The stress on this planet is worse than most people realize.
Read these scientific facts (not fringe hyperbole) and let it all sink in.
Numerous studies worldwide conclude we’re quickly driving this planet, and human civilization, to the edge of a cliff:
- 1. We are killing everything.
Earth has lost half its wildlife in the past 4 decades alone, according to the most comprehensive study of animal populations to date.
- 2. We’re really just killing ourselves.
When we think of nature, we tend to think of pandas and forests and birds and bees. This is the abundance that nurtured us through eons, yet we’ve decimated most of it in the last 100 years alone. But nature is bigger than the natural world that is hospitable to humans. Pandas can die off, we can turn Brazil’s rainforests into a giant parking lot, and kill off every last bird and bee – but nature will not die off. No, we can destroy most of what we think of as ‘nature’, but we will really only destroy ourselves first. Nature is much bigger than the parts we rely on or enjoy. Nature has no feelings. Its nature would be to simply replace and rebuild in new ways.
Nature, just as it has long, long before us, will find a way to go on – without us.
- 3. We will soon struggle to find enough fresh water, to sustain our diet, to breathe healthy air, and to find new medicines to treat disease.
Air pollutionis already theleading cause of death in developing world, and it will begin toaffect many more.
Tropical rainforests produce about 30% of our planet’s fresh water. Fresh water is a free, global resource now under enormous stress and will not always be free at the rate we’re going. 50% of the land that could support tropical rain forests has already been lost to human activities. A swath the size of Florida is destroyed every year. One entire football field is cut per second.
The effect on biodiversity will be profound: 50% of all the world’s species are threatened with extinction because of deforestation. Many important medicines can only be found in these areas, and many have yet to be discovered. It is estimated that 1 rainforest species is now being pushed to extinction every 2 minutes. -> More.
What we’re destroying is irreplaceable.
And already, it is likely many will start drinking highly-filtered waste/ sewer water to cope with increased demand and diminishing fresh water resources.
- 4. 75% of global crops are threatened to disappear.
Pollinators,essential to the production ofnearly 75 percent of our crops, are still dying off at alarming rates and scientists still cannot conclude if it is because of pesticides, disease, climate change, or a myriad of unknown environmental factors.
- 5. We will soon lose most of our remaining wildlife.
“Earth is on the brink of a "mass extinction event” which could be equivalent in scale to the one that killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, a landmark study by an international group of scientists has concluded" based on our unsustainable practices.
- 6. We will soon run out of the staple foods and especially many other resources we now rely on from the ocean.
The ocean is dying. In many places, it is already dead. The world’s oceans are becoming filled with more pollution than fish, plastics are destroying habitats, fish stocks are collapsing, and the effects are catastrophic for ecosystems. We can’t see the havoc we’re causing, yet we’re feeling it. If the ocean could speak, it would tell us bluntly.
21 of the key, staple resourcesthat humans rely on—mostlyfood—have already passed their peak rate of production.
The will be impossible to continue relying on livestock for cheap meat and dairy as the effects on the environment are huge due to grazing erosion, runoff and methane. If we continue on this path, we will have no choice but to rely on more GMO hybrids, insect proteins, 'lab-grown’ meat. It won’t even be a choice for most people tomorrow, because we are destroying those options today.
…and the thing is – I haven’t even glossed on the issue of climate change and its side effects and the massive change needed there, which is what the conversation today is often about.
This is about the floor that is about to drop out.
The only model we have followed is for-profit and economic growth, year-over-year. But now our resources are tapped. So who will take the responsibility to swallow the bitter pills for the benefit of all? You? Me? Our company? Our country?
No. Nobody is steering the train. Because we’re all riding on this train.
But the entire global model is unsustainable and everyone who researches it comes to that conclusion. No bandaids or small steps will fix this. We need a complete rethink of how humans can continue to exist for the next 100 years and beyond. The old system is broken and putting all of us in jeopardy.
Business-as-usual is, in more ways than one, is killing us.
This isn’t hype. This is fact.
