Power of 80/20 Rule to Save Humanity
by focusing us on the leading driver of climate change
SOS #160 -- J. Morris Hicks -- (5-31-22)
The most important lesson I learned during my four years of studying industrial engineering at Auburn University was the simplicity of leveraging the Pareto Principle, or 80-20 rule, when trying to solve almost any problem.

Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian economist who came up with his now famous, yet refreshingly simple, principle in 1896:

The Pareto principle is a phenomenon that states that roughly 80% of outcomes come from 20% of causes.
This simple diagram illustrates the principle in a manner that can be understood by most 3rd graders.

It clearly shows that a problem-solving team could spend 80% of their efforts on the least significant problems and only get 20% of the possible results. Actions that fall in the 20% that produces 80% of the results are known as the "vital few."

Ignoring the "vital few" is exactly what is happening at the U.N., the IPCC and the plethora of university programs who are now offering degrees in environmental studies -- with Harvard and Yale topping the list.

And then there is Al Gore, who is desperately trying to hold onto his image as America's most prominent, most admired and most loved leader in the fight against climate change.

This video was posted just this past week. In it, Al Gore speaks emotionally, even angrily, for about ten minutes about climate change but never says a word about the number one driver: the world's love affair with eating animal-based foods.

He completely ignores the Pareto Principle here because he knows the public doesn't want to hear negative info about their favorite foods. So he goes with the "conventional narrative" about climate change that the public is used to hearing.

He just does a lot of shouting to convey that he is really serious about this topic but not serious enough to tell the public the truth.
Why does he never mention the #1 driver of climate change?Because it would not initially be popular with the American public -- or with the public anywhere in the developed world, where the consumption of animal-based foods has never been more prevalent.

The above rant by Gore is entitled,
"We Have to Stop Destroying Our Future."

By failing to mention the Leading Driver of Climate Change, that is exactly what he is doing (helping to destroy our future) as he desperately strives to remain relevant about climate change on the world stage.
The sad truth here is that Al Gore knows better than anyone that animal agriculture is the leading driver of climate change.

He also knows that it is the only one that can be completely eliminated within a few weeks by individual citizens everywhere.

But he's not going to emphasize, or even admit to, that knowledge in public because he knows that it would not be a "popular" stance. That's because some 90% of Americans and citizens of other developed nations love to eat a combination of meat, dairy, eggs and or fish -- at every meal.

And those billions of people are not going to be happy to hear Mr. Gore condemn their favorite foods. So, he does't -- knowing full well that failure to address the overwhelmingly primary driver of climate change will spell almost certain disaster for every single child alive now -- along with the 400,000 new babies that are born every single day.

He took the same cowardly route on CBS Mornings a few weeks ago in the seven-minute video above.
The simple truth about Al Gore and other political leaders
They put their own status and reputations above everything -- even if it means the near term demise of our species, including their Own Children & Grandchildren!
And this simple truth is why we need for non-political leaders and rational scientists, engineers, moms, dads and business executives to step up to the plate and start making more noise than the world's political leaders on this most crucial of all topics.

We're simply not going to hear the truth from our political leaders in time to save the unimaginable demise of our species and the horrible suffering of innocent children everywhere.
As for leveraging the Pareto Principle relative to giving ourselves the best possible chance of slowing, stopping or reversing climate change soon enough -- no one does that better than my friend, Glen Merzer, in his compelling 2021 book. Here is the title and subtitle of that book:
"Food IS Climate"
A Response to Al Gore, Bill Gates, Paul Hawken, and the Conventional Narrative on Climate Change
In a nutshell, here's what that conventional narrative on climate change means to me. It means focusing only on drivers of climate change that do not require too much of a sacrifice or lifestyle change for most people.

In a nutshell, it means don't focus on the "Vital Few" but rather on the popular, yet relatively minor, "many" -- a recipe for disaster to any data-driven engineer or scientist worth his or her salt.

In other words, don't tell people what they don't want to hear. Just inundate them boatloads of other information that do not address the leading driver of climate change.
That's the "conventional narrative" from Gore, Gates and Hawken -- that author, Glen Merzer, alludes to on the cover of:

"FOOD IS CLIMATE"

In that compelling 2021 book, the foreword was written by a former "Australian of the Year" environmental philanthropist, Philip Wollen (pictured here), who begins with these compelling words:

Glen Merzer has written powerfully, with courage, compassion, and wit. A gentle smile crept over my face as he surgically eviscerated the self-serving lies of lazy minds. This slender volume is a necessary antiseptic, an antidote, a welcome disinfectant against nonsense.

This cover of Glen's book features a rare image of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Notice all of the brown land across northern Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

It was not always brown, but it is now. The story behind that situation, and what it means for our future, is told in this book. Click here to Visit the book's Amazon page, where you can get the e-book in 30 seconds for less than five bucks.
I was delighted to have the opportunity to write one of the praise blurbs that appear near the beginning of this book. Here are my heartfelt words:

  • Food IS Climate is the only book in the world that discloses the complete truth about the relationship — and the timeline of discovery — between humans eating animals, climate change and our steadily declining chances for surviving much longer as a species.

