MANIFEST English version
For a contract of humans with the biocenonosis of the earth
(Summary | January 2020 | dj)
What does a missing sensorium have to do with the climate crisis?
A small virus can do in a few days what politicians have failed to do in years. Airports are being closed, emergency measures taken, hospitals built within weeks. We do not perceive the danger directly because the virus is not visible. We perceive the effects and the world acts. The danger, the destruction of our livelihoods, which is even greater in scale, is creeping up on us and we have no sensorium for it. We are getting used to greater heat, stronger storms, melted glaciers, 1 million species threatened with extinction, to name but the tip of the iceberg. We don't perceive the catastrophe and we figure there's still time. Some even deny the catastrophe and politicians are drawing up programmes for 2050. The lack of sensors is serious and prevents us from taking adequate action, as is currently the case with the coronavirus. We do not perceive that the climate crisis poses a far greater threat than the coronavirus. The reasons for this crisis lie with humans. Consequently, the Earth's biocoenosis must be protected from humans.
What is needed now is a treaty based on ecology and superior to humans, valid worldwide, with power to protect the biocenonosis of the earth, with the aim of securing our basis of life for all.
Only when ecological laws are placed above particular interests will the money be invested in a circular economy and production processes become truly sustainable. Only then will we have created a sustainable basis for all.
This is possible - today - there is no question whether it is economically feasible - the threat to our existence is real, insidious, it is billions of times greater than the corona virus.
The necessary paradigm shift is countered by particular interests, the lack of a sense of the creeping catastrophe, the power of habit, convenience and the common value system. We are stuck in a vicious circle and it seems that only disaster can stop the cycle. Do we need unspeakable catastrophes, like 2 world wars, which it took to found a UNO? The ecological transformation is necessary. Human behavior changes very slowly. In addition the fear to have too little, to still want to have more, even if some already have enough over all masses, the greed of individuals knows no limit. We cannot force people to change. This favours the present situation. A change can only be achieved through a realization, the understanding of each individual. Understanding these mechanisms and the current situation, on a scientific basis, with objectivity, enables us to break the vicious circle. We have developed laws and penalties that regulate the interhuman level. But this is not enough. The biocoenosis earth must be protected from humans hierarchically on a level higher than the human being, detached from religion, ideology, nation states, politics and individual interests.
The coronavirus shows that this is possible. If we humans want this, worldwide, individual interests of states and power structures must be subordinated - as in the case of the virus, the big picture must be seen. That sounds radical, some will say it is impossible. The climate crisis must be seen in the true dimension of the threat, which enables us to take the necessary measures and implement them now. We are at the dawn of a new age, technological progress is racing exponentially, while the political system is lagging behind in the Stone Age. Our planet is a paradise and we are guests here. If we want the children of our children to experience this, we must act now. We have the intelligence and the necessary knowledge.
The signatories of this manifesto call for a treaty between humans and the biocoenosis earth.
MANIFEST
For a contract of humans with the biocoenosis of the earth
(2.2020 | Donald Jacob)
What does a missing sensorium have to do with the climate crisis?
1. history of development
To understand what shapes our behavior we have to look back.
10'000 years have passed since man first settled down. The sedentary homo sapiens lived in constant fear for survival, fought, subjugated the earth and from this resulted a value system. Our brain is still in this mode. Our hierarchical system of order, based on the right of the fittest, social status struggles are everyday life, one at the expense of the other - the habit of getting through life with the least amount of energy dominates the interpersonal structure.
This has gone well until now. In the last 2000 years a lot has changed in the technological field, but hardly anything in the human field. If one reads books written 2000 years ago, they could, as far as interpersonal life is concerned, also act in the present. The present value system and brain-setting are the breeding ground on which catastrophe can grow and flourish.
Great empires have come and gone, kings, emperors, presidents, religions, up and down - civilization has taken place, man has subdued the earth - has made enormous technological developments. From the earth as a disc, the sun as the center of the universe to the multiverse, relativity, quantum physics - and history goes on.
This leaves traces. With exponential speed, life on our planet is changing. Millions of species are dying out, CO2 increases, to mention just a few aspects. The ecological balance that has grown over millions of years is out of balance due to human activity. We have all benefited from it for decades. We have been driving around with our CO2-slingers, have heated our houses with oil or have destroyed and exploited the environment with products from factories etc. Some a little, some more and a few very, very much more. Now the effects of our actions are becoming more and more obvious, the catastrophe tangible.
How high must the damage be until we change something that has an effect?
