Johan Rockstrom is a brilliant PhD ecologist who, along with his colleagues, has spent fifteen years developing the concept of "planetary boundaries". There are nine of these boundaries, and they delineate the safe space on Earth which enables modern-day humans to live and thrive. We have overshot six of those nine boundaries.
In the short video at the link above, Dr. Rockstrom shows what has transpired since we left the last Ice Age about 12,000 years ago. That was the beginning of the current geologic time period, the Holocene Epoch. All of recorded human history has been in the Holocene. As a distinct species, we've been on Earth approximately 200,000 years; but until about 10,000 years ago, we were strictly hunter-gatherers. That all changed with the advent of annual grain agriculture. With the ability to store surplus grain, we could labor at tasks other than hunting and gathering food. Eventually, division of labor led to the Industrial Revolution.
The next monumental change was the discovery and development of fossil energy. The harnessing of the "carbon pulse" has led to great advancement, and great disaster. Thus we have the predicament of today: ecological overshoot by humans.
In the clip above, Rockstrom ties all the elements in my title of this post together in a clear and concise manner. He masterfully explains what's going on re the Crisis, what needs to be done, and why the Powers-That-Be are on the wrong track when it comes to solutions. This subject is complicated, and you may have to watch the video twice to fully grasp its significance. Or, maybe only once.
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Not only my opinion. Be Well
