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We humans are generating an exponentially expanding mountain of knowledge - but we haven't yet figured out what it all means for the future of our species.
Are you familiar with the knowledge "doubling curve" that was created by Buckminster Fuller in 1982?
Per an
11-20-18 article in Digital Journal, knowledge doubled about once per century until 1900, is now doubling about once a day - and may soon be doubling every twelve hours.
But are we getting any smarter? In spite of all that knowledge, most of us are blindly unaware of where we're headed as a species. And we don't even seem to know the questions we should be asking.
To be sure, we should be doing a lot more thinking about a very important reality that are facing - the reality that we cannot continue on our suicidal pathway of infinite growth in a world of finite resources.
Although we may have waited too long to get started, I like to believe that we still have a chance to figure it all out - and to then begin earnestly working with Mother Nature to improve the odds that we'll be around for many millennia.
During my research over the past few years, I have identified eight scientists who have drawn their own conclusions about our future as a species. Some have concluded that it's already too late, while others share my waning optimism for our ability to learn to live in harmony with nature.
(posted on scientistswarning website on 8-31-18)
With three of them deceased, the oldest living member of the remaining five is
Dr. James Lovelock
of the UK, who will turn 100 next month. He takes the argument far beyond greenhouse gasses and climate change - in this simple, yet compelling, description of our predicament as a species.
If the Earth improves as a result of our presence, then we will flourish. If it does not, then we will die off.
So where is our plan for modifying our activities so that Earth will actually improve because of our presence?
There is no plan! To illustrate our lack of a plan, I recently described our haphazard efforts to repair or replace aging infrastructure with greener processes as Willy-Nilly Planet Stewardship.
Webster definition of willy-nilly: without direction or planning, haphazardly.
The problem is that incremental improvements to bits and pieces of our grossly unsustainable civilization model will never result in a way of life that is capable of coexisting with nature over the long term.
What we really need is a completely reinvented living arrangement for humans - and then we need a 50-year plan for how we're going to smoothly transition to that much
greener way of life.
The point of today's piece is that, despite our vast amount of knowledge, there's been almost a complete absence of serious thinking about a global plan for sufficiently modifying our way of life to the extent necessary to enable us to
survive and thrive indefinitely.
The most troubling conundrum we are facing is that most people don't even want to talk about it - but choose rather to ignore the grim reality described in these two points:
- A few years back, the Global Footprint Network concluded that if everyone lived at the level of the average European that the world could support just two billion people indefinitely.
- It gets worse. They went on to say that if everyone lived at the level of the average American, our planet could only support one billion indefinitely.
As of today, there are more than 7.71 billion people on Earth and we continue to add another 230,000 every single day. All the while, we remain oblivious to the reality of our situation as we busy ourselves with careers, families, homes, sports, vacations, friends, boats, vehicles, churches, schools, entertainment and rental storage units for all of our excess stuff.
And what about all that knowledge that keeps doubling? It is absolutely worthless to us if we cannot translate it into an implementable plan for saving our species.
Also, we are truly kidding ourselves if we believe that by simply tweaking our current lifestyles with electric cars, solar panels and more recycling of waste - that we can somehow survive the wrath of nature.
The Bottom Line. We must urgently develop a global plan for saving our civilization and our species. At the very least, we must develop such a plan for the USA - one that could serve as a model that the rest of the world could emulate.
Part of our plan going forward must be to analyze that giant body of knowledge that keeps doubling - a task for a top AI (artificial intelligence) team. We should charge that team with analyzing the availability of what's critically important for our survival; things like clean air, water, food, shelter, clothing, etc.
Then the AI team could begin the never-ending task of mining all that data in order to develop and fine-tune a master plan for which actions will give us the best bang for our buck - and will deliver an acceptable lifestyle that can be sustained indefinitely.
Warren Buffett knows the value of a plan.
Background. In an attempt to promote more critical thinking on the necessity of a sustainable human habitat plan for all of humanity, I launched my GRATOLA series of blogs on 9-21-18.
In a nutshell, GRATOLA is an acronym for "Green Region Atlanta to L.A." and is the first of four envisioned living corridors in the USA. Those four corridors would ultimately house up to 300 million people, occupying a total area about the size of Oregon - and those living corridors, where only green options exist, would be governed by AGRA (American Green Region Authority). Here is a link to that first blog:
Some say I am
naive.
My response: Regarding the actual adoption and execution of that
creative idea
in the above blog, I am not so naive to think that it can be implemented as written. My primary goal in the above piece was simply to spark the global conversation about the most crucial topic in the history of humanity.
Finally, as we think about a sustainable plan for our future civilization, we should ponder this essential question:
Links to a few related blogs
As always, I will continue to focus on this crucial topic - in my research, my writing and my speaking.
As for speaking, I continue to search for mainstream audiences who may have an interest in learning more about a realistically hopeful vision for our future - and their role in making that vision come true.
As such, I will travel anywhere for an opportunity to speak to one or more groups in each city that I visit. I only ask for travel expense reimbursement and a modest honorarium.
As for the specifics of my topic, I invite you to
contact me directly
about how I might tailor my presentation to best suit an audience you may have in mind:
Universities,
churches, think-tanks, legislative bodies, environmental
organizations, alumni associations, leadership clubs,
and/or civic groups who may appreciate a message of reality and hope for our future.
What else can you do to help?
Three things:
1. Live as greenly as possible while doing all that you can to raise the awareness of "big picture" solutions that are crucially necessary for saving our civilization.
2. Share this BSB and my
"Mama Ain't Happy" BSB with prominent journalists, thought leaders and/or elected officials whom you respect. They need to learn a lot more about the many reasons why
Mama ain't happy.
3. Here are a few more GRATOLA-related blogs that you can share with your most powerful friends, leaders, journalists and movie producers.
Until next time, just remember...
Humanity is on a collision course with Nature.
A damaged Nature will survive. We may not.
We must change course to avert an ecological disaster.
Be well,
J. Morris (Jim) Hicks
CEO, 4Leaf Global, LLC
(now contains 5-minute video of me speaking in Tucson)
In the past 12 months, I have spoken at a
VegFest in
Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth
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