It is not science, engineering or
technology that will deliver a sustainable civilisation, but behavioural
change. If we do not now begin to change the way we behave in the world, then
we as a species have no future.
Long gone are the days when we
can somehow stumble along, relying on good luck to survive. If we do not begin
to act now to change our behaviours, then resource depletion and destruction of
biodiversity will lead to a world of even greater conflicts than that which
exists today, and we should be in no doubt, that once the conflicts and unrest
begin, governments across the globe, to ensure the maintenance of order in a
increasingly dysfunctional world, will begin to resort to extreme measures,
where individual freedoms, human rights, and democracy will become delusions,
for there will be no room for such things as state of emergency thinking begins
to take hold. And the sad thing about all this, is nothing will be done to
prevent it from happening unless ordinary people now begin to act to bring
about change themselves, for none of those who are part of the alliance of
vested interests, have any serious intention of initiating a transition to
sustainable living. For them, it is business as usual with a few minor adjustments,
regardless of the consequences.
This is what is at stake – the
future of our world, our children’s world. We are leaving them with a legacy
that they will curse us for. So do not be deluded into thinking that science,
engineering and technology will save us, for these are part of the problem.
Scientists, engineers and technologists are at the top of the list of people
who need to change, who need to find completely new approaches to the way they
practice and what they believe, as I have made clear in several recent blogs,
for there is no one more like Prometheus than the typical scientist, engineer
and technologist. And this is the theme of my forthcoming novel, Moments in Time, a theme which is also
explored in a series of books that I have written over the past few years: Encounter with a Wise Man; A Tale of Two Deserts; and Enigma.
So I repeat – the key to
sustainability is behavioural change, and that means that we all have to
change, and how we can modify our behaviour is a topic that I will be exploring
in future blogs.
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