The balance is currently out, between more research to tell us what we already know about #climatechaos, the ecological overshoot and the urgent need to reduce material and energy consumption and actually doing something about this. Our challenge lies in shifting social norms, implementation and growing public engagement to enact these changes and most importantly with justice so they “stick”.

#Academia needs to pivot towards facilitating public education that enriches our capacity for radical political action. This means moving beyond traditional research roles and actively engaging with communities to spread awareness and understanding of the root causes of climate and ecological breakdown.

The root causes—colonialism, industrialism, capitalism, consumerism, individualism, anthropocentrism, and ecological blindness—are deeply interconnected, they all manifest in our “common sense” cultist worshipping of the #deathcult. Academia has the tools to help unpack these relationships and present them in ways that are accessible and actionable for the public, to give space for people to lift their heads and see the mess we are in.

Figuring out the best ways to reduce our ecological footprint needs to be a democratic process, with public deliberation and decision-making at its core. Academia can play a role in this by hosting forums and workshops that bring together stakeholders to discuss and deliberate on climate action. Providing evidence-based information and tools to help communities make informed decisions.
Acting as mediators to ensure that all voices, especially those of outside the #mainstreaming, are heard in these discussions.

Overcoming Procrastination and Implementing Solutions. There is a tendency within scientific and academic communities to justify results and avoid definitive action due to fear of unintended consequences. While caution is important, it should not lead to paralysis. We need to strike a balance between thoroughness and timeliness in walking paths through this mess.

Progressive Common Sense Solutions are straightforward and have been proposed repeatedly, yet they are stalled by bureaucratic inertia and political reluctance: Transitioning to renewable energy sources,
Reducing waste and promoting recycling and circular economies, implementing sustainable agricultural practices, promoting public transportation and reducing reliance on fossil-fuel-driven vehicles.

For our more liberal friends, the concept of working ‘with’ the planet emphasizes a harmonious relationship with our environment rather than exploiting it. This involves: Regenerative Practices: Shifting from extractive to regenerative practices that restore and enhance natural ecosystems.
Local Solutions: Focusing on local solutions that are tailored to specific environmental and cultural contexts. Resilience Building: Enhancing community resilience to environmental changes and shocks through adaptive strategies.

In conclusion, academia has a role to play, in balancing, more research on known issues with actually mobilizing knowledge and resources, facilitating education, encouraging public deliberation, and supporting the implementation of outside the current box “common-sense” solutions. The goal, we, need to foster a culture of activism to balance the inmate #fluffy side of institutions and working practices, it’s pastime to get off the fence and do something #KISS please.

2 Comments

  • @info When future intelligence discovers our records they'll go "Hmm, that was an intelligent specie, but any top predator that fails to evolve to avoid overpopulation is doomed for extinction by pollution and depletion." Too late now: large populations make technology a necessity, our technology ensures we will remain too fragile to last. We are overpopulated, and the future conflict of resources between cleaning up the environment and supporting the elderly is impossible to resolve.

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