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Concise History of Humanity
How can we possibly "manage" our future?
SOS #271 -- J. Morris Hicks -- (3-29-24)
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In pondering how we might be able to "manage" the future of humanity, we first take a look at the world in which our species evolved almost a million years ago. | |
Enter Dr. Sailesh Rao, Stanford PhD in electrical engineering and one of the inventors of the internet -- he is now devoting the rest of his life to this most crucial of all possible topics -- our survival as a species.
In September of 2023, he published a powerful piece on his website at climatehealers.org. I strongly recommend that you take five minutes to read it now.
Restore Life as We Knew It?
Or Continue Civilization as We Know It?
I refer to this brilliant piece as a "Concise History of Humanity -- and how we can possibly manage to survive in the future."
Dr. Rao's piece begins here:
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At all times, we each get to choose whether we wish to restore life as we knew it or to continue civilization as we know it. Let’s consider the case for both options.
The case for restoring life as we knew it is based on evolution. It may be hard to believe given our current focus on the earth overheating, but the earth is currently in the fifth known major ice age in its 4.6 billion year history.
The first major ice age in the paleo record is the Huronian ice age from 2.4 billion to 2.1 billion years ago. The second is the Cryogenian ice age from 720 million to 635 million years ago.
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The third is the Andean-Saharan ice age from 450 million to 420 million years ago and the fourth is the late Paleozoic ice age from 335 million to 260 million years ago.
Finally, the earth is now in the fifth major ice age, the Quaternary ice age from 2.7 million years ago to the present.
Each major ice age can have smaller ice ages, called glaciations and warmer inter-glacial periods between them. During the initial 1.7 million years of the present Quaternary ice age, the warm inter-glacial periods occurred quite frequently, about once every 41,000 years. However, over the past million years, the warm inter-glacial periods have been occurring less frequently, about once every 100,000 years.
In every such 100,000 year cycle, the earth is largely frozen for about 90,000 years, followed by an inter-glacial warm period of about 10,000 years when most of the glaciers melt and life expands beyond a narrow band around the equator to cover the northern and southern hemispheres. Then the process repeats again.
The earth is currently in a warm inter-glacial period called the Holocene. The Holocene era began about 11,700 years ago and unlike previous inter-glacial warm periods over the past million years, the Holocene era shows no sign of returning to glaciation anytime soon.
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This is because Mother Earth spawned us, humans, during the Quaternary ice age and gave us control of fire about 500,000 years ago.
With the controlled use of fire, humans can burn things and cause the planet to heat up. However, we didn’t begin to do so in earnest until the current Holocene era.
In the glacial period prior to the Holocene era, about 50,000 years ago, humans with the help of domesticated wolves who became our dogs, spread out of Africa and migrated to every continent on earth, except Antarctica. Dogs lent us their vastly superior senses of smell, sight and hearing to enable us to overcome predators and survive even in the harsh environments around the world.
Then, about 10,000 years ago, humans started burning down forests for agriculture almost everywhere, thereby heating up the earth significantly.
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According to William Ruddiman’s Early Anthropogenic Hypothesis, the earth’s temperature would have returned below the glaciation threshold about 5000 years ago, if not for these human activities heating up the earth.
Then, about 200 years ago, humans started digging up and burning fossil fuels in great quantities, causing the earth’s temperature to spike upward by 1.2 deg C into the modern era.
Now, we have developed the engineering instrumentation and the scientific knowledge to understand that humans are gravely impacting the conditions for life to thrive on this earth.
We also know that by stopping animal agriculture, while dialing down our fossil fuel burning, we can create the conditions to restore life as we knew it on the planet.
We can replant the 3 trillion trees that we cut on the land that gets freed up from animal agriculture and largely restore the ecosystems that we destroyed over the past 10,000 years.
(The image below comes from a 2015 piece in the Yale News entitled: Seeing the forest and the trees, all 3 trillion of them.)
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This transformation from an animal eating, climate heating, nature destroying “Homo sapiens” to a plant eating, climate healing, ecosystems restoring “Homo Ahimsa” species is the Greatest Transformation in Human History that we are called to do in this generation.
It will rank greater than the great migration out of Africa, the agricultural revolution, the scientific revolution, the industrial revolution, the internet revolution, you name it.
