Adopting a Mindset of Stewardship

Current projections of warming place the Earth on track for close to 3°C of warming by the end of the century. This kind of warming will make the Earth an entirely different planet – one that is less hospitable to human life, with collapsed biodiversity, and marked by catastrophic conditions.

There is no cultural, historical, genetic, or epigenetic precedent for this kind of changed planet. Perhaps the easiest way to think about what lies ahead would be to treat the planet as truly alien—in other words, waking up one day and discovering that humanity is now living on a different planet that can no longer be called Earth, or at least, “Holocene Earth,” which has been the Earth for the last 11,700 years.

Adopting a mindset of stewardship

Given the scale and enormity—and speed—of the current crisis, human efforts must be dedicated to preserving what’s left of Holocene Earth, and the environmental and climate conditions that have marked the last 11,700 years.

This kind of planetary awareness, and planetary perspective, is now essential if we are serious about preserving habitable conditions, and ensuring that future generations also have access to a planet that can sustain and support dignified human life.

For this to happen, a shift in our civilizational consciousness is needed to prioritize values of stewardship and preservation. This is a completely different mindset than the mindset that governs most of our present collective social efforts.

For thousands of years, humanity’s footprint has not been large enough to break fragile planetary boundaries that have created habitable conditions for human life. Today, however, the situation is very different, and human civilization is a force of nature. The relentless release of greenhouse gas emissions, and the concurrent warming of the planet, is a testament to that fact.

A mindset shift is needed, beginning internally in each of us, and then directed through our communities, our societies, and ultimately through our social, political, and cultural frameworks. This mindset shift must acknowledge the fragility of our planet, the extraordinary and unique set of conditions on this planet that have led to human life, and an understanding that each generation of humanity must act as stewards in maintaining a habitable planet.

This mindset shift must also emphasize the dignity of each person, the equal rights of all peoples to a habitable Earth, and a commitment to address ongoing and future planetary threats through peaceful and lawful means.