Collapse - The Descent of Man

The last paragraph of Jared Diamonds' excellent book says "Past societies lacked archaeologists & television". (I would add computers & social media). "We have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of distant peoples & past peoples." As in:- the decline & fall of Easter Island, the Greenland Norse, the Khmer Empire, the Anasazi, the Maya or the Myceneans....The world is on the way to becoming Easter Island. We are literally chopping down the trees as fast as we can. I worked as a volunteer in Malawi for MicroLoan Foundation & saw first hand the deforestation for farming. Never mind what grazing cattle & planting trees for palm oil is doing to vast swathes of virgin forest.

Human beings don't seem to learn though. We are in the process of a collapse of our planet, not just a civilisation. Although we seem to be doing our best to achieve that too.

On a Spring day it is hard to believe what a parlous situation we humans have created in our world. I think Greenpeace's "Climate Emergency Mainfesto" is excellent & must have involved a lot people in a lot of work.  

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#label/Charities%2FGreenpeace/FMfcgxwCgVPzPSdMRhBTZStCmrjWzDfn?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1

I can understand, as an informed lay person, what the issues are & the implications of the massive shift which needs to take place. I also know that if humans are to survive, significant action needs to happen now. We cannot risk any more delay .

I have three issues about tackling Climate Change:-

• Many people in the world do not have the benefit of my education & access to information, so will not understand that there are very few choices left. People need clear, step by step, brief, actions they should / should not do. Like an A4 sheet of Key Facts in insurance policies
• The main problem lies with big multinational companies, not Joe Bloggs in the street. Big business creates the pollution, is ruthless & is profit driven. There needs to be a clear program to tackle the issues with business - a combination of carrot & stick, because we are already at, or close to, the tipping point. The legal situation needs to be clarified, strengthened & enforced.
• Politicians are the key. If there isn't political will then change either won't happen or will happen too slowly. We need to lobby hard & make this the most important political decision today. Brexit pales into insignificance in comparison, but is sucking all the air out of every other political issue.

I'm 74 & have a daughter of 51 & twin grandsons of 13. I can envision a future of civil strife, being on a war footing regarding our food security, inadequate power for light & heating, more chronic illness due to poor air quality....What on earth, (literally), has my generation done? This has happened on our watch & there is enough scientific evidence to show how bad the situation already is. Maybe we need a Grannie Revolution!

Greenpeace is doing a great job - Our lives & the future depend on it. But we, individually, are all responsible for what we have done & what we need to do now. No one can "pass the buck". Or we are just lemmings running over the cliff edge.