  • It shines a bright, embarrassing light on Al Gore, one of the few globally-recognized leaders who understand the complete truth about climate change — but lacks the courage to share that crucial knowledge with the public.

  • Maybe this book will help to shame him into taking a global stand on the most crucial topic in the history of humanity. Leveraging his global fame and wealth, he could make a real difference by loudly, and urgently, sharing the truth with the public about the paramount importance of a rapid shift to plant-based eating throughout the world.— J. Morris Hicks
The Bottom Line
Don't let the "Conventional Narrative" on Climate Change prevent the urgent actions necessary to save the lives of billions of innocent children!
I'll begin this final section today with a few questions?

  • Question #1: Is it possible that most world leaders are ignorant about what is, by far, the leading driver of climate? In this six minute video, Dr. Rao explains in the simplest of terms how the UN FAO (along with their meat, dairy, and poultry industry partners listed below) conspires to hide the horrible truth from the world's public.

This "partnership" below reminds me of the famous
conflict of interest quote by Upton Sinclair:

It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.
  • Question #2: Is it possible that most world leaders AND this group of partners all know that animal agriculture is the leading driver of climate change but truly believe that most of the world's humans must eat animal protein in order to be healthy?

Sinclair's quote also applies here:
If most of our world leaders truly believe the "protein myth," then we are in big trouble. I believe that the reason that well-known thinkers/leaders like Gore, Gates and Hawken don't focus much, if any, of their efforts on reducing animal agriculture is because the practice of eating animal-based foods is just too damn popular throughout the developed world.

Well, to me, that kind of thinking is simply immoral. It's like sentencing all of the children of the world to a horrible ending -- instead of just biting the bullet now and start loudly telling the complete truth about the leading driver of climate change.

Conveniently, it just happens to be the ONLY driver of climate change that could be completely eliminated world-wide within five years -- if our leaders just had the courage to join forces and tell the truth.
Conveniently, the same dietary choices that still have the ability to slow, stop or reverse climate change -- ALSO have the ability to reverse most chronic diseases, help our bodies seek their ideal weight, and save us lots of money on food.

At the end of the day, we can all take comfort in the fact that history will be kind to those among us who took bold, courageous actions in 2022 and beyond -- to quickly reduce, or eliminate completely, the leading driver of climate change.

What can you do? Start talking about this unfolding tragedy with everyone you know. After you hear my latest one-hour talk on this subject, you'll be better prepared to do that. Link to the 60 slides that I use.

Please contact me about delivering my latest talk on this subject to your group via Zoom for free. Your members will get a lot more out of my talk if they read our latest book, OUTCRY, beforehand.

One more thing. Please share today's timely SOS widely.

This urgent topic was featured in my 5-22-22 presentation
that I delivered to a group in Honolulu.
J. Morris (Jim) Hicks

*********************
The ongoing "Big Picture" section below will provide you with handy reference materials on this most crucial of all topics.
PS: The Prevention of Human Extinction
To clarify, we're not trying to preserve civilization as we know it. Because what we have now is extremely wasteful, harmful and grossly unsustainable. It's an incredibly reckless way of living that is now threatening our very existence as a species.

We're talking about replacing it with an entirely new, ultra-green civilization of the future -- and we do our best to paint a picture of that envisioned way of sustainable living in OUTCRY. For what one Ohio State professor emeritus of history had to say about that book on Amazon, click here.

As always, I welcome the opportunity to deliver my latest talk to your group via Zoom: “Food, Climate, Leadership. and the future of humanity.” (Click the link to view the 60 slides)

The section below will provide you with an abundance of handy reference materials on this most crucial of all topics.
"Big Picture"
Data and Info Section
This section has been appearing at the end of my weekly SOS Memos for almost a year. It contains links to relevant information that form the foundation of what our options appear to be for responding quickly and appropriately to our global crises.

In order to respond appropriately, we must first grasp the all-important "big picture" regarding how we got to where we are in the first place. The various links below will help you do that.

This powerful summary by Dr. Sailesh Rao was added on February 4, 2022. The FACTS about animal agriculture being the leading cause of climate change.

