The pandemic could signal that we’ve passed a series of civilizational tipping points that will usher in a new era of ecological emergencies.

By Nafeez Ahmed – November 23, 2020, 9:15am

The COVID-19 pandemic signals that civilization has breached a major ‘tipping point’ that could pave the way for a dangerous new era of interacting ecological emergencies.  

Scientific evidence accumulated over the last five years suggests that the pandemic didn’t come out of the blue, but is a direct consequence of industrial civilization’s breaching of key ‘planetary boundaries’—these are important natural ecosystems needed to maintain what scientists describe as the ‘safe operating space’ for human survival on the planet.

Which is why I recommend the new documentary I Am Greta, a very intimate portrait of the Swedish child environmental activist Greta Thunberg

Wanted: creative, innovative young minds who want to tackle the big problems facing the planet.

Whether a science genius, a chess prodigy or an advocate for a global cause, you must have the desire to serve others, and be aged 15 to 17.

A new global talent search for exceptional young leaders, inspired by teenage movers and shakers, such as Greta Thunberg, has been launched.

It is backed by the philanthropists Wendy and Eric Schmidt.

They hope to engage tomorrow’s leaders, by providing education and opportunities for them to identify problems, solutions, and ways they can work together, “for a lifetime in the service of humanity”, said Wendy Schmidt.

Young people are desperate to find ways to change the world and to create a new one that may look different, but they don’t always know how, added Eric Braverman, chief executive of Schmidt Futures.

“We have challenges relating to climate, to the benefits of economic development, to healthcare, as we can all see, all around the world, and we think to get the best solutions for the planet, you have to bet on exceptional people, you have to bet on human ingenuity and you have to do it early, and globally, and over and over again for a long time,” he explained.  Read More

 The raid involved around 15 armed police and customs officers and took place at 4pm in the afternoon when patients were being treated and waiting to be treated for many different personal health concerns. 

 A story out today in Bloomberg suggests we can solve climate change for $300 billion, which, as many astute readers have noticed, is a deal. As authors Adam Majendie and Pratik Parija point out, $300 billion is merely “the gross domestic product of Chile, or the world’s military spending every 60 days.” Seems pretty doable!

The plan comes from the United Nations and entails restoring degraded land back into productive soil that not only holds carbon, but also produces things that are useful to humans, like food. The Bloomberg piece focuses more on explaining the particulars of how it could be done than on fact-checking the likeliness that it will bury as much carbon as proposed. Restoring habitat and rehabilitating soil are generally good things to do regardless, though, and it seems at least possible that if we do enough of it, we really can bury as much carbon as they are suggesting.  Read More