According to one study, environmental damage amounts to 6.6 trillion or 11% of global gross product in 2008, predicted at 28 trillion (18%) for 2050, so there is also a need for action from an economic perspective. (Source: UN-backed initiatives, Principles for Responsible Investment and the UNEP Finance Initiative). We are only just beginning to record these figures and make them visible. These costs exist in real terms, but are often ignored. The figures show the immense dimension of environmental damage. As before, these costs are not charged to the polluter, but to the general public, a gigantic madness. The maxim of unlimited economic growth dominates politics and economy. According to the motto more economic performance equals more quality of life. However, the costs and consequential costs of environmental damage and the health costs caused are not adequately taken into account. Justified doubts are raised about this growth doctrine. Senseless structural constraints and a worldwide mad race are the result, which is helplessly held on to.
Technology, science and development are not a bad thing. A car, a plane, the comforts of our daily life are something that nobody wants to do without - and it is not about going back to the Stone Age. On the contrary, it is about moving forward. To push science and development further, but the crucial thing is what values we set as the basis for this. Simply put, if nature, the air, water, raw materials have no or only a terse value, we do not care for our environment and do nothing to preserve it. Products are built that are harmful and we are guided by profit. Therefore the value system is the root, which we must change with reason, so that research, development, machines and all our actions on earth are not a dead end.
Nature shows us how to do it. The forest is an excellent example of an ecosystem that functions as a cycle, even without humans. Over millions of years. Plants via sunlight generate energy, grow, give food, wither, give fertilizer for next plants and countless living beings, live in a community of life. The trees do not grow into the sky, there is a natural measure that limits their size. This does not mean that all are equal, there are bigger and smaller, round, slim, countless variations - but no one-sided, unlimited accumulation or exploitation. We should all see and appreciate the miracle of the diversity of the living on earth, without getting sentimental now, but quite factual.
This starts with our body, it is also a community of life, consisting of billions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi, without which we are not viable. According to new findings, 38 trillion bacteria colonize our body, which is more than our own 30 trillion body cells.
And we as human beings are again part of the large "community of life on earth" and the life and environmental processes that take place within it. We all breathe the air and drink water that knows no national borders, religions or ideologies. The same water has been everywhere on earth.
2. motivation
What is important to us? What is important to us? What drives us?
The spectrum of human behavior and drive is very diverse. Shaped by different factors. What is the meaning of life? Am I what I have? Is the meaning of life the latest mobile phone, a new even bigger car - is it my purpose in life to have more than the others? Is this the basis of my ego, my happiness? Are fully air-conditioned, huge shopping malls our new biotope, where we can follow our hunter-gatherer instincts and find fulfilment under plastic palms and birdsong from loudspeakers? It is definitely a possibility to define one's sense of life through having. It seems that most people live their lives according to this motto.
Of course there are many other models of life and mixed forms and phases of life.
Since the "want to have" motto, in my opinion, shapes our world the most, this aspect is the focus of this essay. Each of us has the choice. The individual profits at the expense of others, this has been going on for over 10'000 years now and will probably continue to do so for a while. We arrange ourselves hierarchically in the system are compliant and seek security in the system. In order to endure the meaningless everyday life, we fill our lives with substitute satisfactions and consumption. If this would not be at the expense of the whole community, this would have only limited interhuman influence, but since everything is interrelated, the influence is great on the whole system earth.
3. value system and habit
That's the way it is, that's the way it's always been and it can't be changed.
Or is change an opportunity? We have a choice.
Brain research shows how strongly habits shape our lives. We spend the majority of our everyday life with habits that we perform more or less unconsciously. Once these habits are formed, they are very difficult to get rid of again, this is only possible with conscious change. Habits shape our view of the world, our consumption of news, our social status and the characteristics necessary for it. Our brain wants to save energy and so it is easier to be in the habitus we are used to than to deal with new ideas or points of view. This leads to cognitive distortions. We prefer to read and listen to texts that confirm our opinion (confirmation bias a cognitive confirmation error). With different consequences. We cannot process the flood of news and information at all and many people get the feeling that I can't change anything anyway, we are becoming socially weary. Our operating program or mindset ting as described above has not changed much in the last 10'000 years. It is time to develop and establish a new generation of the "operating program" with a new basis (value system).
The current catastrophe can be a motivation to think about what is important to me and what is meaningful. Are we on the threshold of a new understanding, similar to the sedentary life 10'000 years ago? From the understanding of the community of life on earth, a new set of values can develop. A development is possible. It is a question of understanding, of wanting, of the priorities we set ourselves. Before the wheel was invented, no one had any idea, 100 years ago no one would have thought that we would fly to the moon, 200 years ago no one would have thought that slavery would be abolished, 300 years ago no one would have thought that kings, respectively their power would be abolished... etc.
