Isn't the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn't it our responsibility to bring this about?
Interpretation
The quote suggests that the collapse of industrialized civilizations may be necessary for the hope of a better planet, urging us to take responsibility for this change.
Maurice Strong's quote reflects a critical view of industrialization's impact on the environment, positing that the current civilization's structure may be detrimental to the planet's health. It challenges us to rethink our role in society and the ecological crisis, implying that we might need to take drastic actions to ensure a sustainable future for the Earth. The quote provokes thought about our collective responsibilities toward environmental issues and the potential necessity of radical change to attain a healthier planet.
In practice
During a conference on climate change, this quote can be used to provoke thought about our current trajectory and the need for drastic measures.
The concept of national sovereignty has been an immutable, indeed sacred, principle of international relations. It is a principle which will yield only slowly and reluctantly to the new imperatives of global environmental cooperation. It is simply not feasible for sovereignty to be exercised unilaterally by individual nation states, however powerful. The global community must be assured of environmental security.
After all, sustainability means running the global environment - Earth Inc. - like a corporation: with depreciation, amortization and maintenance accounts. In other words, keeping the asset whole, rather than undermining your natural capital.
A citizen of an advanced industrialized nation consumes in six months the energy and raw materials that have to last the citizen of a developing country his entire lifetime.
The basis for true change is freedom from negativity. And that's what acceptance implies: no negativity about what is. And then you see what this moment requires: what is it that is required now so that life can express itself more fully?
The evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond, and the surrender of the principal insurgent army, give hope of a righteous and speedy peace whose joyous expression can not be restrained. In the midst of this, however, He, from Whom all blessings flow, must not be forgotten. A call for a national thanksgiving is being prepared, and will be duly promulgated.
That night I lie out under the stars again. The Pleiades are there winking at me. I am no longer on my way from one place to another. I have changed lives. My life now is as black and white as night and day; a life of fierce struggle under the sun, and peaceful reflection under the night sky. I feel as though I am floating on a raft far, far away from any world I ever knew.
These so-called extremists in Pakistan should be brought into the mainstream; if you marginalize them, you radicalize them.
So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time. As far as I'm concerned you're just another picture to burn.
We must rediscover our faith in the future and join with one another to ensure that nonviolence is the prevalent choice for government, law enforcement, the non-profit sector, business, education, media, entertainment, arts, and for the global citizenry.
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