He passed last week after a vigilant fight with cancer change which was preceded by a more lengthy fight with climate change. Pictured below with Greta,
Stuart is the one who sought her out and introduced her to the world stage at the COP24 climate conference in Poland.
Stuart is also the person who inspired the writing of the book, OUTCRY. It was our conversation over lunch in New York in September of 2018 that led to
one of my SOS Memos, the precursor of our book eighteen months later. To be sure, Stuart will be missed but his work will not be forgotten.
As for the 3 Life-Changing Scientists. Each year In July, I think of Dr. James Lovelock who will celebrate his 102nd birthday next Monday. I also think of the other two senior scientists to whom our 2020 book, Outcry, was dedicated.
I begin today with the Dedication appearing in that book.
DEDICATION
OUTCRY is dedicated to the three oldest living "big picture" scientists who appear in Chapter Four.
James Lovelock (turns 102 on July26)
Since beginning to conduct my own research about our food choices and sustainability in 2003, this 100 year old scholar has become my all-time hero when it comes to looking at the big picture when analyzing any problem or situation.
Describing himself mostly as a practical engineer, his incredible career has earned rare praise such as these descriptors from three of the world's major news organizations: A prophet who deserves every honor the human race can bestow -- The greatest scientific thinker of our time -- The most influential scientist and writer since Charles Darwin.
E.O. Wilson (92)
Growing up in the deep south of the United States as I did, Dr. Wilson has helped me more than he will ever know. His overall scientific body of knowledge when it comes to how we humans got here in the first place and our inherited responsibility to truly begin caring for the planet that gave us birth -- has helped me greatly.
My mother always told me that God gave me a brain and that I had to use it -- and Dr. Wilson has helped me in doing just that. Without his influence, I would not be nearly as passionate about the sustainability topic that will consume at least one-third of my life -- and I would have never written this book.
T. Colin Campbell (87)
It could be said that my final career started the day I found Dr. Campbell on the internet in early 2003. After becoming curious about the optimal diet for humans, I had begun researching the topic online and discovering various theories from A to Z (Atkins to Zone). But when I found Dr. Campbell, I knew that I had finally found what we call down south -- the real deal. Importantly, his influence wasn't just about food choices -- he also inspired my interest in sustainability, specifically climate change.
Finally, I was honored to be able to serve on the board of his non-profit -- Center for Nutrition Studies, for six years. A great friend, his life-enhancing influence will be felt throughout the world for as long as there are humans on this planet.
What do they say now about our future? Rather than use quotes here, I will paraphrase some key elements of what I have learned from each of them:
James Lovelock. For at least ten years, he has consistently stated in public and in writing that climate change is not reversible and, as such, will likely claim the lives of most humans. He says the survivors (one billion at best) will probably be the ones living in cooler climates that can best support agriculture. (
CV from his website)
E.O. Wilson. A Pulitzer Prize winner, he's consistently stated that we humans have enough
intelligence, goodwill, generosity and enterprise to turn Earth into a paradise both for ourselves and for the biosphere that gave us birth. On that topic, even though he authored a book about how we must give half of the Earth back to nature -- he doesn't really believe that we will get that done soon enough to save ourselves. Why not? Because, as he has stated many times, "we are an innately dysfunctional species." (CV from his website)
T. Colin Campbell. Midway through his spectacular tenure at Cornell University, Colin discovered the truth about the association between animal protein and cancer growth in the early seventies. The mighty meat, dairy, egg and fish industries were not pleased with that finding and have worked diligently to keep it from reaching the public. Tragically, a scientific discovery that should have quickly led to an international shift toward plant-based eating, derailed his illustrious career instead. Just think of the hundreds of millions of lives needlessly lost to heart disease, cancer and many other chronic diseases that are linked to our love affair with eating animal-based foods.
Oddly and sadly, the two oldest living members of Outcry's group of "big picture" scientists, Lovelock and Wilson --never even mention the supreme importance of choosing the right foods that are so crucially important for our health, the health of our planet and our very future as a species.
So, how do I explain why two of the greatest "big picture" scientists who ever lived -- have failed to embrace the scientifically proven fact that animal agriculture is, by far, the leading driver of climate change AND is the only driver that could be completely eliminated within five years?
All I can think of is this:
Given our almost complete lack of progress in replacing animal-based foods with health-promoting, whole plant foods, we must assume that most people in the developed world are simply not going to be giving up their favorite foods anytime soon.
Some would rather die than give up meat and dairy -- but others may be willing to make the transition to plant-based eating for the sake of their children's future.
Back to the elephant in the room. Let's go back to the likelihood that the human population of this planet will be greatly diminished before the end of the 21st century. Let us also consider the strong possibility that faced with impending death for themselves and their innocent children, that many millions of humans would be willing to make certain lifestyle sacrifices quickly in order to survive.
So, how can we minimize the death toll in the USA while building a sustainable lifestyle model that other countries could replicate? We start by brainstorming a near perfect way of living from an ecological health standpoint.
For sure, most people would initially object to numerous elements of that "near perfect" way of living -- and would not readily accept it in the near term. But in the long run, many lives could be saved, our civilization could be preserved and our species could avoid extinction.
Also, in the long run, the lifestyle model we described in Outcry could ultimately be deemed far superior to the global rat race for survival with which most of us have become accustomed.
The creation of a sustainable way of life in the future begins with a re-cap of why our current way of life, which is not likely to survive much longer.
We (the authors of Outcry) have concluded that we must work on all of these issues simultaneously AND that we cannot depend on the environmental NGO's to save us.
To that end, we came up with a few policy ideas for the "Great Big Northern" (the GBN) that we described in Outcry. We know that the majority of Americans would not sign up today but, as climate change continues to lessen our ability to grow food and provide comfortable lives for billions of people -- these much "greener" lifestyle ideas will become a whole helluva lot more attractive.
The Bottom Line. We need to immediately jump-start a serious "conversation" about the realities of climate change. We know that there will likely be a tough road ahead for most humans -- but we believe that it is quite possible that we can still save our civilization.
Last year, the government of Saudi Arabia began working on "The Line" --
a totally new way of living -- a model that could help launch a process in the USA that might lead to a far more sustainable way of life for hundreds of millions of Americans. Like the GBN, this chart from
The Line features a society that operates very nicely without automobiles.
Build it and They Will Come!
That is the kind of mentality that we're trying to launch. The masses aren't ready for it now, but the number of people who will be ready will probably rise exponentially in the next few decades.
For this model to work in the USA, it must be coordinated by our federal government -- with a few smart, can-do, leaders like Pete Buttigieg on the case. For that to happen, we must start a loud "conversation" NOW!! As for Mayor Pete, you can read about what I have in mind for him near the end of this SOS Memo published on 4-6-21: A promising new "Sunrise for Humanity"
One more thing. For the past few days, I have enjoyed watching a few videos of Carl Sagan. I so wish that he were still alive. He was an extremely rare, well-known, highly-respected, big picture thinker that we so desperately need today. Check him out on this 30-year old video. Best of Carl Sagan
