"Might we, by willful choice, transition from Earth exploiters to Earth healers?" (Photo: Bart/flickr/cc)
For the Love of Earth
Perhaps the most compelling reason to change our ways is that Earth needs our help. In our responsibility to respond, might we unite in common cause?
On July 9, New York magazine published "The Uninhabitable Earth," a worst-case climate change scenario suggesting that our current human course may produce an unlivable future for Earth. A burst of media commentary and controversy followed, and it quickly became the most-read article in the magazine's history.
I'm often struck in conversations with friends and colleagues by the number who feel that humans may not have a future. They are comforted, however, by the thought that Earth will ultimately recover. This response suggests that in some deep sense, our love for Earth may exceed our love and concern for our own species. Perhaps we consider our fate a fitting punishment for the sins that we, in our anthropocentric arrogance, have committed against one another and the Earth that birthed and nurtures us.
No one knows for certain the outcome of human-caused climate disruption and accelerating depletion of Earth's fertile soils, freshwater supplies, forests, and fisheries. Nor can we be certain of the causes and consequences of deadly new infectious diseases, declining human sperm counts, and Earth's release of methane from the melting permafrost.
We are coming to understand that Earth is a living superorganism that self-organizes to create and maintain the conditions essential to its own vitality--and our human existence. Human activity, however, is disrupting living Earth's regenerative system. We are destabilizing the climate through the release of sequestered carbons; disrupting natural habitats through ocean acidification and temperature change; destroying natural forest and grassland habitats; and depleting, degrading, and contaminating soils and sources of fresh water on which all species depend. This in turn drives species extinction and renders growing areas of Earth uninhabitable.
Humans have become like an invasive species.I recently read Clive Hamilton's book Defiant Earth: The Fate of Humans in the Anthropocene. Hamilton notes that as humans have become like an invasive species, Earth has begun to respond as living organisms do: rejecting the invader. He goes on to suggest that humans may be disrupting Earth's living systems beyond her capacity for self-healing. More startling--but equally plausible--is Hamilton's suggestion that Earth's survival as a living organism may depend on humans transitioning from our role as Earth exploiters to a role as facilitators of Earth healing.
Herein lies a potentially game-changing insight. Earth has recovered before from extreme shocks and mass extinctions, but there is no guarantee. Earth may now need us as much as we need her.
Begin with a recognition that Earth is breathtakingly special. Among the now estimated 2 trillion galaxies in the universe, scientists have yet to identify another planet with the water, soils, atmosphere, and climate required to sustain complex life. Earth may be a unique miracle in the vastness of creation.
Our actions represent a breach of cosmic proportion.I find it impossible to acknowledge Earth's distinctive beauty and wonder without being overwhelmed by unbearable grief and despair at what humans--in our anthropocentric arrogance--have done to her. Our actions represent a breach of cosmic proportion in our human responsibility to creation and Earth.
As individuals, most humans regularly demonstrate an extraordinary capacity for love and caring--sometimes to the extent of sacrificing our own lives for others. This for me demonstrates the positive potential of our nature.
As societies, however, we have demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for violence and mutual oppression at the expense of both ourselves and Earth. It appears our nature is defined by neither love nor violence, but rather by our ability to choose between sharply contrasting and deeply conflicting paths. We exercise that choice both as individuals and, through our culture and institutions, as a global species.
Disgusted by our long history of violence and abuse against one another and Earth, we humans seem ready to abandon hope for ourselves. But what of our Earth mother? Might our love for her hold the key both to her salvation and to ours? Might we, by willful choice, transition from Earth exploiters to Earth healers? If we recognize Earth's uniqueness, her need for our help, and our responsibility to respond, might we unite in common cause? Might we muster sufficient commitment to serve as loving healers to two of creation's most extraordinary miracles--a living planet of spectacular beauty and a species with a unique capacity for conscious choice?
David Korten wrote this article for YES! Magazine as part of his series of biweekly columns on "A Living Earth Economy."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
On July 9, New York magazine published "The Uninhabitable Earth," a worst-case climate change scenario suggesting that our current human course may produce an unlivable future for Earth. A burst of media commentary and controversy followed, and it quickly became the most-read article in the magazine's history.
I'm often struck in conversations with friends and colleagues by the number who feel that humans may not have a future. They are comforted, however, by the thought that Earth will ultimately recover. This response suggests that in some deep sense, our love for Earth may exceed our love and concern for our own species. Perhaps we consider our fate a fitting punishment for the sins that we, in our anthropocentric arrogance, have committed against one another and the Earth that birthed and nurtures us.
No one knows for certain the outcome of human-caused climate disruption and accelerating depletion of Earth's fertile soils, freshwater supplies, forests, and fisheries. Nor can we be certain of the causes and consequences of deadly new infectious diseases, declining human sperm counts, and Earth's release of methane from the melting permafrost.
We are coming to understand that Earth is a living superorganism that self-organizes to create and maintain the conditions essential to its own vitality--and our human existence. Human activity, however, is disrupting living Earth's regenerative system. We are destabilizing the climate through the release of sequestered carbons; disrupting natural habitats through ocean acidification and temperature change; destroying natural forest and grassland habitats; and depleting, degrading, and contaminating soils and sources of fresh water on which all species depend. This in turn drives species extinction and renders growing areas of Earth uninhabitable.
Humans have become like an invasive species.I recently read Clive Hamilton's book Defiant Earth: The Fate of Humans in the Anthropocene. Hamilton notes that as humans have become like an invasive species, Earth has begun to respond as living organisms do: rejecting the invader. He goes on to suggest that humans may be disrupting Earth's living systems beyond her capacity for self-healing. More startling--but equally plausible--is Hamilton's suggestion that Earth's survival as a living organism may depend on humans transitioning from our role as Earth exploiters to a role as facilitators of Earth healing.
