MOVING TOWARD A STABLE WORLD

by Dr. Peter Raven, Director, Missouri Botanical Garden, MO

In order for us to make the transition to a stable world, it will be necessary to achieve a stable population of an appropriate size; tolerable levels of consumption that the world can sustain; and the choice of appropriate technology in relation to our numbers and our level of consumption. Nations will need to deal with one another in cooperative and meaningful ways that transcend past patterns of mistrust; and individuals will need to come to realize that the world is shared with many others, and is not a series of personal accounts to be drained at will. In our various ways, if we care, we must all strive to contribute to the formation of such a world. Nothing else will work. Nothing else is worth of our humanity, or of the love that we owe to, and feel for, one another.

Remarks by Dr. Peter Raven upon winning the 1995 UNEP Sasakawa Prize along with Dr. Norman Myers, for their contribution to the protection of the environment worldwide. From Pop!ulation Press vol 3, # 2, January 1997