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Common Sense for the Common Good: Cracking the Code on Climate Catastrophe May Be Simpler [and Closer] Than We Think

Mark Coleman

Have you ever noticed that humans tend to overcomplicate life’s simple things and attempt to oversimplify the complex? Our interpersonal and societal relationships and behaviors are full of contradiction. War and peace, addiction and recovery, love and hate, success and failure, disease and cure, marriage and divorce, birth and death – our lives fluctuate between polar extremes that continuously push us together and pull us apart. It’s no wonder that when it comes to all facets of sustainability, we are a hot mess.


How we frame, discuss, and proactively pursue tough sustainability challenges like climate risk, energy equity, and severe declines in global biodiversity illuminates how we flow between the polar extremes of overcomplication versus simplification.


For example, in the energy efficiency space there is the adage, “a kilowatt-hour saved is a kilowatt-hour earned.” We can, without sophisticated technologies, processes, or controls, have an immediate and direct impact on reducing energy consumption, pollution, and associated environmental externalities. Of course, with our vast intellect we can also over design, engineer, and deliver complex technologies and create even more complex programs to accomplish the same task. Increasingly our lives are being disrupted by climate-and-ecological risks.


Energy efficiency has long been considered a pragmatic solution to reduce energy and emissions. What other commonsense solutions exist for us to reduce energy consumption?

Common sense, defined as 'good sense and sound judgement in practical matters,' is a characteristic that we should all have by now, yet seldom do we exercise with as much enthusiasm as ego or hubris. For humans, I would argue that there is nothing more practical than survival. One would think that over the compounded acquired and lived time humans have had on Earth, that we must have some common sense. We do, but it does not seem to permeate into all that we are or or do. Humans have a critical flaw in that we are tireless tinkerers. We do not like to leave well enough alone. In our pursuit for [more] knowledge and understanding and greater prosperity, we often forget age-old virtues such as moderation, temperance, and the practical pursuit of excellence.


I believe this is why much of our strife on climate change remains unresolved. We believe, perhaps more so than the simple elegance of a practical measure like 'consumer restraint,' that we can engineer our way out of climate and ecological calamity. There is truth and precedent in our inventiveness, giving lift to our pomposity. Humans have devised some pretty impressive technological wonders in our time. Bridges, tunnels, skyscrapers, the Internet, medical diagnostics, space travel, quantum computing - our ingenuity is quite impressive. In our modern culture however, we seem to take greater pride in our engineering prowess and marvels than from the humility that could be gained by learning from our past failures. This attitude only fuels our arrogance.


The time has come for us to take a step back on ambiguous sustainability (including climate) targets and the tendency to overcomplicate sustainability solutions. The sustainability dilemma before us is not based entirely on the availability or scarcity of money, technology, knowledge, or know-how. We have yet to crack the code on sustainability, and the looming climate catastrophe, largely because we have not yet coalesced the generational will and harnessed the full potential for acting with common sense for the common good.


To effectively address the sustainability risk of our time we must embrace an ethos of common sense as an essential and core value of critical thinking, as well as one that is integrated into the foundation of how we pursue design, engineering, and technological advancement. In doing so, we just may have a shot of evolving in-step with the planet's swift climate and ecological changes that shaping our future.  


Is a climate and ecological catastrophe at our doorstep?  


Look no further than this year’s hurricane season and the devastating impacts caused by Hurricane’s Milton and Helene as evidence of increasingly severe and larger storms. The massive rainfall and inland flooding caused by Helene took many communities by surprise, particularly those in hard hit regions of North Carolina. The rapid ascent and scale of Milton brought John Morales, a veteran Florida meteorologist to tears, as he reported live on the growth of the behemoth storm.


Just this week, on October 9, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) issued their Living Planet Report 2024, warning that parts of the planet have approached dangerous tipping points, measured by dramatic losses of biodiversity. The headline by WWF[i] states, 'Catastrophic 73% decline in the average size of global wildlife populations in just 50 years shows a ‘system in peril.’


According to the 2024 WWF Living Planet report, human activity associated with overharvesting natural resources and food systems has exacerbated habitat loss and ecological degradation. The 2024 WWF report further identified the spread of invasive species, disease and climate change as critical convergent factors that reinforce a negative feedback loop further escalating ecosystem decline and the planet’s biodiversity loss.


Protecting the planet while pursuing prosperity without negative impact has become the existential question of our time.

The most severe biodiversity decline, as measured by the Living Planet Index (administered by the Zoological Society of London), was measured in freshwater populations (85% decline), followed by terrestrial (69%), and marine (56%). The capacity for nature to provision the resources and services necessary for a healthy and vibrant planet, and subsequently, the survival of humans, is under assault. The combination of human and natural influences is clearly taking a toll on environmental quality and the capacity of the natural world to deliver the ecosystem services that have traditionally enabled human survival, i.e., the provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services of nature. For more on ecosystem services, please visit the National Wildlife Federation[ii].


Back to the question, “is a climate and ecological catastrophe at our doorstep?” The answer, by most commonsense accounts, is a resounding yes. A climate and ecosystem catastrophe are most definitely at our doorstep. In fact, we can probably agree that it has made its way well through the front door, kept its muddy boots on, trampled through the house, sat squarely down on the cozy clean sofa, kicked up its feet on the leather ottoman, and made itself right at home.


We have all played a supporting role in letting the intruder into our home

 

Climate and ecological risk and the potential for ongoing catastrophe is here to stay. An intruder is inside our home, wreaking havoc, and making a mockery of us. However, unlike unwelcome household pests, our current climate and ecological risks cannot be exterminated by calling in a service technician. This is a job we need to figure out and do ourselves.


