How do you want your future to look?

4560000000

the number of years that the earth has been in existence

200000

the number of years since the origin of the modern day human

35

the number of years it has taken the human species to destroy 27% of the world’s

natural resources (1970-2005)

Forests are the lungs of the earth and give us the air we breathe

Tropical rainforests only cover 2% of the earth but house 50% of all life

They regulate our climate and provide home for millions of indigenous people

35,000 the number of plant species we depend on for our medicines, new treatments

continue to be discovered

2 seconds the time it is taking man to destroy an area of ancient forest the

size of a football pitch

An area of natural forest larger than England is being destroyed every year

Earth’s wildlife provides us with unparalleled riches

But we are decimating our planet. An estimated 100 species, plant and animal, are made extinct (lost forever) every 24 hours

Our way of life is fuelled by energy

Unfortunately we continue to rely on fossil fuels with devastating consequences …..

The Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill is one in a long line of disasters

We used to go to war to protect our country - now we only go for oil, in Kuwait, Iraq or in Afghanistan, the latter provides us with an essential

foothold around the Caspian States, an area rich in fossil fuels. This is no conspiracy theory, and it is no coincidence that within the next five years we

will reach a point where the extraction of oil will be outstripped by the demand

Why do we turn a blind eye to suffering caused by African dictators such as in Zimbabwe or Rwanda, where in 1994 657,000 Rwandans were murdered?

Climate change is going to affect us all

Big business made sure that the recent Copenhagen Climate Change Summit achieved little

How bad do you feel during a period of economic recession or when the message hits home that the earths resources are dwindling and that you can’t have everything you want?

I don’t know how you feel … but certainly not as bad as the 11 million children that die each year from treatable diseases. 40% of the world has scarce water supply, with climate change this

figure is likely to increase to 65% by 2025

In 1854 John Snow removed the handle from the pump on London’s Broad Street, which resulted in the discovery

of the mode of transmission of Cholera. Yet in 2011 over 2 million children will die from diarrhoeal disease such as Cholera

Who is to blame for the mess we find ourselves in?

The world leaders have leant a hand ...

as they sit in the pockets of big business

Big business has a big hand to play ...

More than half the world’s largest 100 economies are companies rather than countries

500 - the number of companies that control 2/3 of the world’s trade.

These companies are primarily responsible for the exploitation of natural resources in developing countries from which the people of the developed world gain most

But don’t be fooled by the world leaders or the fat cats in the city and in the multi-

national corporations, the main culprits in all of this are …….

You and me – the normal people of this world who choose to turn a blind eye

Whether it is shopping at the supermarket, petrol station or making a financial investment, few of us in the developed world ever stop to consider how ethical we are

– the truth is that many of us are supporting companies that are responsible for the destruction of much of our natural world

In terms of our ecological footprint, the people of the US are using up twice the amount of the earths resources than the people of Europe and 7 times that of Asia or Africa

We can stem the tide of destruction, but to do this we need to focus on three

main areas:

I) The preservation of much larger areas of ancient forest and other habitat essential to our wildlife and the future well-being of man

II) When we have agreed on how much land needs be protected then we

can plan for a sustainable future by managing the size of our population and matching it to the remaining natural resources

III) To support and invest in ethical companies. Big business is all about

profit, if we turn our backs on the most damaging companies they will be forced to change

If our story wants a happy ending we can’t rely on our governments to lead

the way, it’s down to you and me to make the environmental revolution begin

Whether or not you believe in evolution, life is nothing short of a miracle. It is what you and I are about, it is the environment on which we depend and it is what we search for in the stars. Yet the human species, supposedly the most advanced of all life forms is choosing to destroy

life and is doing so at a catastrophic rate. If we continue to behave as we are then the greed that has engulfed man will leave us with a planet devoid of life and soul, and the human species

will surely become evolutions greatest failure

You can make a big difference Making a difference will take up only a very small amount of your time

In fact other people can do most of the work for you Please click here to see how you can help

Thank you