Ours is the wealthiest civilization ever. The fact that something like one billion of our fellow human beings continue to live in conditions of dire and debilitating poverty is surely an affront to the moral basis of our civilization. On a global basis we have the resources, the knowledge and the capacities to develop in this new millennium a civilization and mode of life in which pollution and poverty are eradicated and the benefits which knowledge and technology affords made available universally to ensure all inhabitants of the earth a better life and a secure, sustainable future. The real issue is why are we not doing it. At the root of this dilemma is lack of sufficient motivation-motivation to give priority to the policies, attitudes and practices on which a sustainable future depends.
Motivation has several elements.
The economic motivations of people and corporations are strongly influenced by governments, through the policies, regulations, fiscal incentives and penalties that they put in place. One of the most important things that governments could do to foster the transition to sustainability would be to review and re-vamp this system to provide positive incentives sustainability. Peace and security provide strong motivators. Indeed, peace is an indispensable pre-condition to sustainability. Peace with nature and environmental security must be seen as essential components of a sustainable future.