Added to this section in April of 2022 is my list of five powerful videos that tell the whole story about the health AND the many environmental reasons we should be eating only plants.
Film #1 in 2014
In 2014, Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn produced their first documentary film Cowspiracy. Executive producer is Leonardo DiCaprio, it runs 90 minutes and has been on Netflix since 2015. In 2020, I met Kip and Keegan in Sedona where I was honored to be able to speak at the same conference with them and other great leaders in this movement like Dr. Sailesh Rao and Dr. Michael Greger.
Film #2 in 2017
Also on Netflix, Kip and Keegan teamed up again in 2017 to produce What the Health, which is also on Netflix. It runs 92 minutes and may be the best documentary ever that focuses on the health reasons for choosing to eat plant-based. Click here to watch the short trailer. You can also watch the full movie for free on Vimeo.
Film #3 in 2021
In 2021, Kip Anderson teamed up with British filmmaker Ali Tabrizi, to produce Seaspiracy, an 89-minute film that vividly and alarmingly reveals what is at stake when it comes to the crucial importance of our oceans to our future as a species. Most people have no idea regarding the environmental horrors of commercial fishing -- a disgusting industry that kills dolphins by the thousands and tosses them back into the ocean. It runs 90 minutes on Netflix. Click here to view the trailer.
Film #4 in 2021
As our situation becomes more desperate, the documentary films become more terrifying. As alluded to earlier, we are literally Eating Our Way to Extinction, a process that is vividly covered in this 2021 film (81 minutes). Narrated and produced by Kate Winslet, you can watch this great film on Amazon Prime or on YouTube for $3.99. The great ocean scientist and former head of NOAA, Dr. Sylvia Earle lends powerful credibility to such a crucial topic.
Film #5 in 2022
This new film (89 minutes) features a young activist who travels around his country, New Zealand in an effort to find out the truth about the horrors of the dairy industry in his native land. The film uncovers alarming information about the environmental and health impacts of the industry -- leading up to the discovery that we are on the edge of the biggest global disruption of food and agriculture in history. This new film is now available for free at waterbear.com
Next is a half-hour video that was published in November of 2021. It was produced by Michael Dowd, a non-scientific researcher like me who does a very fine job of explaining the many facets of the obstacles standing between us and our survival as a species.

Dowd has a pretty good handle on most things, but he seems to be unaware of the simple weapon that we can all use to fight the leading driver of climate change. Our forks.

That said, he does a terrific job of describing our ever-worsening dilemma. Click the link below to view this very informative 33-minute video, published November 15, 2021.

This next item is a free 83-minute documentary film that is all about the findings that were documented in Dr. Stephen Emmott's 2013 book. TEN BILLION.
This powerful film is still relevant and will certainly help more people grasp that all-important "big picture."

Just click on the hourglass image. Dr. Emmott delivers a very compelling message.
More Data re Leading Driver of Climate Change.

Beginning in September of 2021, I have been including links to world-changing scientific information that thought leaders everywhere should read and and share with others.

What can you do? For starters, you can buy the new documentary -- Eating our way to Extinction for $6 on Netflix -- and watch it often with your friends and family.

Also, you can:

  • Share this SOS Memo with everyone you know.
  • Get an e-copy of OUTCRY. Visit Outcry page on Amazon and get a much bigger understanding of the situation in which all humans find ourselves.
  • Inform all the young people in your world that you are deadly serious about this topic. Urge them to read these SOS Memos and our latest book, OUTCRY.
  • Completely stop eating meat, dairy, eggs and fish today and tell everyone why you are taking such a "radical" step. You're doing it for the innocent children of the world.

  • As noted above, do yourself a favor and make sure that your plant-based meals of the future consist of whole plants -- the kinds of foods that prevent or reverse most chronic diseases AND enable your body to effortlessly seek its optimal weight.
A final word. Hopefully, the kind of crucially serious situationsexpressed in these SOS Memos will soon replace meaningless and trivial topics that dominate a ridiculously large percentage of all of the conversations in the world. 

We must all start talking much more about what's really important. That is , we must start doing everything possible to maximize the chances of a meaningful and pleasant life ahead for the young people of the world.

I volunteer to help you do that. For Free. Invite me to collaborate with you and your group via Zoom. To help you jump-start that all-important conversation, I will be happy to present and discuss this topic at length. Here's an advance link to my standard presentation: 65 slides.

Here are the slides that I am currently using for those sessions: Food, Climate. Leadership, and the Future of Humanity.
The image above is a clue regarding the essence of my "family game plan" that is revealed only in my talks. I do not put that in writing.

Want to share some of my SOS Memos with others? Visit my SOS Memos page where the most recent ones are listed first.

Finally, I am confident that if a few million people carefully read and digested OUTCRY, that there might at least be a more robust conversation taking place about our grossly unsustainable way of living in the developed world -- and what it will take to get us focused on maximizing our chances of survival as a species.

To be sure, we must do a lot more than change what we eat -- and OUTCRY helps explain the "why" and the "how" of that proposition. 

To my knowledge, OUTCRY remains the only book ever published that features an envisioned, totally-green, ultra-sustainable, super-desirable, future way of living for humans -- along with ideas for how we might get there as quickly as possible.


Regarding the free Zoom conferences with your group,
Send me an email and let's get started.
Our book, for a host of environmental reasons, is only available as an e-book on Amazon. As such, it contains hyperlinks to hundreds of references and videos, is less expensive, does not kill any trees and does not have to be manufactured and delivered. 

The links below to earlier SOS Memos will help you understand how these ideas unfolded since 2018.
You can join my mailing list and/or find all of my previous postings by visiting the SOS Memos page on my website. 
One more thing. I first started learning about the supreme importance of our food choices in 2002. After studying the topic for eight years and getting to know many of the medical and ecological experts in the field, I co-authored the book below with my son Jason.

You can find it on Amazon in all formats by clicking on the image below:

Order e-book on Amazon
Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth
Want to see earlier SOS Memos? Click here
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