Man has the ability to think, only unfortunately this is not learned in school. Learning to think, to understand thinking as a tool, should be the most important school subject. We have the ability to recognize, to see, to smell, to think - to perceive - and to act from it.
4. sensorium
We lack the sensorium to perceive a creeping catastrophe.
Examples in short form:
Insects die on a large scale, the consequences are complex and not immediately apparent, lack of pollination of our food crops, potential food shortages, potential further extinction of species, famine and war.
If the glaciers were to melt in an instant and we had a tidal wave with many deaths and flooded coastal areas, we would notice this. But we take the slow change too late. The consequences are lack of retention, erosion, flooding, loss of land, reduction of the reflecting surface, which in turn leads to warming of the atmosphere.
If we are threatened with a knife, we flee or fight. We perceive the danger immediately and react instinctively.
The perfidious thing about the creeping threat is that we get used to the change and do not react to it.
We continuously destroy our livelihood and do not perceive it.
Then, when it can no longer be overlooked, we try to patch things up. In the mode of the omnipotent world ruler instead of tackling the causes. We are closest to ourselves, are limited socially and do not learn from the mistakes of previous generations.
Does it follow that man must be protected from himself?
Yes, and we have been doing so for quite some time with laws and penalties. However, human behavior such as greed, self-interest and exploitation is not punishable, nor will it change in the short and medium term. They dominate important areas of human coexistence.
There are "winners and losers". Many freeze in conformism and make themselves comfortable in a niche. A large proportion of people rely on technology to solve the problems at hand, while others hope for a leader who will sort it out and ensure order. The shouldering dissatisfaction is a source of nationalism - exclusion - manipulation - war.
That is human.
5. change
Can change take place on a democratic basis?
The existing system and the value system associated with it have led to the present catastrophe. Now programs are to help, which are to work in 2050, by people from this system, with the existing values and thinking, which led to the disaster. Big words are spoken and large sums of money are promised, while the catastrophe continues. A child can see that this is not possible. So it is also children and young people who lead the protest across borders, worldwide - they understand this, they are not yet in agreement and still have eyes to see, ears to hear and form their own opinion and think without immediately limiting themselves or thinking only of their own advantage.
It affects us all. No matter if man or woman, young, old, white, black, yellow or red. Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, right or left, rich or poor. Nature knows no ideologies, nation states, religions or other human institutions.
Particular interests and the safeguarding of vested interests, the fear of change and the clinging to positions of power efficiently prevent any change. The common value system favors "abilities" such as ruthlessness, in extreme cases even cheating, dishonor, greed and exploitation are rewarded and some "leaders" reach positions of power worldwide thanks to these abilities. It is a mirror of our society. Self-interest stands above all others. One wants to have more than the others, still more, nobody knows the limit, ad infinitum. There is no upper limit, that is a great catastrophic factor. Are these qualities useful for the peaceful, sustainable coexistence of the community? When we were still a clan, it made sense to live in an environment with wild animals and untamed violence, in an uncivilized world. Let us put forward the thesis that we live in a civilized world today. Are these "predator abilities" today, from the perspective of the bioeconomic, still the right attributes for leaders?
Or are these qualities, coupled with boundless greed, a clinical picture of a misguided mind? Are we partly ruled by mentally disturbed people worldwide? Is our system afflicted by a cancer that manifests itself in all areas and structures, since it is socially acceptable to reach the top with such abilities? Or are these qualities almost necessary to assert oneself in our civilization because people are the way they are?
Fortunately, not everyone is like that, there are also far-sighted and responsible decision-makers, only it seems they are in the minority.
We raise our children, you shall not lie, not cheat, be honest, be fair, share, be social ... But what's the reality? Those who don't adhere to these values, who cheat, are ruthless, irresponsible, greedy and exploitative, get to the top. Double standards and radical selfishness with all the resulting actions prevail and are rewarded with wealth and power.
How should healthy values be able to develop under these conditions?
We all want a clean home, peace, want to be healthy, have something to eat, live a healthy life and have a house over our heads and not hurt our neighbors. On a small scale, the majority of the community functions. Security is a central concern for everyone and most of them make an effort to live together in social life. There are many valuable, important and positive initiatives. In the circle of friends and colleagues, people trust each other and when I lend someone my car, they get it back without dents, without dirt, fully functional - back, that is a matter of course for everyone, worldwide.
