Paul Ehrlich: 7 Steps Toward a Sustainable Society – #7
Here is the seventh and final step we should take to reach a sustainable society (click here for step one, step two, step three, step four, step five, and step six).
Seven: Determine the institutions and arrangements best suited to govern a planetary society with a maximum of freedom within the constraints of sustainability.
This is closely related to step six. In the 200,000 year history of Homo sapiens, states are a recent invention, existing for only a tiny fraction of our existence. In their modern form as nation states, they are only a little more than 200 years old. We need to look closely at possible alternatives that could combine greater awareness of the problems of living at a global scale while regaining family-style psychological comfort. More cooperation at a global level is clearly necessary for civilization’s long-term survival.
All seven of the steps could be written of as an exercise in Pollyannaism. “Totally impractical,” people will say, “not gonna happen.” Well, I tend to agree. But there is nothing more impractical than letting our global civilization go down the drain, with billions of people dying. Pundits seem to think we have choices, but they are wrong. If we don’t change our ways, they’ll be changed for us.
What do you think? Leave us a comment.
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Paul R. Ehrlich is Bing Professor of Population Studies and Professor of Biological Sciences at Stanford University. He is the author of hundreds of scientific papers, and numerous books including The Population Bomb and Betrayal of Science and Reason (Island Press, 1997). His latest book is The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment, which he co-authored with his wife Anne.
About Paul Ehrlich
Paul R. Ehrlich is a co-founder with Peter H. Raven of the field of co-evolution, and has pursued long-term studies of the structure, dynamics, and genetics of natural butterfly populations. He has also been a pioneer in alerting the public to the problems of overpopulation, and in raising issues of population, resources, and the environment as matters of public policy. Ehrlich is the author of The Population Bomb, and many other books, as well as hundreds of papers. Ehrlich is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Ehrlich has received several honorary degrees, the John Muir Award of the Sierra Club, the Gold Medal Award of the World Wildlife Fund International, a MacArthur Prize Fellowship, the Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (given in lieu of a Nobel Prize in areas where the Nobel is not given), in 1993 the Volvo Environmental Prize, in 1994 the United Nations' Sasakawa Environment Prize, in 1995 the Heinz Award for the Environment, in 1998 the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement and the Dr. A. H. Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences, in 1999 the Blue Planet Prize, in 2001 the Eminent Ecologist Award of the Ecological Society of America and the Distinguished Scientist Award of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. In addition to The Population Bomb, Ehrlich is the author of Human Natures: Genes, Cultures, and the Human Prospect (Island Press, 2000) and co-author of The Work of Nature: How The Diversity Of Life Sustains Us (Island Press, 1998). With his wife Anne, he is the author of Betrayal of Science and Reason: How Anti-Environmental Rhetoric Threatens Our Future (Island Press, 1996) and One With Nineveh: Politics, Consumption, and the Human Future (Island Press, 2004). His latest book with Anne is The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment (Island Press, 2008). Paul R. Ehrlich received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas.
[...] a letter through Mr. Obama’s new Change.gov suggestion box. It largely reprises their seven-step formula for avoiding planetary ruin in the next few decades, which is fleshed out in their latest book, “The Dominant [...]
How do you implement all this? If you favor more government regulation, how do you mitigate the tendency of moneyed interests to dominate the government? If you favor a hands-off, free-market approach, how do you mitigate the tendency of large corporations to dominate the conversation by virtue of their large advertising and public relations budgets?
[...] Ehrlich’s 7 Steps ▶ Comment /* 0) { jQuery(‘#comments’).show(”, change_location()); jQuery(‘#showcomments [...]
Thank you, Paul and Ann Ehrlich, for carrying this torch for so long.
Wouldn’t it be great if the start of the Obama administration is marked by a series of meetings at the White House, attended not by big oil (as Bush-Cheney did), but by Paul Ehrlich, Herman Daly, Richard Heinberg, etc.?
I’ve been collecting Obama sound bites for my documentary, and while electing this man is a huge step in the right direction, we still have much to do to bring him up to speed on true sustainability. The Holy Grail of economic growth MUST be replaced.
Dave Gardner
Producer/Director
Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity
Join the cause at http://www.growthbusters.com
See our Population PSA
Maximum of freedom in the constraints of sustainability is a good principle to abide with. To make sure we eat egg everyday we have to make sure we protect and nurture the hen that lays the eggs and even preparing a few stock to be the next hens for the next generations.We certainly want freedom, but absolute freedom should not be allowed otherwise our freedom defines our very end.
I am just wondering why people are so dumb to think about the fact that if we destroy the environment that supports us with the air that we breath, the water that we drink,the food that we eat. We are doomed to die as a human race.Unless we will learn to breath CO2,and eat garbage and drink salt-water or oiled water. I hope we can learn to limit our abuse of the environment and learn to take good care of it.