look this in the eye and do everything we can to stop this acceleration, the dominant voices who do not speak for the majority of us will continue to dominate. There is no question, we need to act with urgency now and those voices are not pointing the way – they are pushing us towards a terrible dystopia.
One report that barely got a mention in the media this week, released by Oxford Academic, is titled: Earth at risk: An urgent call to end the age of destruction and forge a just and sustainable future, and the scientists behind it are what I’d call moderate. They are calm and measured in how they speak about the impending crisis,’ so for them to write this, you know we need to be paying attention.
I’d normally include my own commentary, but because I know most will never take the time to read it, here is the abstract, which really lays out where we are.
Human development has ushered in an era of converging crises: climate change, ecological destruction, disease, pollution, and socioeconomic inequality. [Ed: What, today, we call the polycrisis.]
Propelled by imperialism, extractive capitalism, and a surging population, we are speeding past Earth’s material limits, destroying critical ecosystems, and triggering irreversible changes in biophysical systems that underpin the Holocene climatic stability which fostered human civilization. The consequences of these actions are disproportionately borne by vulnerable populations, further entrenching global inequities.
Marine and terrestrial biomes face critical tipping points, while escalating challenges to food and water access foreshadow a bleak outlook for global security.
Against this backdrop of Earth at risk, we call for a global response centred on urgent decarbonization, fostering reciprocity with nature, and implementing regenerative practices in natural resource management.
We call for the elimination of detrimental subsidies, promotion of equitable human development, and transformative financial support for lower income nations. A critical paradigm shift must occur that replaces exploitative, wealth-oriented capitalism with an economic model that prioritizes sustainability, resilience, and justice.
We advocate a global cultural shift that elevates kinship with nature and communal well-being, underpinned by the recognition of Earth’s finite resources and the interconnectedness of its inhabitants.
The imperative is clear: to navigate away from this precipice, we must collectively harness political will, economic resources, and societal values to steer toward a future where human progress does not come at the cost of ecological integrity and social equity.
Pretty clear right? Please spend time with it. It’s important knowledge and we need to know what we’re dealing with and the priorities we must focus on. Here’s a visual from the report that lays it out.
Friends content and mine
My latest in the “We need a new middle-class dream” series and this time it’s focused on the business of war. When you understand all the above risks, I hope you understand that we cannot continue to allow war and conflict to escalate. It will be the end of human civilization. PLEASE let me know what you think if you watch it?
Plenty more to read or watch, so do click through to the reads at the image below, and a reminder, this platform (elink.io) means the articles go back weeks, so have a scan and read/watch/listen to whatever jumps out at you.
Let me know what caught your attention? Or share with me what has your attention now? There’s a lot going on, which means none of us can cover everything. Besides, it’s always great to get feedback so I know I’m delivering something of value.
Cheers
Andrea
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