On a large scale, however, nature is being used as a rubbish dump, living beings are being exploited, the "after me the deluge mentality" is being lived. It is said that there is no global warming etc., the integrity of the nation is talked about and the Amazon jungle is deliberately torched. Few can destroy in the shortest possible time what has been built up over decades, millennia, millions of years.
The existing order does everything to preserve the existing, "protect your territory". A failure of the system is covered up as long as possible and the current beneficiaries protect themselves each other and possess almost infinite financial resources to manipulate, if not control, public opinion, "power criminality" corrupts democracy. Real democracy has no chance there, remains an illusion. With all vehemence and strength it is "proven" that ecological change is not economically feasible and means ruin. Scare scenarios such as "jobs are lost" etc. are propagated. Studies back up these statements and they are right, based on the existing value system. Thus, change is nipped in the bud. The bioeconomic of the earth, all living beings, resources and the natural processes on earth, are the highest good for all. In order to take meaningful and effective measures, objectivity is needed, without regard to particular interests or power structures.
The democratic system is reaching its limits when a new order of values is put into effect for the community of earth and mankind. Democracy fails at the level of interhuman action. The problems are talked up and covered up. Only very little changes and far too slowly. Scientific objectivity falls by the wayside. From this perspective, it is hard to imagine that change on a democratic basis has a chance. And since a change in our current habits and values cannot take place without an effort on our part, the number of those who do it voluntarily is small.
6. vicious circle
The lack of a sense of the creeping catastrophe, the power of habit, convenience and a wrong value system prevent change. We are stuck in a vicious circle and it seems that only catastrophe in its force can stop the cycle.
As the coronavirus currently shows.
The compliant safety-conscious administrator has his quality in maintaining the actual state. But if the actual state is not good or even pathological for the whole community, then this preserving quality will become healthy to prevent it.
Just because some people cannot imagine it or do not want it, does not mean that it is not possible or not better. It is very demanding to recognize this, to have the greatness to admit that the present is sick. This requires the willingness to question oneself - not ego-related but community-related - not "name related" but factual - scientific.
If nothing changes in the value system, the same power structures and self-interests will prevail again, it will start all over again. The ego-relatedness of our society is an almost insurmountable obstacle, it is too good for us as individuals, it is comfortable as it is and a change supposedly brings a loss of the existing, a supposed loss and nobody wants that, that is understandable. Coupled with the wrong value system, but devastating - in the end for everyone. The consequence is that the prevailing social order is not questioned. One accepts the present as long as it is somehow possible. By remote control we flee into another world, into virtual space, where we are omnipotent and great, we fade out the present. The consumption of psychotropic drugs and sleeping pills is constantly increasing, but the virtual happiness lasts only for a short time and soon it needs the next kick, faster to digital exhaustion. We become indifferent to real experiences, virtually everything is available at the click of a mouse and in real life nothing has any special value. Appreciation, what is that?
"As a society, we must set ourselves an ethical framework for how we want to use the technologies, otherwise we will lose our power to design and will soon be controlled only by algorithms. They are like digital prostheses that promise us omnipotence and bliss, but in reality degrade us to your lackeys." (Stephan Gruenwald)
How could this vicious circle be broken? Solutions
The prerequisite for changing these behaviors is to recognize, develop awareness and act on it. An appeal to the reason of us all. Creating awareness does not happen overnight, but needs clear, unambiguous rules accompanied by a tough system of penalties, as in road traffic. Running a "red traffic light" must have clear consequences, worldwide.
Information is needed for recognition. Which source of information can we rely on, what is true in the abundance of information? An independent fourth force in society is too fundamentally important. When processing information, it is crucial that each individual thinks and sees what is what and draws his own conclusions.
There are many irrefutable, obvious signs of the catastrophe that can be verified by oneself.
The glaciers are melting, the hurricanes are getting stronger, the CO2 level in the atmosphere is rising, species are dying out, the sea is warming and becoming a garbage dump, the permafrost in Siberia is melting... these are not inventions, they are happening - now.
We live in the 21st century and we know that the Earth is a cohesive system.
They say the economy has to grow, otherwise... is that really our biggest problem?
Quantitative growth is fatal, it needs qualitative growth.
Those who damage the environment at the expense of everyone must be subject to a zero tolerance policy and treated according to the polluter pays principle. Now and not in 10, 20 years.
We have a World Security Council for wars, we have economic summits for crises.
We have a world climate council that tries to take action and sets climate targets, based on the "old" value system, due to the lack of power and individual sovereignty of the nation states, but effective action is impossible.
