PURPOSE AND MEANING

OPEN SPEECH TO THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED NATIONS OF THE PLANET EARTH

By Sustainability Ambassador, Ricardo Fraguas Poole, author of "Love and Sustainability. Year 2021

"This is the precise moment, a moment of emergency for life on the Planet, to be honest with our selves, and to show all our cards. It is the first step to avoid the self-destruction and the extinction rut we are stuck in."

My fellow earthlings,

Thank you very much for the opportunity to address you all via this online connection and timely general gathering.

We all know we are still facing enormous difficulties as a human family to all happily live in peace and in harmony with one another, with our ecosystem, and with the rest of the living creatures on Planet Earth

But at this point it should be a waste not to recognise and so to take advantage of the fundamental achievements we have just very recently fulfilled as a common family, that, for the first time in the history of the human civilisation, bring us the possibility to evolve into a truly advanced one.

These fundamental and outstanding achievements we have been able to recollect during the last 100 years are: the abolition of slavery, the recognition of gender and race equality, the rest of the Human Rights, the creation of the United Nations to fulfil the universal exercise of those Human Rights, and to bring peace and freedom for all in harmony with one another, and with mother Nature.

Humans, as we are now, with our present brain and functional capabilities, have been on Earth for at least 350,000 years, according to most recent discoveries. 

Well, of all that existence travelling around the galaxy and along the universe within the solar system, onboard our magical autonomous driven spaceship which is planet Earth, only now, in the very present, we have seriously concurred to primarily focus our collective efforts on taking care of one another, and on preserving the ecosystem that give us life.

To gain a bit of perspective and to recognise the state of infancy in which we are as a “developed” civilisation, and its fragility, I like to bring the graphical expression of anthropologist Louise Leakey showing that, if the existence of life on our planet were to be represented in time by the length of a toilet paper roll and its 12 cm, 400 sheets, humans will occupy less than 2 millimetres, at the end of the total of the 48 meters roll. 

But the fundamental achievements that are allowing us to stop killing each other massively, and destroying forever our habitat and life ecosystem on Earth, happened so recently, and during such a short period of time, that won’t even be visible on the toilet paper representation. As it would be microscopical, in the scale of sub atom particles, at the very end of the roll.

The key aspects of the possible positive evolution of our civilisation are happening, for the first time, just right now.

So yes, nevertheless our tremendous present difficulties as human family, undoubtedly, we are living in the present, the very best moments of the history and existence of the human civilisation.

A time when, like never before, we have been able to decide and we have decided to concentrate our time, resources and joint efforts to asure that no one dies of thirst and hunger, that every member of the human family is able to enjoy and exercise the rest of the Human Rights, and that we take care of Nature and preserve its diversity. 

It is never too much, and it is never too many times we review which are the fundamental Human Rights we have collectively, through our public representatives, recognised, and we collectively agreed to protect and to defend, for every one to exercise them.

We mention and talk many times about these two words, “Human”, “Rights”, but sadly, in too many occasions, we lack awareness of its full meaning, and take them for granted.

Human Rights and the respect for Nature are the basic pillars and the indispensable conditions to evolve into a truly advanced civilisation.

The fundamental and universal Human Rights mean that we recognise and defend that we are all born equal, no matter our gender, the colour of our skin, where are we born, what is our mother tongue, what are our believes, or what physical or intelectual capacities we have.

That we all have the right to live and to live in freedom a respectful life with dignity. To breathe clean air, to drink clean water and to eat a healthy diet. With freedom of movement and with freedom of ideas and speech. That we can not only express ourselves freely but also move freely. And that we can choose where to live. 

That we have the right to have a proper safe home with basic resources, lighting, heating, running water. The right to choose where to live and what community to join and the privilege to observe the local norms and to contribute to improve them.

When we refer to the Human Rights, we immediately relate them to the very essential one which conditions the rest, the possibility of exercising the right to live, and away from torture and slavery, to enjoy freedom. But of course the guarantee of other essential rights and basic privileges as humans follows.

The right to have free access to medical care and to contribute for others to have it. The right to have free access to knowledge and education and so to pursuit happiness. And again the privilege to contribute for others have it. 

Everyone has the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. And everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which she or he is the author.

Every human being has the right to a proper job, with an equal proper payment. To work in a healthy and safe environment. The right to security in case of sickness, unemployment, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond control. The right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay. The right to form unions to defend and promote these rights. 

Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

For sure, to achieve the universal exercise of these Humans Rights, education is determining. Not only its access but also as we concurred and agreed 72 years ago in the Declaration of Human rights in the way of positioning, as the axel and foundation of the education system, in every level, the understanding and exercise of the fundamental values of equality, respect, freedom and peace.

