In these past Christmases due to covid, one of the cinematographic events of the moment was the premiere of ‘Don’t look up’, a satire on the stupidity of the system and our inability to react when we look into the abyss. Although it revolves around a large meteorite that is going to hit the Earth, the comparison with our inaction in the face of the unstoppable destruction of the planet it is linear.
Why don’t we react to the announced catastrophes? The latest report of theDigital News Report‘, from the Reuters Institute and the University of Oxford, reveals that 54% of people who responded to your survey avoid the news often or sometimes, 27% more than in 2017. In Spain, those who declare themselves very interested in the news have fallen by 30%. We are saturated. Interest spikes at specific times – the onset of a pandemic, the eruption of a volcano, the outbreak of a war – but it’s short-lived in this society of dwindling attention. It’s a self defense mechanismwhen insecurity and uncertainty lurk in all walks of life.
Nor is it a new phenomenon. 50 years ago ‘The limits of growth‘, a report to the Club of Rome, has already put on the table the risks of overexploitation of our natural resources, increased pollution and population explosion. The work was based on an extremely new technique at the time: scenarios created from computer-calculated models. And the message was, apparently, very simple: if we continue consuming resources at the current rate -it was 1972- the planet will collapse in the 20s of the 21st century. That’s where we are.
50 years have passed since the report ‘The limits to growth’, a pioneer in what evolved as environmentalism and sustainable development, and the Club of Rome honors it with a new work
The book opened the door to further reflection on our relationship with the Earth and was pioneer in what a little later would evolve as environmentalism and sustainable development. After an impressive initial success -translated into more than 30 languages, more than 3 million copies sold-, his detractors, accusing him of being a catastrophist, managed to corner him…. In some cases it was pure skepticism about previously undeveloped techniques; in others, blind faith that technological progress would be capable of correcting negative trends. Today, 50 years later, and without us having done enough to reverse the situation, his postulates are more valid than ever. As an example, the experience of a pandemic that has undoubtedly been favored by the loss of biodiversity and the weakening of ecosystems. Now at least we are aware not because of climate change, but because we are experiencing a planetary emergency. Virtually no one questions its main premise: the decoupling between the type of growth and the finite availability of resources. But no one seems to have the formula – let alone the political will – to radically change the way we live.
To contribute ideas and reflections on how to address the future that awaits us, and in tribute to that pioneering initiative, the Club of Rome has just published ‘Limits and beyond’ (The limits and beyond), a collective work co-edited by Ugo Bardi and Carlos Alvarez Pereira which aspires to be “the book that shapes the conversation about our place on Earth for the next 50 years and beyond.”
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Among the issues raised is the need to analyze the transformations we are experiencing, and those we have to carry out, with a long-term vision and taking into account the complexity of the systems; there are no monolithic disciplines but a great network of interrelationships. Against this, the dominant short-termism in all fields, from the political-electoral to the business results through the dispersion of attention. He also raises the debate about the different ways of measuring growth and well-being beyond the almighty GDP; the reconnection with nature recovering the experiences of those who have maintained their links with it through the generations; faith in science and technology at the service of the human being… It is about reviewing learning systems, the role of education in addressing the systemic changes that the future of humanity requires.
It is about launching a truly global conversation that allows, as far as possible, to redirect the course. Prevent the series of catastrophic misfortunes that awaits us from ending up leading the world, and us with it, to collapse. Whether we like it or not we want to see it on the news.