What we need is a "Living Community Earth Council" with superior power over the nation states. We cannot buy ourselves a 2nd Earth. The truth is that simple.
The time and the knowledge is ripe for a fundamental change. The earth is the living space for all of us and the basis on which we live, all of us, the air we breathe, the water we drink. We have to value, protect and care for this. This requires consistent action that is above the individual interests of nations, persons or companies. We humans need a contract with the community of life on this planet, which is hierarchically above humans. A contract that regulates the common living together of all living beings, water, air - in short, the whole of nature, including man.
Which qualities / abilities are important / healthy from the point of view of the "bioeconomic earth" and thus add value and how do we weight these values?
For the sustainable functioning of the Earth's bioeconomic, we have to identify the relevant values and characteristics and value them in our consciousness. Are these values like... Natural measure, frugality, loyalty, justice, prudence, anticipation, altruism, humor, objectivity, wisdom, love, reliability, mercy, truthfulness...?
From the understanding, with foresight and anticipation that we are a part of nature, we can place ourselves in the community of life, for the benefit and prosperity of the entire community and all future generations. Nature shows us how, in functioning circulatory systems.
The cry of the young is heard, marketed and silently sat out by politics - nothing fundamental happens. We need a universal solution for this catastrophe, one that is superior to man. This is an opportunity to take a step in development; we have the means, we have the knowledge. What is missing is the power to implement it.
Our children show us a way, they have been on strike for a year on Friday. Let's join them and put the demand for a contract with the life community. This is more important than, for example, the worldwide military expenditure. With this we can pay for change, with this we can steer research worldwide in the right direction, with this we can steer production processes worldwide in the right direction, with this we can steer energy production, resource management, agriculture etc. in the right direction and create new jobs.
What and how can this system be "cured", within a near future? Measures for action
Short term
The money investment system is the fuel of the system. Depending on the "engine" in which it is invested, it runs, so this is the starting point for the system's effectiveness, with the greatest leverage and the fastest implementation. As long as 99% of the money still flows into non-renewable, exploitative systems, nothing will change. A control with the polluter-pays principle based on an ecological value system and cost truth creates the prerequisites for a sustainable economic recycling system. How would it be if each nation would immediately invest 50% of its arms expenditure in ecological reconstruction. (worldwide military expenditures were estimated to be 1822 billion dollars in 2018)
Ecological conversion creates new jobs and is sustainable.
to prioritize:
- An "ecological control tool", which checks and evaluates the companies, organizations etc. for the parameters defined in the contract with the bioeconomic, and certifies and regularly monitors them by an independent control body. A uniformly standardized, transparent tool which serves investors and consumers which companies operate ecologically and in accordance with the contract "Bioeconomic Earth" in the closed loop system without damaging the biocoenosis.
- Development of a renewable energy storage / battery with 10x, 100x the current energy density.
- Renewable hydrogen cycle
- Free public transport
- replacement of all internal combustion engines operating on a non-renewable basis, and
Energy production
- Immediate replacement of non-recyclable materials with recyclable
Basics
- the originator principle - cost truth
- the natural measure with healthy proportions to stop the boundless greed and to adapt it to a
tolerable measure for the whole community
draft
agreement between
mankind
and
biocoenosis of the earth
This charter is based on the recognition and understanding that we humans are part of the earth's life community and that nature on earth is a coherent system that knows no national borders, religions or political systems. This contract regulates the coexistence of all life forms on earth and is superior to human laws, countries, religions and ideologies. For the implementation and observance of this treaty, an independent scientific council of the life community, formed by the entire community of states, is needed, which establishes a transparent value system based on ecology, which serves as the basis for the treaty of the life community of the earth. The Council has superior powers to the nation states, political systems and religions.
Key points:
- Basis: The treaty is based on scientific findings from the ecology of the existing nature on Earth.
- Protection and preservation: To preserve and maintain for all inhabitants of the earth a natural system based on circulatory systems. (e.g. forest).
- Circulatory systems: The use of resources, production and processes are to be designed as a circular system.
- Natural measure: Define a reasonable upper limit for individual ownership
(e.g. forest, sensible proportions)
- Polluter pays principle: Use, exploitation, production and resulting damage are treated according to the polluter pays principle. The polluter is fully responsible for the damage and must bear the full costs and consequential costs of 100% restoration of the natural state, 100%.
- Science: free, independent research, uncoupled from the economy under the umbrella of the protection of the biocoenosis.
- Journalism/ sources of information: guaranteed independence and "equally long skewers".
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