We will assemble a team of actual climate experts to address the crisis and develop a plan. These are some initial thoughts about what instructions we will give to that team.
Our leaders have not declared an emergency and they have no plan. They are still obsessed with personal wealth and power. They are still hypnotized by failed ideas and systems — the very ideas and systems that have brought our species to the brink of extinction.
They are foolish and confused and they will never do what’s necessary to meet the crisis. They live in a dream world, but even that dream world is a fragile bubble which will soon burst.
By now, the ordinary caring and sane people of the world, the people who love Life and Nature, should understand that rescuing the biosphere and ending the insanity is up to us.
This is what the Saners movement is about. We intend to meet the crisis and do the best that humans can do to stabilize the climate, and replace our selfish, greedy culture and systems with sensible caring and humane ones. That is the only way out of the crisis. Every system and every leader and every behavior and every excuse will need to give way to the reality of the fast approaching climate collapse.
Now, The Saners objectives are not limited to protecting our Earth, but that’s the focus because without it, every other desire is moot.
We demand an immediate worldwide emergency program, led by climate scientists, to slash fossil fuels, end climate abuse and repair our planet.
Given the historic and ongoing failure of leaders everywhere — in government and business — to address the crisis, we are determined to engage the most qualified people — climate scientists — to use their expertise to spearhead the development of a genuine science-based solution. And, just as we would (or should) do if an asteroid were heading towards Earth, we will work together to meet this existential threat with all the knowledge and ability and determination we can muster.
Yes, some people won’t. Some people will fight us. But there are more of us and we are the people who do all the work. Also, our love for Life and Nature and our children is a much more powerful motivation than greed or fear. The existence of fools who oppose us won’t stop us or even distract us. We will keep our eyes on the prize. And that prize is a safer and more humane civilization.
The Climate Emergency Team
The Saners have a big job ahead of them. We need to change the culture, and force Big Oil and other major climate abusers to step down. We need to put qualified experts in charge of this badly needed emergency program.
Before we get to that, we need to assemble a preliminary team of climate scientists. We need this team to create the broad outlines of what will be required, the summary of a truly serious plan — one that could seriously limit the damage to our climate, and stabilize our biosphere…even at some diminished level. The Earth will not fully recover from what we’ve done. But we must work to avoid a fatal feedback loop, one that never ends, a cycle of devastation that would effectively turn Earth into Venus.
Towards that end, The Saners will be reaching out to qualified climate scientists (not the quacks), and ask them to create this preliminary plan. To help our movement succeed, we want something we can rally around — a reality-based vision of what we can and must achieve.
We have a vision of that humane and sane society, but not the science-based climate management part. We want to be able to say, more specifically then we can today, HERE is what we are offering. THIS is our future if we are willing to do the work.
Of course, we are also pointing out that the alternative isn’t to keep things as they are. That’s impossible. Our current civilization is one of endless abuse of both the planet and the creatures that live on it. That is collapsing. That is no future at all.
The choice is simply this: life or death. And not just that. We are offering and reaching for a good life for everyone versus a horrible and unnecessary death for all. And even the “winners” die a horrible death. The idea that money can protect them is absurd. The poor and oppressed may die first; but nobody survives on a dying planet unscathed.
What’s In the Plan?
We need to minimize pain while transitioning from cruelty and certain death to caring and sustainability and life. The science will be up to the scientists. Ordinary people, including climate activists, do not have the expertise.
Here’s how it will work. The team will be led by climate scientists, but assisted by other experts of their choosing. This will undoubtedly include engineers and experts in logistics, construction and technology. But no businessmen or politicians or ideologues. This will be a solutions-oriented group.
You can’t defy the laws of physics or biology or geology — so physical reality will be the bottom line. But within that limitation, the plan will focus on the quickest and most effective steps we can take. My personal speculation is that the fastest meaningful step we can do is to stop production of everything except true necessities — food, medicine and the like. But for this emergency team, everything is on the table and what they come up with may be entirely different.
Even though The Saners movement is just getting started, and we will need to find the best way to stop Big Oil and to harness the energy of the billions of people who care and want to make a better world, we also need to begin getting this climate team assembled and planning.
Having a real plan to rally around — even without the details — will help us in a big way.