We can safely predict that it will even rank greater than the discovery of fire 500,000 years ago, since it is truly the discovery of the spiritual fire within us.
This is a fitting culmination to our struggles, providing meaning for all the suffering that our ancestors and other sentient beings have experienced during the climate heating phase of our existence.
In contrast, there is an exclusive group of male politicians and corporate figures, called the Bohemian Grove, who meet for two weeks every July at a Sonoma county retreat in California to chart the continuation of Western civilization as we know it.
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As the leaders of the worst polluting countries skip the UN climate summit in New York city, it is clear that these elite members of the Bohemian Grove remain comfortable with the status quo, perhaps because the impact of the ongoing ecological catastrophes fall largely on the poor and the downtrodden.
We shall surely overcome and rise above such an uninspired view of our role as a nihilistic, purposeless species on this planet.
Thank you for your support. HELP us every day to...
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Heal the planet:
Eat plants.
Live simply.
Plant trees.
It’s that simple.
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It really is a very simple proposition that almost no one is talking about. In a nutshell, it begins by simply returning to the natural diet for our species -- ASAP.
The Bottom Line
I totally agree with Dr. Rao -- as I am near certain that -- if it is indeed possible -- for humanity to survive and thrive again at some point in the future -- it will begin with a massive and rapid shift toward plant-based eating well before 2030.
The beauty of our situation is that we have the power to choose what we eat. It is our collective choice as individuals -- whether or not we opt to save ourselves from a terrifying future. We can do this ourselves. We don't need to convince any governments or international organizations like the UN.
We just need to start choosing to eat ONLY plant-based foods. The global food industries will respond quickly to comply with our preferences.
But it may already be too late. We've simply crossed too many planetary boundaries to believe that we can actually escape some degree of hardship as a result. But, for all of the innocent children in the world -- we simply must give this process our very best shot.
So, where do we stand right now? For an assessment of our current situation, I keep returning to the powerful statement that James Cameron wrote for the cover of our 2020 book OUTCRY. (now being offered FREE to the global public)
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As for making our landing as "soft as possible" -- we simply must somehow influence hundreds of millions of people in the developed world to start eating a health-promoting, world-changing, money saving, whole food, plant-based diet.
How can we get that done? Start by watching this FREE, 35- minute, YouTube video and then insist that everyone you know watch it with you. The new Abbreviated version of the Eating Our Way to Extinction Video.
| After you watch this FREE half-hour video on YouTube, read the FREE 2015 book below. It's a two-hour read that I wrote with a family physician. Believe it or not, since we started giving away the e-copy of this book over a year ago, the sales of the hard copies have risen sharply. (Available on Amazon) | |
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This little, easy-to-read book will help you get started down the road to vibrant health -- while helping to ensure that the young people alive today, and future generations, will have a much better chance of enjoying comfortable and meaningful lives.
About half the chapters are about promoting "vibrant health" for the biosphere that keeps us alive.
To be sure, this little book is still as relevant as ever. It will answer many questions you may have about moving rapidly to the whole food, plant-based method of feeding yourself.
This special e-book version is absolutely FREE: Just click 4Leaf Guide to Vibrant Health.
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In closing, my colleagues and I have concluded that by returning quickly to the natural diet for our species -- we just might be able to buy ourselves the time needed (about 200 years) to address and resolve the plethora of unsustainable elements of our rapidly expanding, wasteful and harmful civilization. | |
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Conveniently, we have a game plan for making that happen!
It was fully explored in SOS Memo #245 that was posted on 11-28-23.
Click the link below to read all about that plan, then share it widely. Share it as if the lives of your children, and their children, depended on it. Because they almost certainly do!
Below this link, as in all of my SOS Memos of late, I highlight a few key elements of that game plan -- one that consists of harnessing the power and reach of the handful of big-picture journalists in the world who have the courage and integrity to just do the right thing for the future of humanity.
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Game Plan for Reversing Climate Change.
The opening question is this...
What would happen if the global media were to become aware of the simple fact that animal agriculture is, by far, the leading driver of climate change and the ONLY driver that is theoretically possible to completely eliminate by 2030?
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At zero cost! How's that for a benefit? Not only does it cost far less to eat plant-based, there are countless benefits that will result from our return to the natural diet for our species. As people begin consuming mostly whole, plant-based foods, most chronic diseases will be reversed -- and the world's cost of healthcare (disease management) could be slashed by over 50%.