Herein lies a potentially game-changing insight. Earth has recovered before from extreme shocks and mass extinctions, but there is no guarantee. Earth may now need us as much as we need her.
Begin with a recognition that Earth is breathtakingly special. Among the now estimated 2 trillion galaxies in the universe, scientists have yet to identify another planet with the water, soils, atmosphere, and climate required to sustain complex life. Earth may be a unique miracle in the vastness of creation.
Our actions represent a breach of cosmic proportion.I find it impossible to acknowledge Earth's distinctive beauty and wonder without being overwhelmed by unbearable grief and despair at what humans--in our anthropocentric arrogance--have done to her. Our actions represent a breach of cosmic proportion in our human responsibility to creation and Earth.
As individuals, most humans regularly demonstrate an extraordinary capacity for love and caring--sometimes to the extent of sacrificing our own lives for others. This for me demonstrates the positive potential of our nature.
As societies, however, we have demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for violence and mutual oppression at the expense of both ourselves and Earth. It appears our nature is defined by neither love nor violence, but rather by our ability to choose between sharply contrasting and deeply conflicting paths. We exercise that choice both as individuals and, through our culture and institutions, as a global species.
Disgusted by our long history of violence and abuse against one another and Earth, we humans seem ready to abandon hope for ourselves. But what of our Earth mother? Might our love for her hold the key both to her salvation and to ours? Might we, by willful choice, transition from Earth exploiters to Earth healers? If we recognize Earth's uniqueness, her need for our help, and our responsibility to respond, might we unite in common cause? Might we muster sufficient commitment to serve as loving healers to two of creation's most extraordinary miracles--a living planet of spectacular beauty and a species with a unique capacity for conscious choice?
David Korten wrote this article for YES! Magazine as part of his series of biweekly columns on "A Living Earth Economy."
On July 9, New York magazine published "The Uninhabitable Earth," a worst-case climate change scenario suggesting that our current human course may produce an unlivable future for Earth. A burst of media commentary and controversy followed, and it quickly became the most-read article in the magazine's history.
I'm often struck in conversations with friends and colleagues by the number who feel that humans may not have a future. They are comforted, however, by the thought that Earth will ultimately recover. This response suggests that in some deep sense, our love for Earth may exceed our love and concern for our own species. Perhaps we consider our fate a fitting punishment for the sins that we, in our anthropocentric arrogance, have committed against one another and the Earth that birthed and nurtures us.
No one knows for certain the outcome of human-caused climate disruption and accelerating depletion of Earth's fertile soils, freshwater supplies, forests, and fisheries. Nor can we be certain of the causes and consequences of deadly new infectious diseases, declining human sperm counts, and Earth's release of methane from the melting permafrost.
We are coming to understand that Earth is a living superorganism that self-organizes to create and maintain the conditions essential to its own vitality--and our human existence. Human activity, however, is disrupting living Earth's regenerative system. We are destabilizing the climate through the release of sequestered carbons; disrupting natural habitats through ocean acidification and temperature change; destroying natural forest and grassland habitats; and depleting, degrading, and contaminating soils and sources of fresh water on which all species depend. This in turn drives species extinction and renders growing areas of Earth uninhabitable.
Humans have become like an invasive species.I recently read Clive Hamilton's book Defiant Earth: The Fate of Humans in the Anthropocene. Hamilton notes that as humans have become like an invasive species, Earth has begun to respond as living organisms do: rejecting the invader. He goes on to suggest that humans may be disrupting Earth's living systems beyond her capacity for self-healing. More startling--but equally plausible--is Hamilton's suggestion that Earth's survival as a living organism may depend on humans transitioning from our role as Earth exploiters to a role as facilitators of Earth healing.
Herein lies a potentially game-changing insight. Earth has recovered before from extreme shocks and mass extinctions, but there is no guarantee. Earth may now need us as much as we need her.
Begin with a recognition that Earth is breathtakingly special. Among the now estimated 2 trillion galaxies in the universe, scientists have yet to identify another planet with the water, soils, atmosphere, and climate required to sustain complex life. Earth may be a unique miracle in the vastness of creation.
Our actions represent a breach of cosmic proportion.I find it impossible to acknowledge Earth's distinctive beauty and wonder without being overwhelmed by unbearable grief and despair at what humans--in our anthropocentric arrogance--have done to her. Our actions represent a breach of cosmic proportion in our human responsibility to creation and Earth.
As individuals, most humans regularly demonstrate an extraordinary capacity for love and caring--sometimes to the extent of sacrificing our own lives for others. This for me demonstrates the positive potential of our nature.
As societies, however, we have demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for violence and mutual oppression at the expense of both ourselves and Earth. It appears our nature is defined by neither love nor violence, but rather by our ability to choose between sharply contrasting and deeply conflicting paths. We exercise that choice both as individuals and, through our culture and institutions, as a global species.
Disgusted by our long history of violence and abuse against one another and Earth, we humans seem ready to abandon hope for ourselves. But what of our Earth mother? Might our love for her hold the key both to her salvation and to ours? Might we, by willful choice, transition from Earth exploiters to Earth healers? If we recognize Earth's uniqueness, her need for our help, and our responsibility to respond, might we unite in common cause? Might we muster sufficient commitment to serve as loving healers to two of creation's most extraordinary miracles--a living planet of spectacular beauty and a species with a unique capacity for conscious choice?
David Korten wrote this article for YES! Magazine as part of his series of biweekly columns on "A Living Earth Economy."