Recognising the present existing bullying practices in schools and the continuos gender and non gender abuse and exploitation in working environments, undoubtedly we can do better in bringing those fundamental values to the surface of every educational activity and institution, as an indisputable guide of being, to finally achieve the main goal of the universal exercise of the Human Rights.

“Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.” The Universal Declaration of the Human Rights concluded in one of its paragraphs on December 18th of 1948 when first ratified during the Paris United Nations General Assembly.

Once again, the Universal exercise of the Human Rights and the protection of the living ecosystem of planet Earth are the basics to evolve into a truly advanced civilization.

We are in the right path, and as I said at the beginning of my speech, in this era, we enjoy the privilege of being able to act to contribute to this positive change. 

These are the main goals we all have just recognise as possible to achieve during the present decade, because we have the resources and because we have the will.

We have decided to call these goals the sustainable development goals, SDG’s. Although they could perfectly also be called GLTA The Green Light to Advancement, as they are the minimum requisite to be able to evolve into a truly advanced civilisation. The one that takes care of the wellbeing of all their members and the ecosystem that allows its existence. 

To recognise its embedded nature in a all human activities, and to facilitate their achievement, we have redefined the Sustainable Development Goals in 17 ones, although they all emanate and are conditioned by the exercise of Human Rights, and the protection of life on Earth and its diversity, that inevitably implies the independence from fossil fuels massive burning.

First goal possible and achievable: the eradication of extreme poverty. There is more than plenty for every one of the almost eight thousand million of individuals that at the present time form the human family. Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic, the rest of diseases, all the violence and active war conflicts and extreme meteors of draught, flooding, earthquakes… the human family keeps on growing at a rate of two human beings per second. The good news is that unlike what we still doubted, only 50 years ago, we now have the certainty that there is more than plenty for every one, not only to survive, but to live without need during everyones existence.

We have the resources, we have the technology, we have te knowledge, and, finally, we have the will.

And it is not just a fictional utopia we have decided to pursue. The eradication of extreme poverty it is something we have just achieved in many territories we presumptuously call developed ones. The most “developed” communities in Europe or North America were living extreme poverty just less than 100 years ago. Only two generations ago the majority of the population lived under extreme poverty, on a day by day survival mode, and didn’t know how to read and write. The majority, we lived almost completely away from knowledge and education.

It is understandable that we could tend to forget the pain and essential needs we are coming from, but we shouldn’t, as it allow us to refocus our efforts, recognising the fact that wellbeing, for everyone, it is possible.

Again it is not an utopia. We know now that there is plenty, more than enough for each and every one of the almost eight thousand million people, members of the human family, to comfortably sustain every life along every existence, without compromising one another’s, nor the future generations to do the same. 

I am saying this loud and clear because, apart from what we can assume by “looking around” and studying the social situation, the experts leading the world economy, world banks, development banks, food production, natural resources, climate and environmental agencies, well-founded in facts and science, tell us so.

That is the truth, there is more than enough for every one to be able to exercise the Human Rights. There are so many resources, there is so much to share that this universal exercise of the Human Rights, still to be fulfilled, it is even compatible with the very settled human desire of uncontrolled accumulation of material riches and tangible goods.

We will not go today any further into the meaning of practicing this conduct of excessive material accumulation, once, we all know, as ancient Egyptians pharaohs’ tombs keep on revealing us, that material riches, for as obscene in number as they could be, don’t help much when departing this life. They are always and completely left behind. 

I prefer to concentrate our minds now in a superior idea. Which is that our present generations are gifted with a unique privilege and opportunity. Every one is welcome to take advantage of it. Every one is welcome to enjoy it. 

It is a chance. It is the possibility that also allow us to give reason, true meaning and strong purpose to our existence. This possibility, this opportunity, emanates directly from the capability, for the first time in the history of humanity, we have to positively contribute for each and every human being to join the privilege to exercise the Fundamental Freedoms of The Human Rights and to ensure that our existence does not accelerate the extinction of life on Earth.

It is not a small achievement.

To step into the determined and decisive participation and action it is fundamental to know and to understand this opportunity. Awareness is key. 

Paradoxically, or may be providentially, the fact is that during this precise instant in the history of humans on Earth, a moment when we have just set the foundations to be able to evolve into an advanced civilisation, we still coexist with a reality of self-destruction product of what we interpreted as shortcuts towards development, towards futile and obscene, disproportionate, personal and collective enrichment. All in all and in too many cases, progress, very badly understood.

Yes, I am now particularly referring my self to the ways we have tended to transform and to generate energy during the last 100 years. 

And this is the precise moment, a moment of emergency for life on the Planet, to be honest with our selves and to show all our cards. It is the only way to avoid the self-destruction and the extinction dead end path we are in.

