COVID-19 and the Bankrupting of Nature

We were warned, by Bill Gates and others, that we were unprepared for the next pandemic. Why did we fail to heed these prophetic warnings? Hubris: in this case, the presumption that humans control nature and not the other way around.

The response to this crisis makes it clear that countries, sufficiently motivated, can unleash the full range of human knowledge and expertise to solve problems. The trick that has eluded us is convincing lawmakers and citizens that the climate emergency rivals that of this pandemic.

Davos Declarations

Prior to the 2020 WEF meeting, a letter from the chairman to his members read, in part, “We look forward to the Annual Meeting being a breakthrough moment for business action on climate change.” Many seem to have taken that seriously. Here are some of the commitments that struck us most forcibly.

“…I’m Glad I Know You, George Bailey!”

Happily, many of us just had a short break, a breather, a catnap away from the fretting and the struggling and the urgency and foreboding that comes with working on sustainability.
As you rise and turn to your overcoats and galoshes once more, take stock of your own impact, of what your contributions mean to us all.

How? We suggest the George Bailey method: what would the world have been like if you had never been born?