Info-ad by Humane Civilization Worldwide, New York Times magazine, 2024 – 12/29.
Regarding the climate crisis: Our children and grandchildren deserve that we work hard on moving the needle of public opinion. Not towards more voluntary actions and government incentives for a comfortable all-electric future. We’ve tried that, there are hundreds of great projects, but all indicators show that we are doing worse than projected. It now feels like we are losing a war.
We believe a broad movement must demand radical government actions that halt the consumption-oriented, greed-driven economic growth, which is a root cause of the climate crisis. As during WWII, the government has to move
virtually all production towards reversing global warming, halting the rapid worsening of climate instability and weather catastrophes, and taking care of people’s needs. Otherwise densely populated areas will become unlivable and mass migrations will lead to violence worldwide.
Materialism, discontent, and hopelessness have become widespread, particularly among young people. But happiness has little to do with being able to fulfill desires that were created by AI-driven advertisements or subtle peer pressure. Happiness is derived from enjoying what we have, living simply and ethically, ready to cooperate, give, forgive, and be compassionate, pursuing meaningful goals, and enjoying frequent, caring interactions.
The world needs to:
– Save energy and resources in every way possible: In our opinion America must create a highly efficient, humane transportation system; we must use cooling white paint, not more air conditioning; build, as feasible, with wood
instead of steel and concrete; outlaw bitcoin, most data gathering, and unethical uses of artificial intelligence; transition to mostly plant- based diets; etc.
– Cultivate trillions of trees and fast-growing plants, including bamboo and kelp.
– (According to our conclusions) Sequester the carbon of dead plants and organic trash by preventing their burning or rotting: organic material decomposes very slowly if kept very
cold or dry, inundated in stagnant, acidic, or very salty water, and covered with earth (imitating bog conditions), or buried deep in the ground and covered with clay and silt.
The technologies exist for quickly creating a workable, comprehensive plan that government-led public-private partnership nonprofit enterprises can execute. If we lead, other countries will follow us.