Passengers no more

What do we know about piloting our spaceship? As the planet burns, the oceans boil, and horrific weather events displace millions of people and animals, should we finally acknowledge that we have no clue about how to pilot our intergalactic spaceship? Beautiful Earth would be an apt name for this spaceship. It is, after all, gorgeous and until recently, it ran like a perfectly well-oiled machine, carrying all of its passengers safely across the universe. And then the industrial revolution started, and humanity devised economic models that have allowed a handful of people over a few decades to exploit Earth's resources to enrich themselves while carelessly destroying the very fabric of the systems that make the machine run smoothly. They have the resources and run the political systems that keep the power in their hands, but spaceship Earth doesn't care about such things. The planet will continue its journey across the Milky Way with or without passengers, so what are we to do? I often get asked what I think the solution to our environmental problems is, and the truth is, nobody wants to hear the answer. Blinded by greed and on automatic pilot, we lack the courage to do what's necessary, but here are a few suggestions to right the chemical balance in our atmosphere and restore our planet's bountiful beauty.

There must be a consensus to immediately halt all destructive activities. A firm moratorium of at least 10 years on all industrial logging, especially of old-growth forests. Our forests are our first line of defence and right now, against all common sense, the Amazon continues to be deforested and Canada continues to allow the logging of ancient forests. Halting logging in Borneo in Africa and elsewhere should not be a decision made by individual countries. The stakes are planetary and the moratorium should be global as well. I know we all use wood, but should that wood be from ancient old-growth or the destruction of pristine forests?

Secondly, all industrial fishing must stop. As we begin to better understand how the chemistry of our planet works, it is clear that we need the immense biomass of fish alive and in the ocean. As of now, we have fished out 80% of the biomass of fish in the ocean. No wonder things are out of whack. In the next ten years, all fishing should be carried out by local, indigenous and artisanal fishermen and by well-regulated sport fishermen who better understand and respect marine resources. Fish is a vital necessity for many coastal people, especially in poor countries, but for the vast majority of humans, it is a luxury that we can forego for a few years. Industrial fishing is pretty much the stupidest thing humans do and the harm has already been so massive it is hard to assess. This is a socially unjust and highly inequitable industrial activity that has finally become antithetical to the survival of Beautiful Earth. Should we continue to allow a handful of billionaires and multinational corporations that own the large fishing fleets to continue plundering the seas and pocketing the bounty of the ocean for greed and profit while our spaceship dies? I don't think so.

Industrial food production needs to be re-assessed. As soils and oceans die, and animals suffer inhumane production standards, we must reward, encourage, facilitate and celebrate small farms and locally-grown food. Schoolchildren need to learn how to build, maintain and grow their food systems and universities need to push for more innovation to move us away from industrial agriculture and into regenerative agriculture and permaculture......including in the oceans. In case you have not noticed, seaweed holds the key to so many solutions, from restarting the biological pump in the ocean and providing a nursery and sanctuary for fish, to sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and providing alternatives to plastics and food/job security for coastal communities, seaweed needs to be studied, celebrated and protected.

The most important thing we need to do going forward is to look at everything through the lens of the precautionary principle. We are on the precipice and anyone wishing to "develop", exploit, and industrialize, natural resources should be tasked with demonstrating to an independent, incorruptibleble international committee how such a project is good for the planet and not just harmful in a way that is acceptable to those profiting from such destruction.

I know that none of these recommendations will be adopted or even taken seriously, but in my mind, that is what is required to even have a chance at surviving the catastrophe we have brought upon ourselves. We have reached an increase of 1.5 degrees C, and the consequences are not a joke. We will need all our natural assets to help us keep the Beautiful Earth spaceship afloat. My humble list above is just a start. I would love to know what others think.