By James A. F. Stoner –
In his 2007 book Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being, and Why No One Saw It Coming, environmental scholar, activist, and leader Paul Hawken describes the worldwide movement of millions of individuals and groups working to create a better world.
Early in the first chapter, he reports seeing
compelling coherent, organic, self-organized congregations involving tens of millions of people dedicated to change. When asked at colleges if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: If you look at the science that describes what is happening on earth today and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t have the correct data. If you meet the people in this unnamed movement and aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a heart. (4) Since 2007, the reasons for both pessimism and for optimism have grown.
Since 2007, the reasons for both pessimism and for optimism have grown.
The planet’s ecosystem has continued to be assaulted and to deteriorate. The latest 10-year window of opportunity to take the necessary actions for preventing a global ecological catastrophe has passed, as have all the other 10-year opportunities for critically important actions. Those windows keep passing without inspiring the level of worldwide commitment and actions needed to avoid that catastrophe, and each decade the magnitude and cost of the needed actions grow. Although many countries have made some significant strides in dealing with the existential challenges posed by climate change and global unsustainability, those efforts are far from adequate (Wallace-Wells, 2020).
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