There is a tragic parallelism between the massive killing humanity experienced during the last century with the first two world wars, the still inasimilable torture genocide of our sisters and brothers of the jew family, and the horrible advent and use of the massive destruction weapons. In total more than 200 million people killed. A tragic parallel between that massive killing and the massive also negative impact of human activity for life on Earth. 

Although, sadly, we still experience too much violence on Earth, miraculously we have managed so far not to reproduce it at that scale of the world wars. We built the supranational organisation of The United Nations and recognised the Human Rights to feed the culture of peace and freedom, so we will never reproduce such a level of suffering, killing and destruction. They are the great treasures of our civilisation. And from there, from the common supranational consensus of the United Nations based on the promotion, defence and protection of the Human Rights and their universal exercise, we have also concurred in the imperative obligation to stop the massive burning of fossil fuels, gas, petrol, diesel, natural gas and coal. Not only because the local emissions of refineries, power plants, transport and heating, keep killing people by millions every year by deteriorating more and more the air we breathe. Not only because oil spills and plastics directly kill vegetable and animal life up to te point of extinction. We have agreed to stop the massive daily extraction, processing, distribution and burning of fossil fuels mainly because of the direct impact to the natural balance of the mix of gases in the atmosphere that prevent Earth from cooling too much, or heating too much, and allow life to exist, as we know it.

By, first, facilitating, and then, by allowing our total dependance of energy from the massive burning of fossil fuels, for every human activity and sector of production, during the last 100 years and at incremental rate, we have and we continue to produce every day CO2 in such a proportion, millions of millions of millions of litters, Giga-tonnes and gigantones every day, that even though nature is prepare to capture an excess of CO2 to keep the natural healthy balance of our ecosystem, it cannot cope with such a tremendous excess, and it is dying.

Hundreds of species already extinct during this period and much more in the process of extinction because of human activity. Like a human being when having already 40 degrees celsius of fever, 104 Fahrenheit. 2 more degrees Celsius, 4 more Fahrenheit, of fever for a long period of time could mean some permanent damage. But 4 Celsius, 8 Fahrenheit degrees more, means death.

"Yes, I am talking to you, and to you, that already share the privilege of fully exercising the human rights and, so, can decide what to do, where and how to live your life."

Our ecosystem, the one that allows life on Earth as we know it, is already ill because of the emissions of the daily massive burning humans do of fossil fuels, and already has high fever. Keeping the same pase of massive burning of fossil fuels means incrementing the fever those two degrees that separate life from dead and extinction.

To stop this, to solve this we are fortunate enough to also have the resources, the knowledge, the technology and now the will, finally also by all expressed on the United Nations 2015 Paris Accord the collective awareness and will. We can stop extracting, processing, distributing and burning fossil fuels for our transport of goods and people, and we can stop burning fossil fuels to produce, transform, practically all the energy we use for every human activity.

But although we have the resources, the technology, the knowledge, the awareness, the will and the compromise to stop CO2 massive artificial emissions by substituting our pollutant and non renewable sources of energy, for clean and renewable ones, we have also kept on feeding the industry of fossil fuels with loads of public money, trillions of everyones dollars in the mean of subsidies that artificially sustain the profit of private corporations and investments, and so making impossible the acceleration needed for the energy transition.

If you want to put it clear and simple, regarding this aspect of our collective behaviour, yes, we are very stupid.

But here, there is a positive outcome, and a personal gift for each and every one of us particularly to me and you. I am not now addressing to the sisters and brothers of the human family that are trying to escape from extreme poverty, oppression, and extreme violence. Yes, I am talking to you, and you, that already share the privilege of fully exercising the Human Rights and, so, can decide what to do, where and how to live your life. You have the power to push the positive change, we have the privilege to give meaning to our existence and enjoy it by preserving our ecosystem, and helping others to share wellbeing and the exercise of the Human Rights.

There is no excuse, and I can guarantee that, if there is, it will carry the burden of a life regret. 

Every detail and act counts and helps the acceleration of the positive change we have initiated. From getting, right now, rid of your combustion engine vehicle or pollutant mean of transport, and never step on a gas station again, to drop off all investments in fossil fuels related industries. Or to become an environmentalist or a climate emergency activist. 

From including in your conversations, in our conversations, how regrettably is the behaviour of those country rulers, politicians and leaders that consent or promote the violation of the Human Rights, to stop doing any kind of business with them, giving or receiving investment from them. Or to directly become a civil human rights activist.

Wanting it or not, being aware of it or not, believing it or not, in the era we are living, we all have a determining leading part reserved for each and every one of us to play in the script of life on Earth.

A privilege mission to help every one to enjoy the human rights, to live well and happy by helping others, in peace and harmony with one another and with Mother Nature.

A privilege mission to save life on planet Earth.

A privilege mission that gives purpose and meaning to our existence.

Let us choose to accept it.

Thank you very much.

Love and Sutainability to every one.