Introduction
The problems that we face today cannot be solved in the same level of thinking when we first created them. The problems did not happen overnight nor did it happen over a period of one year or two; hence, the solution to the problem is a process that requires a framework for problem-solving, and must be based on a mutually agreed set of principles, and because it is global and social, any solution should have buy-in from the movers and shakers of the society locally and globally.
Before I proceed to discuss the solution, let me tell a story that happened long, long, long time ago. We were not there when it happened but the scientists and archeologists managed to pick up the scattered pieces, came out with a conclusion and consolidated them into a meaningful set of knowledge that we can now apply to our current situation.
This is about the story of the Dinosaurs that appeared 230 million years ago and disappeared 20 million years ago.
At the peak of the dinosaur era, there were no polar ice caps, and sea levels are estimated to have been from 100 meters (328 ft) to 250 meters (820 ft) higher than they are today. The planet's temperature was also much more uniform, with only +25 °C (77 °F) separating average polar temperatures from those at the equator. On average, atmospheric temperatures were also much warmer; the poles, for example, were +50 °C (122 °F) warmer than today[Wikipedia].
The atmosphere's composition during the dinosaur era was vastly different as well. Carbon dioxide levels were up to 12 times higher than today's levels, and oxygen formed 32 to 35% of the atmosphere, as compared to 21% today. However, by the late Cretaceous, the environment was changing dramatically. Volcanic activity was decreasing, which led to a cooling trend as levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide dropped. Oxygen levels in the atmosphere also started to fluctuate and would ultimately fall considerably. Some scientists hypothesize that climate change, combined with lower oxygen levels, and might have led directly to the demise of many species. If the dinosaurs had respiratory systems similar to those commonly found in modern birds, it may have been particularly difficult for them to cope with reduced respiratory efficiency, given the enormous oxygen demands of their very large bodies [Wikipedia].
Is there a semblance between the Dinosaurs of the Jurassic Age and the “Dinosaurs” in today’s age of globalization? Are the carbon dioxides exhaled by factories equal to or greater than the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by one gigantic dinosaur?
In terms of behavior, Dinosaurs’ survival instinct (e.g. Tyrannosaurus) is to attack and destroy either one of its own in competition with one another or as a predator to weaker and smaller animals. In today’s competitive globalization, our own “Dinosaurs” compete head on with other Dinosaurs and devour smaller ones in the so called innovative mergers and acquisition practices.
Vulnerable human beings like everyone from the middle to the bottom of the pyramid are not spared by the phantom menace, by today’s species of Dinosaurs – victims of predatory practices by our own species of Dinosaurs. “Predatory mortgage lending practices strips borrowers of home equity and threaten families with foreclosure, destabilizing the very communities that are beginning to enjoy the fruits of our nation’s economic success [Home and Communities: US Department of Housing and Urban Development]. The Dinosaurs today use credit as bait. You borrow their money to consume what society produced, and then when you are trapped in huge debt, they threaten you with foreclosure, taking every single property you own.
These practices by today’s Dinosaurs are not wrong; in fact they have been legalized. Gary North says the modern world economy rests on a gigantic system of promise to pay – promises that are never met. These promises, he says, are rolled over when they come due – replaced by new promises. Today, this system costs about USD$300 trillion worth of promises to pay and it is still in upward trend.
Taking into consideration the above premise from Gary North about debt and credit there appears to be some iota of hope in the middle of the pyramid. It looks like all we need to do is increase our credibility to pay and you are off the hook. However, that is just one side of the problem equation, what is disturbing is the threat of climate change and here we need to look at it with foresight and caution.
We continue to be myopic when it comes to the concept of wealth accumulation and we measure progress in terms of the number of shopping malls we built, number of factories and commercial buildings and skyways we erected whether they are built using borrowed money or not. But what we failed to see with our myopic eyes is the fact the cost of maintaining “progress” is in an upward trend – a city that is heavily dependent on a carbon dioxide-emitting fossil fuels that is not without limit. A city that needs more and more natural resources to sustain itself. The cost of living will continue to go up because the price of oil is going up, and the government needs to collect more taxes to sustain the high cost of maintaining the city, and because of globalization.
If the world will not collectively act now and do something, I will not be surprised when one day, our Dinosaurs will become extinct, the entire organic life annihilated, and mother earth goes back to ice age.
The collective act must be based on the sound principles of sustainability, social responsibility and a planet capable of sustaining life.
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