The “triple planetary crisis,” which includes climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, is the most profound challenge that humanity has ever faced. Yet, if you listen to the current public discourse in America these days, you wouldn’t know it. In fact, the environment doesn’t even register in our top ten concerns, and politicians and pundits regularly use this data to justify their silence.
But I wonder, which came first? Are we not talking about the Earth because people don’t care, or do people not care because we aren’t talking about it?
It seems true that the effort to use scientific data and statistics to draw attention to the urgency of the situation has backfired. Both personally and online, I have witnessed some common reactions to today’s environmentalists: “doom and gloom,” “chicken littles,” “wet blankets,” “stingy control freaks,” “out of touch elitists” and much worse. Unfortunately, these unfair stereotypes have stuck. Now, even progressives won’t talk about the planet for fear of being labeled this way.
But mother nature doesn’t care what people think. Daily, the planet becomes more uninhabitable and our silence becomes more unethical and grotesque. Exacerbating the problem is that we elected the least environmentally aware administration in history, determined to wreck any advancements we’ve already made. For them, nature is merely in the way. Progress is measured in steel and concrete, not feathers and fur. Wealth is measured in bits and billionaires, not bats and butterflies.
The Trumpian vision of the future creates a few winners and a lot of losers. Add the casino economy and automation into the mix and it becomes even more disastrous. Not only does this path increase biodiversity loss and pollution, it creates more income inequality, resource scarcity and conflict. The billionaires aren’t concerned. They know what’s coming and can escape to their bunkers.
Opponents of this stark vision should do more than complain. Instead, we need to craft our own vision of the future that will serve as a direct challenge and viable alternative. We need a framework that does not just repurpose business as usual but takes us to the next level of social evolution: not just development, food and energy, but sustainable development, food and energy. This framework does not just include the condition of the Earth on a list of grievances but elevates it to the central organizing principle. Let’s call it the livable planet.
The livable planet model includes more than just clean energy. It is taking the advice of the UN Environmental Programme, stating that the triple planetary crisis must be solved as one large, interconnected problem. Addressing climate change without addressing biodiversity loss, for example, will not produce successful results. Resource extraction to build the green energy economy must be done in a way that prioritizes the impact on nature. Nature based solutions and ecosystem restoration must be incorporated into every project design.
The livable planet is far from being doom and gloom, chicken little or wet blanket material. It is loaded with excitement and hope. It is transformative, revolutionary change that will make life better for all people, not just a few. It comes with a new attitude, one that respects the natural systems that sustain us and, instead of pitting humans against nature, recognizes our interdependence. It is at once sensible and beautiful, and for the techies and the capitalists among us, it is a wind turbine of innovation.
Far from “telling everyone what to do,” the livable planet is about liberation, taking back our wellbeing and our agency. It places energy and food production under local control. It removes the poisons and pollutants that have been ransacking our bodies.
Elitist? I think not. The livable planet fosters compassion, community and equality. Themes of social justice are woven throughout. If we stay on our current path, humans will have very little intrinsic value and nature, the most marginalized group of all, will have none. All it takes is one hurricane Melissa and efforts to feed and house people go out the smashed window and into the mudslide. The livable planet, in contrast, seeks to fix the problems that threaten the most vulnerable among us.
The livable planet is lofty, but it is sellable. It distinguishes us. It mobilizes us to act in a way that recognizes our common humanity and brings people together. It is hopeful. It is the most visionary and inclusive platform we can adopt. Besides, it is necessary for our survival.
We, the people, demand more than bread and water. We demand a sustainable future.
Caelin Graber lives in Greenville.