The Plan to Save The Earth - and ourselves
I propose this framework to help our species save the Earth and save ourselves.
1 - Acknowledge the Problem
It is time to acknowledge, individually and collectively, that we live in an era of planetary crisis. There is a crisis of human rights, a public health crisis, an environmental crisis, a climate crisis, a crisis of war and destruction, and a crisis of lack of dialogue, among others. Many of these crises have the potential to threaten the survival of the species if not addressed in an immediate and focused way.
The very first step in this plan to save the Earth is to acknowledge that we live in this era of planetary crisis, and not an era of progress. Once we acknowledge the scale and scope of the problems at hand, we will then be in a position to implement the remaining parts of the plan.
2 - Declare a Global Cease Fire
The crises at hand are global and will require an international, coordinated, and cooperative response. Our species will have to trust one another and work together as never before in order to preserve human civilization. As an initial first step, we must thus declare a global cease fire and work towards the indefinite suspension of hostilities pending the implementation of the plan, and a transition to a better world.
3 - Clean Up the Environment and Restore the Biosphere
We find ourselves living in the midst of a great extinction event, the 6th in Earth’s history. The environment is also being subject to rampant ecocide and destruction. Plastic can be found on every part of the Earth, even in human blood. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate lives, and scientists predict that a warming planet will lead to even more public health disasters.
Our governments must focus their efforts on cleaning up the environment, protecting public health, and restoring the biosphere. Perhaps some of the Earth should be left alone and exempt from human exploitation. Perhaps some of the Earth — or even the majority of the Earth — should be held in common as a grand international park or commons, stewarded by humans and maintained for future generations. We must think differently and reduce and remove human impacts from the Earth so that our species can continue to call the Earth home for generations to come.
4 - Halt Climate Change
In conjunction with point (3), the time has come for humanity to get off of fossil fuels and take immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize the climate. Currently, the world is set to experience between 2°C to 3°C of warming this century, which is an unacceptable level of global warming and which will threaten human civilization in profound ways. Governments must now work together to stop global warming, reduce emissions, and restore the pre-industrial climate.
5 - Move to a Post Capitalist System
We must work for and envision an economic system that prioritizes human well being, homeostasis with the Earth, international dialogue, and advancing global civilization as its primary goals — and not the accumulation of profit. Human ambition and individual achievement can be protected and even celebrated in this type of system. And in return, society can work towards ending poverty, providing basic dignity to all people, promoting harmony with the biosphere, and perhaps one day working to explore the stars.
6 - Implement Genuine Democracy
We live in social systems that are oligarchic, oppressive, riddled with discrimination, and increasingly tyrannical. Many of these social systems call themselves “democracies.” But genuine democratic systems are ones that prioritize human dignity, human rights, environmental sustainability, self-determination, and the rule of law.
It may be the case that genuine democracy simply does not exist yet, and remains a goal for us to collectively aspire to and achieve. Thus, we must work to architect and implement genuine democratic systems and build a world that shares the core beliefs of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law as the hallmarks of human civilization.
7 - Promote International Dialogue and Dispute Resolution
Our international system has failed to build, keep, or maintain any kind of enduring international peace. Our species find itself repeating old mistakes of the past and remains trapped in the fervor of wars, arms races, and the development of new types of weapons that may lead to terrible new forms of destruction. We must prioritize and promote international dialogue amongst nations and implement new kinds of international dispute resolution systems to better keep and maintain global peace and prevent aggression.
8 - Defend Dignity and Justice
Standards of living are declining all over the world. Governments appear unwilling or unable to provide or protect even the most basic preconditions of a dignified life, including access to food, water, or shelter. Corruption is rampant. Government officials exercise power in arbitrary ways, enjoying perverse kinds of impunity. Domestic sovereignty has been reduced to a weak shell, used only to protect the advantages and resources hoarded by a small group of powerful people. This must change. Sovereigns must recommit to their primary purpose of defending human dignity and providing justice to all in their realms. Dignity and justice must become the badge of legitimate sovereignty.
9 - Leave Warnings for Ourselves and for Others
The United Nations was built out of the destruction and trauma of the Second World War, in part to help our species evolve and advance, but also as a warning about the capacity of humanity to engage in atrocities. Now it is clear that warnings weaken over time. The warnings of that generation have been lost and forgotten. We must prioritize cultural projects and rituals that help remind our species of what will happen to us if we repeat the mistakes of the past and deviate from the path of a just harmony and a just homeostasis, both with each other and with the planet. Our species must leave warnings, monuments, art, and teachings for future generations, and perhaps also for species yet to be discovered on other planets, so that this hard earned wisdom can be shared and also told back to us in case we also once more forget.
10 - Be Guided by High Principles and Intergenerational Thinking
As our species evolves, it will no doubt advance in its own understanding of core principles of civilization, including in ideas such as justice, dignity, and democracy. Humanity should be guided by the highest aspirations to better achieve, improve, and implement these types of principles and ideals. In addition, intergenerational thinking should be a guiding value and principle in all respects. No generation should have the right or power to destroy the Earth.