A team of international scientists recently published a report entitled “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice“, led by eight authors and signed by 15,364 scientists from 184 countries. They asserted that, among other things, “we have unleashed a mass extinction event.”
The 6th mass extinction is also referred to as the Anthropocene period. Mass extinction is defined as a loss of about 75% of all species in existence across the entire Earth over a short time period. In the past few years, the rate of extinctions per million species per year is 100 to 1,000 times higher than the usual average rate. About one million species of plants and animals will face extinction within decades as the result of human actions.
“I’m often asked whether I believe in global warming. I now just reply with the question: Do you believe in gravity?” —Neil deGrasse Tyson
Isn’t it time to let go of fear and take action? Turn off the TV news that focuses on political pundits blathering on about unimportant and misleading political rumors, pulling focus from the most critical issue of our time – climate change.
Let go of false beliefs and distorted values fed by wrong-headed social media that just distract us. Let go of greed, apathy, and resignation. We need a spiritual and cultural transformation.
“If you really think that the environment is less important than the economy, try holding your breath while you count your money.” — Guy McPherson, Ph.D., professor of natural resources and ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona.
People retreat from what they fear and can’t control. The bigger the threat, the more likely that they will deny the problem exists and put it out of their minds, instead, replacing it with frivolous nonsense that social media and TV generously serve up. Now is the time to reset with new priorities. Social media has tremendous potential to accelerate connections among innovating people, and projects to shift humanity toward a more positive future. Make the conscious choice to use social media for that purpose.
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” — Albert Einstein
Climate change is as much a threat to human survival as is the possibility of nuclear war. You are being called to help. The existence of humanity is at stake.