A Response from Ben Heard, founder of Decarbonise SA
Sustainability practitioners need to love humanity again, and I use the word “love” advisedly. Lots of environmentalists/sustainability professionals fall out of love with humanity. When as a sustainability practitioner you have fallen in love with humanity again as a species, as well as all the other ones you care about, it provides a powerful change in perspective. Suddenly every human soul is an exciting possibility, not a frightening threat. Our science, culture, and the other advents of our civilisation provide genuine consolation for some of the losses we incur along the journey because they are, truly, wondrous.
We must open our eyes to the possibilities of restoration and return. The future of our planet’s biodiversity cannot be the same as its past. Yet it can be radically different from our current state if we want it to be. It can be denser, richer and more supportive. Ecomodernists acknowledge this. They embrace the responsibility and the potential for wonderful outcomes.
We must welcome and embrace science and its child, technology, without bias. It is out major tool. With our wits, wiles and intellects we can find the pressure points on the juggernaut. But it is unquestionably technology that will let us activate them most powerfully to redirect the momentum of civilisation and bring us to a safer, softer landing as we reach the peak of our population and plan for what is to follow. An Ecomodernist Manifesto treats this as a basic starting point, and it is the more powerful for it.