We’re just too distracted to pay attention.
Why are we so distracted?
Because our distraction is good for business, business we are all – in one way or another from producer to consumer – tied to it.
Free market capitalism has brought more prosperity to the world than any other system before, but the current model is unsustainable.
How do we change things? What’s the way out? Is it hopeless? No, it’s not hopeless. Start here by reading through the facts. We need to pay attention. We need to stop allowing the distractions in. Even sharing this post, despite all of the other important distractions in our lives, helps get this conversation moving and could trigger more action.
It’s time we change everything about the system that we have come to rely on. All of us – not Us vs. Them, or Rich Vs. Poor.
Everyone is tied to this system, top-down and bottom-up.
You, me, we – are doing this.
Same thing you always hear, right? No.
This isn’t the same hype, it’s reality. It’s inarguable fact and these are all dire wake up calls.
Wars are being fought over strategic resources, and will continue to be fought over resources – even over freshwater. This requires people – right now – to demand sustainability is on the agenda right up there with profit and growth, and a responsible and ethical infrastructure is built into our businesses and our lifestyles.
War, disease, weather – these are often tied to our actions. So even if you feel it is not your responsibility to 'save the planet’, then you should still think about the issues that do directly affect you – many which can be traced back to this model that needs to change. It’s all connected.
“Ok, it sucks, but I do what I can. What else can I do? It’s hopeless.”
It’s not all gloom and doom because we can change it. But we must stop letting business and government pass the buck to consumers and put the onus on them. We must change this from the inside. The further up the chain we are, the more impact our decisions will have. Consumer sentiment and behavior will not change on its own.
This isn’t about the consumer. This is about everything before it gets to the consumer.
It now depends on the bigger decisions we make, every day, from government policies we support to how we do business:
CEOs, Shareholders, CMOs, Executives, Consumers, Politicians, Administrators, Engineers in Sourcing, Manufacturing, Marketing, Advertising, Journalism, Technology, Transportation and the Financial Sector are in positions to make massive changes. If you are in any of these positions, ask yourself – what can you do?
Most of our global economy today runs on principles of the Friedman Doctrine, proposed by economist Milton Friedman, which stipulated:
“A company should have no ”social responsibility“ to the public or society because its only concern is to increase profits for itself and for its shareholders.” Via
Bullshit.
With all due respect for his economic contributions to the last century’s growth, Milton Friedman is dead. And so is his era. This is our era and we have the responsibility and the means to rebuild how this world works.
The Friedman Doctrine is dead. If the global economy were running on business fundamentals, it would realize the stock room is almost empty and the paradigm needs to shift – now.
We must integrate environmental sustainability into the technology that new business runs on, change the models that currently exploit resources and human capital now, and put human welfare and nature’s health ahead of all else. Humans need nature to thrive, and we must find ways to make this appeal to those who see nothing more than money or self-preservation.
Where change is too slow, we need more regulation. If politics are ineffective, we must champion new regulations through business itself.
We must expose the obstacles to change. We must challenge the status quo that brought us down this road and question the decisions that will affect us down the line.
And in marketing, transparency will define your brand. What you do today will affect your sales and growth tomorrow.
The future of branding is not making brands seem more human. The future of branding is being more human.
It’s time to hold every entity accountable, and rather than put the onus on the consumer, the responsibility is more concentrated the higher up we go. Decisions made in board rooms cause massive chain reactions down the line that can change the way we all live and consume. We can profit and grow sustainably. But it won’t happen incrementally. And small tokens of responsibility and purpose won’t make a dent. It’s too late for that. We need massive, systemic action.
It starts now, with us. Whoever you are and whatever it is that you do, you must help create real, fundamental change. Change things from where you are, and from within – regardless of your politics or religion or ideology.
Address these issues in every role you play in your business and life.
Stop waiting for 'them’ to solve every problem – whoever 'they' are. Many of 'them’ got us here. We’re here, we’re all part of it – and it will only get worse.
You, me, we are the only way out of this mess.
Which world is the world we want?
