‘Facing the Future’ – H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, in his Richard Dimbleby Lecture, July 2009, outlined in no uncertain terms the crunch issues that humanity now faces. And his conclusion, correct of course, is that humanity is living dangerously beyond its means because it has disconnected itself from its place within nature, eroding the priority that must be given to responsible stewardship of the world around us. Prince Charles said that “if we fail the Earth, we fail humanity“.
What he is saying is that we have to recognise the finite and delicately balanced nature of the world – there is only one planet that will soon have to feed and support 9 billion humans. And unless we stop abusing natural resources – trees, land, water, air, animals, minerals, people! – then our children are in for a very sticky time!
This much is something that has been known for a long time – but global society is only now slowly waking to the grim reality that is growing before us.
The big question is how to change behaviour in billions of peoples daily lives.
The world’s population increasingly moves towards a lifestyle of convenience and gratuitous pleasures. We all want a slice of the cake, but that super-indulgent dessert, ‘Death by Chocolate’, just might live up to its name!
© Universal Studios
Mr. Creosote, from the Monty Python film The Meaning of Life, provides a pretty vivid analogy for our current predicament – we are gorging ourselves beyond capacity, global market forces (the Maitre D’) are set on increasing our consumption, but there comes a point, like that infamous “waffer-thin mint”, that tips us over the edge with grisly and fatal consequences!
Read more here on how we need to foster a sense of belonging and, in Wales at least which has a legislative duty to promote Sustainable Development, we need to support grass-roots champions for change if we are going to turn the tide on individual hedonism for the sake of our children.
Richard Thomas – July 2009
Paths of Possibility 