Can the world’s change of mentality save the world?

Risks increase with rising temperatures, while emissions of harmful gases continue to increase. A new report shows ways to overcome the condition.

The ecological crisis and climate change caused by man have long become a very serious problem of humanity. This is nothing new. However, people burn more coal, oil and gas than ever before, produce more waste and consume more resources than the planet can hold.

« Figuratively, we are looking in the abyss. We know how to go back. However we are continuing to go to it, » said St. Xiaoming, director of the United Nations University Institute for Human Environment and Safety (UNU-AHS).

Why is this and what are the possible ways to get out of the abyss? A report published today by its institute, entitled « Return on a New Leaf, » tries to answer the question. This annual report analyzes how natural risks and disasters are interconnected and influenced by people and what are the potential strategies for addressing these problems.

Many crisis, little essential changes

Good news: According to researchers, a better future is possible. However, many of today’s approaches are mainly aimed at combating symptoms, instead of underlying causes, according to UNU-AHS scientists, based in Bonn.

For example, beaches or soiled rivers can only be cleaned with better recycling systems. Although recycling is a valuable way to solve the problem, the main problems lie elsewhere – in the packaging and mass production system for one use. If the goal is a future without waste, then it is necessary to change the system of a society that throws things after a single use, the report said. It is here that the authors of the report want to intervene.

The theory of radical change

To discover the deeper causes of global problems, researchers have developed the so -called « deep change theory ». It examines the social structures and patterns of thinking that have led to certain problems that continue today. The authors see society as a social construct.

Some ways of thinking have led to the creation of the structures that have caused unpredictable consequences, such as climate change, lack of water, overproduction and the overcoming of global resources.

« Our research has shown that these processes and structures are largely based on the assumption that people can and should rule over nature, » says Caitlin Eberle in an interview for DW that has worked in this report.

This basic assumption appears, in various forms, in laws, literature, films and religious contexts, the authors say. And this in turn affects the goals and structures of society.

The result: monocultures, arranging river flows, softening animals and preserving plants, as well as the use of pesticides and herbicides – all are considered legitimate tools to achieve social goals.

The assumption or model of thought « man rules nature » thus carries risks and represents an obstacle to possible changes, the authors claim.

« Changing this mindset means admitting that people are part of nature, only one species in a broad ecosystem. And that means we should try to better adapt our systems to the needs of nature, » Eberle says.

Also, the widespread assumptions that endless economic growth really brings prosperity, or that the planet has unlimited capacity to absorb pollution and provide resources represent obstacles to change. This way of thinking, from a scientific point of view, is simply wrong, says Eberle.

The necessary transformation

For a truly stable and profound change, internal and external changes are needed. On the one hand, this means people’s personal beliefs and values ​​- that is, inner levers. And external levers can be appropriate laws, tax systems regulations and subsidies that support changes.

Although changing deeply embedded values ​​and beliefs is difficult, it is not impossible. History tells this, scholars say. For example, smoking was accepted by society until a few decades ago and in many cultures it was associated with higher social status and even considered healthy. Today, everyone knows that smoking is harmful and prohibited in almost all indoor environments.

This changed both at the individual and social level. In the mid-20th century, scientists began to reveal serious risks to health and through public campaigns, prohibitions and changes in rules, the attitude of society towards smoking changed.

Change has already begun

To overcome today’s environmental dangers, researchers believe that a change in awareness is needed in five areas: to treat waste as raw materials, to give up the idea that man is separated from nature, understanding that humanity shares a common responsibility, replacing short -term with long -term planning, and reconsidering what is really valuable.

According to Caitlin Eberle, it is not the technical or logistical challenges that prevent people from achieving these goals, but the mindset: « What is needed are truly radical changes in the minds that form our culture and philosophy. We must also believe that such changes are possible and that we can achieve them. »

This change process cannot occur without resistance, the researchers admit. Conflicts of interest, fear and structural inertia are normal. But there is hope, the study says. It is these conflicts that show that society has already begun to change