The 50th Anniversary of the first Earth Day is this week, on April 22. The idea of the original Earth Day was that human health and planetary health are tightly linked: to protect one, we must protect the other. What might our planet be like 50 years from now, on the 100th Anniversary? In this post, I’m putting out my vision of that 2070 future, and some steps we can take now to get there, even in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
Earth in 2070
First, I picture a future with jobs that are safe and well paid. Options might include designing new modes of transportation, installing and maintaining clean energy sources, or designing virtual worlds so people can travel from their living rooms without environmental impact.
Second, people are healthier due to improved interactions between human civilization and a thriving planetary ecosystem. The air is clean and free of pollution. The soil stores more carbon than ever leading to healthier diets. Plants and animals regeneratively thrive, providing us enough diversity to draw from for new products and for relaxation and wonder.
Next, social bonds are strong and people from all walks of life are collaborating to pursue their visions and dreams. Oppressions based on race, gender, and class have disappeared. Companies are responsible in their production, and we don’t feel the need to consume meaningless products. Instead, we spend more time with our friends and families, and have meaningful and innovative work that supports our thriving.
There’s a lot more to be said, and no vision of the future can capture the complexity and richness of the reality we’ll face. But let’s think about how we can move towards this future of healthy, happy, fulfilled people on a healthy, happy planet. Because we know that people and planet rely on each other. We have the opportunity to rise from the current pandemic in a direction that contributes to a climate-stable future.
Getting There
This is a long term vision. With any long term goal, we must create a plan to get there, starting from the current reality. As with COVID-19, everyone has the power to make a positive difference, and we’re all in this together. Our company’s goal is to further enable the actions needed to move towards this climate-stable and thriving world. While we work towards creating the impact platform to do that, we are also taking actions that are available to anyone. Here are just a few:
- A plant-rich diet and reducing food waste. When I first read Drawdown and saw the top solutions to global warming, I noticed two that can be done by me and you. These are plant-rich diets and reduced food waste. At that point I immediately switched to a vegetarian diet. I already didn’t cook much meat at home, so the switch was easy for me. And I’ve written previously about food waste. In future posts I’ll provide some tips to reduce it, but meanwhile here are a couple of websites with ideas:
- On April 22, join the Earth Day team for 24 hours of action, a global digital mobilization. It will support actions big and small, give many different voices a platform, and demand bold action for people and the planet. Their idea is that together we can SAVE the Earth (and keep the climate livable for us humans!) with four types of actions: Speak up, Act, Vote, Educate.
- Talk about climate change. As Katherine Hayhoe discusses in her Ted Talk, many of us who understand that climate change is real don’t talk about it with others. She suggests that it’s best when doing this to start from the heart, from shared values. She also mentions some of the solutions.
- Learn about climate change: Global Weirding is a fun learning resource, also by Katherine Hayhoe. And I love following her Twitter feed for updates.
You may be limited in your physical reach today, but not your mental reach, not the reach of your ideas and influence!
What is your vision for the future? And what actions are you taking today to move towards it? Share in the comments and keep the conversation going!
