Why we're here

The first speaker of the first day was Kenny Ausubel, the CEO and Founder of Bioneers, and by means of introduction, he described to us the effects of a warming climate. Higher sea levels, displaced populations, collapsed food system, rampant tropical disease- We’ve all heard it before. But these aren’t the projections for hundreds of years down the road, or for increases in hundreds of degrees. This hypothetic world exists when the atmosphere is only warmer by 4 degrees Celcius, and this world exists only 40 years down the road, in 2050. Even with the most optimistic figures- let’s say that at the Copenhagen summit, all parties agree to and follow through with 80% reduction in 1990 levels of Carbon Dioxide levels by 2050, as they currently propose- we are still walking our way into the world of collapsing ecosystems and 95% species extinction.

This is simply because our most optimistic aspirations are too late and too little. Even by 3 degrees warmer atmosphere, we can anticipate that the Amazon rainforest will dry up and burn, and a continent of people will be without food, shelter, and livelihood. To keep the temperature rise below 2 degrees temperature rise, the next 10 years will be incredibly crucial. We need this 80% reduction by 2020, and then we need more. We have the technologies, they are already economically competitive, and we have the policies to make them work. What we need is the political will, and to have the political will, they need to see public support.

In the year 2020, I’m going to turn 30 years old. I hope that by then we’ve been able to make this crucial value change for our own survival, and that I no longer fear living a life in which I watch the earth I love and depend on crumble beneath our feet. And by 2050 I hope that as a race, we accept and return to a life based on nature. "Life creates conditions conducive to life" and I hope we can follow this wisdom.

THIS is why we’re here.