I attempted to give a public talk last week which was intended to find some coherence with many of the issues and forces cascading through our present world. I was completely pleased with my delivery, but the elements I wanted to touch on are there for anyone interested.
It was perhaps with some irony that at roughly the same day I was sharing my thoughts, Dr. Johan Rockstrom, the leader of the emerging "Planetary Boundaries" science was giving a terrific and essential talk (only 20 minutes) to a huge gathering of young people somewhere in Europe.
Perhaps, the rapidity of reports will be the new norm as we take a look at these new graphs compiled by The Guardian and published just this week.
There is plenty of evidence that climate and other planetary boundaries should be our primary concern as these reports make clear. But as I have argued in the past regarding the broader concerns of the 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals, my talk tried to not only link them (no pun intended), but to offer an attitude and approach to meet that significant challenge.
Now, with an incoming administration that has either absolutely no understanding of planetary boundaries, or just doesn't care, we are marching directly towards the abyss. Fortunately, there are many millions who do understand the polycrisis we face. How to resist the worst actions that will emanate from this autocratic and oligarchical gang is still unclear to me. But we must.
