In Our Climate-Ecological Emergency, "We Need to Learn How to Work with Nature; Rather Than Against It." (original) (raw)

We need to decide, as individuals in our inter-personal communities in our collective societies, do we want to continue, or not, with our current degenerative ways of living, exploiting both nature and human beings in pursuit of reckless economic growth, defined in diverse ways as the profit motive, "greed," GDP, CSR, ESG, SDGs, et al.? We warn that each of these indicators of economic growth (GDP, CSR, ESG, SDGs, et al.) fails to take into account: 1) ecological thresholds - a planetary ethic that accepts full responsibility for maintaining the quality of our planet’s air, waters, lands, minerals, plants, and animals; and 2) fair social allocations - an intergenerational ethic that accepts full responsibility for securing the full dignity and for generating the full development of each and every human being within and across current and future generations (Ralph Thurm, The Big Sustainability Illusion; UNRISD, Sustainable Development Progress Indicators; r3.0, Thresholds of Transformation; et al.). We warn that many of us in our lives may decide to continue with our current trends in “waging war on nature” which “is senseless and suicidal” (UN Secretary General António Guterres, UNEP report, Making Peace With Nature; David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet; Greta Thunberg’s I Am Greta; Ubiquity University; et al.). Much better than continuing with our current escalating ecocide (see Great Acceleration graphs) and with intensifying episodes of horrifying humanicide, which can be seen everywhere, most significantly with the general loss of Spiritus-Intellectus (Latin), Pneuma-Nous (Greek), Rūh-‘Aql (Arabic), Buddhi (Sanskrit), Heart-Centred Values, we need to decide as individuals in our various communities to work with each other to move out of our current degenerative ways of living to regenerate altogether in individuals and communities the beauty, goodness, truth, and other precious qualities that can be found in our Full Humanity and the Wholeness of Nature. One option opens to a good future, leading into happiness for each and all; the other does not, remaining stuck in constant suffering.