Right now, we are failing, miserably. The data, the persistent risk events, the economic costs, and the tragic loss of human life all indicate that we do not have control of “our house.” As a metaphor, the “house,” is our planet, but it is also the infrastructure and chosen paths by which we have designed and constructed to occupy the planet. In general, our modern civilization has attempted to cultivate land, tame nature, and make the planet our home. We’ve done so reasonably well and successfully. But the proverbial “gloves have come off,” and nature and planetary systems are fighting back with a vigor and ferocity that we have not previously encountered. We certainly have not thoughtfully designed and engineered our infrastructure for the intruder in our home and the ensuing fight that has only just begun.


The proverbial “gloves have come off,” and nature and planetary systems are fighting back with a vigor and ferocity that we have not previously encountered.

Like any war, one must question the underlying logic of what we are fighting for, and why the fight must ensue. Right now, we are caught up in and distracted by an ideological and political battle regarding climate risk and the plant’s state of health. Meanwhile, the forces that are underway to shape the planet and our collective futures do not care about our cultural perspective and interpersonal infighting. The hypersensitive and politicized debate that continues to exhaustingly play out over who is right and who is wrong on climate change is an irrelevant sideshow to the enormous change happening right in front of us, right under our feet, and right within our home. The classic idiom, “we’re simply rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship,” comes to the top of mind.


We are waging the wrong war, fighting the futile fight, which is, against ourselves. In this lose-lose battle we have yet to reach a common ground on how we can remove the unnecessary obfuscation surrounding climate change and focus on commonsense actions that can bridge the chasm between our perceptions and the realities of a dynamic planet.


Utopia [re]found, how lucky are [were] we?


Our home has always been in a state of flux. Humans never needed to look for a utopia. It has, at least by the measure of human existence, always existed beneath our feet. How lucky are we?


The manner by which humans have taken advantage of this utopian environment has, however, created a host of social, economic, environmental, public health, and humanitarian crises. Essentially, we are exploring the Universe and the potential to colonize other planets including Mars, because we sense that what was once a pristine paradise may not continue to produce the fruits and freedom we have selfishly enjoyed.


This said, our occupation of Earth has been afforded by its own ‘Goldilocks’ period of geologic, chemical, biological, and planetary ripening. And, oh boy! Did we arrive at harvest time or what! To put it another way, humans basically won the Universe’s “Mega Jackpot, trifecta box, and roulette wheel” all at once. All the necessary conditions to support our evolution and survival have been put in a mixer and blended just right for the past few million years. A few million years may seem like a long time to create paradise, yet it’s but a fraction of the time that the planet has been busy building the right foundation to stand up our home.


In our divisive and highly politicized culture, we continue to gamble away our collective future.

It has long been time for humanity to stop gambling away our future. The signs could not be clearer. For us to maintain (let alone, improve upon) our home, we need to acknowledge and fully accept that climate and ecosystem risks have rooted themselves deep within our collective foundation. The climate and ecological challenges we face do not differentiate across political party, religious affiliation, economic status, gender identity or any other socio-economic-cultural delineation. The planet has been our common ground. Now we must work together for the common good in the face of an uncommon adversary.


Today, here and now, we have the underlying wisdom, intellect, technology, and tools to adapt to a changing climate as we adopt a more resilient, sustainable, and restorative infrastructure. Guided by commonsense principles for adopting a preventive, predictive, and proactive posture on how we pursue prosperity, we can create positive and pragmatic solutions that enhance our quality of life, deliver safety and security, protect and heal our (planetary) home, as we seek to ensure the resilience and sustainability of our personal home.


Therein lies the challenge. Human ingenuity is a powerful thing. Our rapid technological advance is giving rise to enormous power and new capability. Just consider the amazing potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing. How we wield and put this power and capability to use (i.e., for the common good or as a division line among people) in coming years will be a key determinant of our future prosperity.


The planet is asking us to evolve, Are we listening?


We must shift our logic and reasoning away from questions like, “are we facing a climate and ecological catastrophe,” and instead focus on cracking the code on commonsense solutions to advance today. We must pursue both temperance and restraint regarding out overconsumption of resources, and we must equally pursue aggressive integration of knowledge so that we can transition our infrastructure and our home, to be more adaptive, resilient, and restorative.


Are we listening to what our beautiful home, Earth, is saying?

There currently is no silver bullet technology that will change our trajectory to save us or the planet. Our ability to survive and thrive is predicated on whether we can live, learn, and lead together. This task, albeit the ultimate example of common sense, has always been, and remains, the greatest challenge of humans. We have so much in common, yet we create our own confusion and chaos. We have shown, that when we work together toward a common goal, we can accomplish incredible feats including cracking the code on disease, exploring the far reaches of the Universe, and designing more resilient and adaptive cities. So why then do we continue to remain stuck in a cyclical loop and culture of cynicism, distrust, and divisiveness?


The planet is evolving, and changes are underway at the hand of humans. This evolution and change does not (as a point of opinion), offer any less of a utopia for humans to embrace than it did yesterday, a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand years ago. Just as it has always been and shall remain, the planet and its capacity to provide us with prosperity, comes down to what we make of it. What we make of it requires that we evoke common sense for the common good. We have the the option to make wise, practical and pragmatic decisions in the present, as opposed to creating unnecessary challenges.


The planet, our home, is beckoning us to evolve, emotionally, intelligently, and perhaps spiritually. Will we answer the call? Can we put aside our differences and find the courage to work collaboratively, take care of each other, and pursue prosperity, with common sense, pragmatism, and resolve?



Sources:

[i] Source: World Wildlife Fund, “Catastrophic 73% decline in the average size of global wildlife populations in just 50 years reveals a ‘system in peril’.” Accessed October 11, 2024. https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/catastrophic-73-decline-in-the-average-size-of-global-wildlife-populations-in-just-50-years-reveals-a-system-in-peril

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