BSB 172      J. Morris Hicks     (10-26-18)  
A "Better" Idea for Humanity. Paradise?
Greetings,

With most of us living grossly unsustainable lifestyles, how will we ever get the world's growing population to change enough to make a difference?

Psychologists agree that humans are far more likely to change if offered a "better" alternative.  With that in mind, I would like to propose an uplifting way of dealing with our failing grades from Mother Nature. 

Let's begin with a review of our report card from last week's BSB that dealt with our failure to live in harmony with nature.


The gravity of these grades. The world's "big picture" scientists tell us we must resolve ALL of the above failures, if we wish to survive as a species. 

So how do we package the above criteria into a new, "big picture" lifestyle that would clearly represent a "better" alternative to the way we are living now?
  
We talk about paradise. Famed Harvard professor of biology and Pulitzer Prize winning author, Dr. E.O. Wilson believes that we are capable of creating a "paradise" for ourselves and for all living creatures. Here's what he said in his 2015 book shown below:

We have enough intelligence, goodwill, generosity and enterprise to turn Earth into a paradise for ourselves and for the biosphere that gave us birth...The problem is that we are an innately dysfunctional species.


So what do we do about our dysfunction? 

We start by envisioning a way of life that will help Mother Nature improve the planet - while providing for a better way of life for ourselves. A win-win for sure. 

As you might expect, our better alternative lifestyles of the future should come with a set of guiding principles:
  • Supremacy of Nature. Universal, never ending, respect for, and deference to, the supremacy of Mother Nature and all her creatures 
  • Meaningful Lives. A social plan capable of providing dignity and purpose for all humans
  • Comforts. A lifestyle plan that provides food, comfort, challenge, entertainment and fun for all
Getting started. Obviously, we  cannot expect the world's billions of citizens, working independently, to be able to reinvent the way each of them lives. Even if everyone did all that was possible, it still would not be nearly enough.

What we need is a brand new, "better" alternative - one that totally re-examines and re-designs all the ways in which we interact with nature. That new plan, under the oversight of a new agency of the U.S. government, must also resolve all five of the issues on our "report card." 

In the meantime, for a host of reasons, we must resist the temptation to start retrofitting our old cities, highways, manufacturing processes, food production methods and air transportation systems with  Trillion Dollar Bandaids .

My gut tells me that we're going to have to start over completely and the sooner we get started, the better.

That means thinking outside the box. The creative "idea" below (from a previous BSB) is what I consider a "baseline" vision, one that obviously needs a lot of work. 

It describes  a way that humans can live comfortable, enjoyable, productive and happy lives indefinitely - while fully enjoying, respecting and preserving a harmonious interaction with nature.



Next step. Creative ideas, like the one described above, need robust scrutiny and refinement, along with detailed, integrated design and execution plans.

Those critical tasks will require a crack team of the world's best architects, engineers, environmentalists, economists, futurists, social scientists and agriculturalists - all working together toward the common goal of creating that "paradise" on Earth that Dr. Wilson believes is possible.

Getting it doneSo how do we deliver that superior life for all humans on the planet, while simultaneously learning to live in complete harmony with nature? 

We start by developing and launching the first, totally "green" prototype habitat in the USA, providing a model for the rest of the world to follow.

That first green habitat may look something like this...


Hopefully, we can get the "green human habitat" project started by promoting the whole idea with our nation's leaders, elected officials, journalists and great thinkers.  But, in reality, it will probably take an extreme emergency to get their attention - something like a monster, hurricane-driven, real estate crash in South Florida.

And when we do get our leaders' attention, the ensuing focus on this crucial subject will eventually lead to the commissioning of that "crack" team mentioned above to begin designing a master plan for sustainable, comfortable and desirable human habitats for the next few hundred years? 

5-Year Horizon. We commission that team to develop a prototype that can be designed, built and functional in the USA, within five years. All we need is the will and the resolve, like we had with several WW2-era projects - and we can make it a reality.

Then, after the new prototype is operational, people all  over the world will begin to "catch the vision" for how that "paradise" on Earth, that E.O. Wilson thinks we're capable of creating, can become a reality.


Bottom Line. By offering everyone a "better" alternative, more and more people will eventually want to start moving in the direction of our envisioned "green" lifestyle of the future. 

Granted, this entire process will not be easy, but we must persevere. After all, there has never been anything more important in the history of humanity.

What Can You Do?  Live as green as possible while doing all that you can to raise the awareness of the "big picture" solutions that are needed. 

To that end, please circulate this BSB along with the above creative "idea" article among prominent journalists, thought leaders and/or elected officials that you respect. 

Until next time, just remember...

Humanity is on a collision course with Nature.
A damaged Nature will survive. We may not.
We must change course to avert an ecological disaster.


  Finally, for  your convenience, here are links to a few related BSBs from the past few weeks: 




Want to see a list of all my BSBs?  Click here.

Be well,

J. Morris (Jim) Hicks 
CEO, 4Leaf Global, LLC

I welcome your feedback and/or questions at:  jmh@4leafglobal.com

Looking for Opportunities to Speak.  Since 2016, my research, writing and speaking has been focused on the sustainability of our ecosystem and our future as a species. With a primary emphasis on food choices, I call it the "most important topic in the history of humanity." 

After all, what could possibly be more important to humans than the survival of our species?

 (now contains 5-minute video of me speaking in Tucson) 

Speaking Activity:   In 2018, I spoke at a   VegFest  in Fort Myers, FL,  at the vsh.org  in Honolulu and Kahului, Maui, at the   College of the Holy Cross  in Worcester, MA, and at a  Plant Powered Manhattan  event in New York. My next scheduled talks are in  South Haven, Michigan Nov. 2-4.

To schedule a presentation at a venue near you, please contact me at   jmh@4leafglobal.com


Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth

Moonglow J. Morris Hicks

Want to see earlier Bite-Size Blogs?  Click here
If you got this blog from a friend or found it on our website and want to  receive more of these Bite-Size Blogs?  Join Our Mailing List

Want to get started nurturing your own health and the health of our planet? Take our survey at 4leafsurvey.com
Click here to learn more about this free online dietary assessment tool.

4Leaf Logo
See what's happening on our social sites