Knowledge, Fame, Integrity & Courage
With great leadership, can we tame climate change?
SOS #163 -- J. Morris Hicks -- (6-21-22)
|
|
Leaders who fully understand climate change AND possess all four of the qualities listed above are exceptionally rare, maybe even non-existent. But, perhaps there is a way we can bring together a group of them who, collectively, possess a powerful combination of all four.
This SOS features an upbeat message about how a few great leaders can solve the world's climate change dilemma.
|
|
Just maybe that group can SUCCEED where governmental leaders, presidents, scientists, ministers, corporate executives, university professors, and the news media have collectively failed.
Maybe those leaders will come together and develop a plan for urgently telling the world's humans exactly what it will take to give ourselves the best possible chance of stopping climate change and surviving indefinitely as a species.
Right now our chances are not looking good. I spoke about that topic in a Zoom Presentation to a group in Honolulu last month. That talk ran just under one hour (including Q&A) and is now available on YouTube. Click this image to watch it.
|
|
Here's an idea. Have your group watch this video.
Then let's schedule a Zoom call to seriously discuss this
most crucial topic in the history of humanity.
As for the "leadership" topic of the day, I draw your attention to this next slide that appears near the end of the Honolulu presentation.
It features a total of ten well-known people ranging in age from 19 to 96. As you can see, there are six women and four men -- and, among them, there is a collective body of knowledge, fame and credibility that is more than capable of leading humanity back to a sustainable way of life.
|
|
In that talk, I described how each of these ten well-known people could come together and develop a plan for the future -- a plan that would involve the total elimination of animal agriculture before 2030.
Okay, you probably don't think that Michelle, Barack and Oprah would go along with supporting that idea. You may be right but, then again, they may surprise you. They may know more about the leading driver of climate change than you think.
For example, here is a 5-minute video of a youthful-looking Barack Obama speaking at a high school in St. Petersburg, Florida -- while running for president in 2008. Watch how he responds to a question from a young woman with "Vegan Outreach" on her tee shirt.
Click the image to watch this enlightening video:
|
|
Watch as he deftly responds thoroughly and brilliantly to the astute young woman's question.
Former President Obama's answer to her is truly impressive -- as he expertly demonstrates his rare knowledge regarding the crucial connection between our food choices, personal health and the health of the biosphere that keeps us alive.
But what if he had told that crowd the entire truth? What if he had told them about what is by far the leading driver of climate change? What if he had told them in 2008 that, if we want to survive as a species that we humans must completely eliminate ALL animal-based foods in less than twenty years? What do you think would have happened?
He would never have been elected president!
This is just an example of why we cannot depend on elected officials to tell us the truth about delicate topics -- because if they did, they could never be re-elected.
But, in 2022, there is no good reason why Barack, Michelle and Oprah should not be telling the world the complete truth now -- since they are already wealthy and never have to run for office again.
Now, in 2022, after wasting fourteen years since Obama was elected president, what must our global leadership team do -- in order to give the world's two billion children a chance at a decent future?
|
|
What must we do NOW?
We must bypass all governments as we develop and execute a global plan for how we can actually slow the pace of climate change -- or maybe reverse it.
|
|
Between the ten well-known individuals pictured above and the three shown in this next slide, I truly believe it is possible that a miracle could happen.
If we can get seven of the people in the first slide (including Michelle, Barack and Oprah) in the same room with these three rare leaders for just eight hours, it is quite possible that we could come out of that session with a plan for leading humanity back onto a sustainable pathway of living.
|
|
You may be wondering why the three men in the above slide should be included in this discussion. I will be happy to explain everything when speaking to your group via Zoom. To arrange for that session, Email me at jmorrishicks@me.com.
To be sure, I can only imagine what might happen in that envisioned meeting with 10 or 12 superstars -- along with Dr. Sailesh Rao who can explain to them in just six minutes why animal agriculture is driving 87% of climate change and why that is good news.
Maybe the results of their conference will exceed all of our expectations -- and will lead to a great global awakening like the world has never seen. Click on this image to read THE FACTS about climate change as summarized by Dr. Rao.
|
|
Fast-forward to late September of this year. Let's assume that we have managed to get this group together for an in- person discussion by then. This cannot be a Zoom conference. These people must be able to look eyeball to eyeball as they discuss the most important topic in the history of humanity.
Among the group, we have more than one person who knows the painful truth about each of these three crucial topics:
-
Truth #1. For many reasons, we will not be able to slow climate change by simply pleading with people and governments to lower their GhG emissions.
-
Truth #2. We will not be able to slow climate change even a little bit unless we give it our best shot to totally eliminate animal agriculture worldwide. Fortunately, of all that we might possibly do, it's the most powerful, the quickest, the cheapest and the easiest step that people everywhere in the developed world can take.
-
Truth #3. Appealing to the 195 governments of the world to deal with climate change has not worked for over thirty years. And, those empty appeals/promises are simply never going to work. As alluded to above, we must come together and form an organization and a process that is focused 100% on preventing the demise of humanity.
And we must get this done very soon!
|
|
People who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world -- are the ones who do.
-- Steve Jobs
|
|
The Bottom Line
Can we get this done in time?
|
|
For the children of the world, I sincerely believe that we've still got time to give all of the world's children the best possible chance at living enjoyable, pleasant and meaningful lives.
The innocent children deserve no less!
|
|
How did we get in such a mess? This week, I ran across the Epilog at the end of the 4Leaf Guide that Dr. Kerry Graff and I published in 2015.
