Paul Ehrlich's "Seven Steps We Should Take Toward a Sustainable Society"

My partner and I met and heard Paul Ehrlich speak last night, and it was an excellent and enlightening experience. Dr. Ehrlich covered an incredible range during his presentation, including population growth, consumption, climate change, agriculture, access to water, education, the empowerment of women, the environment, the impact of a society on life support systems and the threats to our existence, the potential for huge die-offs if we do not act now, the propaganda and impact of disproving science, and - very importantly - our cultural evolution. He also wove humor through some difficult subjects along with the interrelatedness of all of the above subjects. I have a great deal of respect and gratitude for Paul Ehrlich and the work he has been doing in the world for many decades now. Below is a glimpse of Dr. Ehrlich's perspectives on creating a sustainable world. Peace & blessings... Molly

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by Paul Ehrlich

One: Put births on a par with deaths.

Two: Put conserving on a par with consuming.

Three: Transform the consumption of education.

Four: Judge technologies not just on what they do for people but also to people and their life-support systems.

Five: Rapidly expand our empathy.

Six: Decide what kind of world we all want.

Seven: Determine the institutions and arrangements best suited to govern a planetary society with a maximum of freedom within the constraints of sustainability.

For the complete article, and also a video presentation of Dr. Ehrlich's "overview of the 'state of the world' from the point of view of an ecologist/biologist" - which includes much of what I heard last night - please go here: http://blog.islandpress.org/author/PaulEhrlich.

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Paul R. Ehrlich is Bing Professor of Population Studies and Professor of Biological Sciences at Stanford University. He is the author of hundreds of scientific papers, and numerous books including The Population Bomb and Betrayal of Science and Reason (Island Press, 1997). His latest book is The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment, which he co-authored with his wife Anne.