Building the Defenses of the Environment in the Minds of Men

I think the climate change, loss of biological diversity, the destruction of habitats and other forms of environmental degradation have reached crisis proportions. The world population is expected to increase by some 40 percent in this century and as per capita production also increases mankind's footprint will grow ever larger. We are in the position of a patient with a potentially fatal disease that is still asymptomatic. The crisis is upon us, and is worse than almost anyone realizes.

I have written an editorial on my two other blogs suggesting that we need urgently to build the defenses of the environment in the minds of men. I further suggest that UNESCO should take a leading position in doing so:

• In catalyzing the philosophical debate on environmental ethics;
• In making the dominant global culture more supportive of stewardship of the environment;
• In leading the natural science community in its study of the environment, environmental problems and their solution;
• In leading the social science community in its study of the societal causes and solutions of the environmental crisis; and
• In utilizing is educational, communications, information, and civil society leadership and skills to educate the peoples of the world about the crisis.

Check out the posting on either of the two blogs:

• UNESCO in the Spotlight: Science and Communications
• UNESCO In the Spotlight: Education and Culture