This 5-minute read may help to put everything in perspective for you. Here is the first paragraph followed by a link to the entire piece:
Epilog from the 4Leaf Guide
It is crucially important that many more people learn the very important truths about the way we eat and how it affects our health and longevity, our environment and the future of life on planet Earth. This Epilog from the 4Leaf Guide may help you understand how we got into this mess in the first place and what we must do to get back to living in harmony with nature.
This Epilog is still relevant, but our situation now is much more urgent than it was in 2015 when this book was written.
|
|
Finally, your group of participants will get a lot more out of my talk if they have read our latest book in advance.
J. Morris (Jim) Hicks
|
|
PS: The Prevention of Human Extinction |
|
To clarify, we're not trying to preserve civilization as we know it. Because what we have now is extremely wasteful, harmful and grossly unsustainable. It's an incredibly reckless way of living that is now threatening our very existence as a species.
We're talking about replacing it with an entirely new, ultra-green civilization of the future -- and we do our best to paint a picture of that envisioned way of sustainable living in OUTCRY. For what one Ohio State professor emeritus of history had to say about that book on Amazon, click here.
Click on the image below for a preview of this 2020 book -- along with the complete Foreword by Mother Nature.
|
|
This "Big Picture" section will provide you with handy reference materials on this most crucial of all topics. |
|
"Big Picture"
Data and Video Section
Beginning with the timeline of research
|
|
Five World-Changing Films
That People Everywhere Must See
|
|
Film #1 in 2014
In 2014, Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn produced their first documentary film Cowspiracy. Executive producer is Leonardo DiCaprio, it runs 90 minutes and has been on Netflix since 2015. In 2020, I met Kip and Keegan in Sedona where I was honored to be able to speak at the same conference with them and other great leaders in this movement like Dr. Sailesh Rao and Dr. Michael Greger.
|
|
Film #3 in 2021
In 2021, Kip Anderson teamed up with British filmmaker Ali Tabrizi, to produce Seaspiracy, an 89-minute film that vividly and alarmingly reveals what is at stake when it comes to the crucial importance of our oceans to our future as a species. Most people have no idea regarding the environmental horrors of commercial fishing -- a disgusting industry that kills dolphins by the thousands and tosses them back into the ocean. It runs 90 minutes on Netflix. Click here to view the trailer.
|
|
Film #4 in 2021
As our situation becomes more desperate, the documentary films become more terrifying. As alluded to earlier, we are literally Eating Our Way to Extinction, a process that is vividly covered in this 2021 film (81 minutes). Narrated and produced by Kate Winslet, you can watch this great film on Amazon Prime or on YouTube for $3.99. The great ocean scientist and former head of NOAA, Dr. Sylvia Earle lends powerful credibility to such a crucial topic.
|
|
Film #5 in 2022
This new film (89 minutes) features a young activist who travels around his country, New Zealand in an effort to find out the truth about the horrors of the dairy industry in his native land.
The film uncovers alarming information about the environmental and health impacts of the industry -- leading up to the discovery that we are on the edge of the biggest global disruption of food and agriculture in history. This new film is now available for free at waterbear.com
|
|
Grasping the "Big Picture"
These 2 films will help in understanding
our unprecedented dilemma.
|
|
This 83-minute documentary is all about the findings that were documented in Dr. Stephen Emmott's 2013 book. TEN BILLION.
He brilliantly describes the grossly unsustainable way of living that has brought us to the emergency situation in which we find ourselves. Since I met him in London in 2013, he has become much more serious about the need to abolish the practice of eating meat, dairy, eggs and/or fish at almost every meal.
Just click on the hourglass image. Dr. Emmott delivers a very compelling message from the stage of a theater in London. This 2013 film is still relevant and will certainly help more people grasp that all-important "big picture."
|
|
Finally, this half-hour video was published in November of 2021. It was produced by Michael Dowd, a non-scientific researcher like me who does a very fine job of explaining the many facets of the obstacles standing between us and our survival as a species. Dowd focuses on the problem; not the solution. I prefer to focus on both.
|
|
What else can you do?
Probably a lot more than you think
|
|
-
Start with the new documentary (Film #4) mentioned earlier -- Eating our way to Extinction for $6 on Netflix. Watch it often with your friends and family.
-
Share this SOS Memo widely: Certainties, Uncertainties & Priorities by J. Morris Hicks.
-
Get an e-copy of OUTCRY. Visit Outcry page on Amazon and get a much bigger understanding of the situation in which all humans find ourselves.
-
Inform all the young people in your world that you are deadly serious about this topic. Urge them to read these SOS Memos and our latest book, OUTCRY.
- Completely stop eating meat, dairy, eggs and fish today and tell everyone why you are taking such a "radical" step. You're doing it for the innocent children of the world.
- As noted above, do yourself a favor and make sure that your plant-based meals of the future consist of whole plants -- the kinds of foods that prevent or reverse most chronic diseases AND enable your body to effortlessly seek its optimal weight.
|
|
I am confident that if a few million people carefully read and digested this book that there would be a more robust conversation around the world regarding our grossly unsustainable way of living in the developed world.
To my knowledge, OUTCRY remains the only book ever published that features an envisioned, totally-green, ultra-sustainable, super-desirable, future way of living for humans -- along with ideas for how we might get there as quickly as possible.
|
|
The links below to earlier SOS Memos will help you understand how these ideas unfolded since 2018. |
|
Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth |
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