Most Importantly. The beauty of this approach is that we don't have to deal with the world's food growers and processors, the world's self-serving healthcare Industry, the many rogue governments and international alliances (UN, UNFAO) or all of the academic entities who are supported financially by the animal food producers and drug marketers. We don't need ANY of their support to get this done!
We simply take this life-saving message directly to the people! The food producers WILL deliver what they demand!
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Individual food choices alone -- all over the world -- can make this happen. When enough people shift to plant-based eating, the food producers, for financial reasons, will respond quickly -- as they urgently start producing only what we consumers are now choosing to eat.
At that time, we will have triggered a rapid global dismantling of what is BY FAR -- the single largest driver of climate change: animal agriculture
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The stakes of this game are too daunting to ignore. And it's likely that we only have a few more years to get this right!
This climate change solution is simple! Getting billions of people to quickly join in that solution is a very difficult task!
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To get that ball rolling, how can we get this group of seven news anchors (and/or many others) prepared to urgently begin reporting the complete truth about the direct relationship between our food choices, climate change and the future of humanity? Read on...
The man pictured below has the knowledge on this topic and he has the world's ear. Will he do all of humanity a huge favor and agree to facilitate the jumpstarting of the game plan described herein? Several members of his staff know that we are standing by -- ready, willing and able to assist him as needed.
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For the record, I am confident that Mayor Adams of New York City, should he choose to ignite the flame (in this Game Plan) -- will someday enjoy an exceptionally rarified place in the annals of history.
He knows better than most what we should be eating -- for our own health -- and for the health of the biosphere that keeps us alive.
He's also mayor of the global media capital AND the world's most influential city.
In his book above -- he writes about reversing his own type 2 diabetes and partial blindness -- by making food choices (whole plants) that deliver the bonus benefit of preserving Mother Nature's ability to keep us alive.
How convenient is that? In closing, it's all about what we choose to eat. Let's just do it, already! We're about to run out of time.
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For billions of innocent children...let's all work urgently together to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.
Sincerely, Jim
PS: Someone asked me why I repeat myself from week to week in these memos. It's because I'm making sure that each message can be fully understood by all of the first-time SOS readers.
J. Morris Hicks — hpjmh.com
500 Bank Street, Suite 215
New London, CT 06320
jmorrishicks@me.com
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PS: How can YOU make a difference?
1st: Become a healthy vegan -- making sure that over 80% of your calories are derived from whole, plant-based foods. As such, you will be doing your part in dismantling the leading driver of climate change: global animal agriculture. As a personal bonus, you will get healthier, eliminate most prescription drugs, lose weight and save money at the same time.
2nd: Start "walking the talk" of sustainable living. Let your actions do the talking for your friends and family. My thoughts on that process are in this updated SOS Memo #200 from early 2023, when I moved into my delightful 443 square feet, about halfway between New York and Boston -- on the busiest passenger rail line in the USA.
3rd: Check out the FREE stuff in the appendix below and start sharing all of this info with your friends & family.
4th: Schedule a FREE Zoom call with me and your group. Contact me at jmorrishicks@me.com to arrange.
In the APPENDIX below, you can read about what we must do to understand much more about the climate dilemma in which we find ourselves -- along with what it will likely take to prevent a collapse of civilization.
This appendix can help you get that done:
Appendix to SOS Memos
(lots of data, FREE books, scientific reports, videos & more)
You can join my mailing list and find all previous
postings by visiting this SOS Memos page.
Again, my primary website is hpjmh.com -- featuring a powerful summary that appears on the landing page. Click the link below for my one-page bio summary:
J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy.
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Want to get started nurturing your own health
and the health of our planet?
Take our dietary survey at 4leafsurvey.com (2 min). With your answers to 12 multiple choice questions, the survey provides an estimate as to what percent of your daily calories are being derived from whole, plant-based foods.
Over 80% from whole plants = "4Leaf Level" of eating
(The average American or European gets less than 7%)
Click to learn all about this dietary assessment tool:
About the 4Leaf Survey
For much more about 4Leaf, visit 4leafprogram.com
Also: Link to the FREE e-copy of the The 4Leaf Guide
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