From 20-22 March, 2019 forty members of human society from diverse scientific backgrounds, entrepreneurs and members of governmental and non-governmental institutions assembled at the Science and Study Centre of the Technical University Munich located in Raitenhaslach. During the workshop entitled "Violated Earth – Violent Earth. Causes and effects of human´s misdemeanor and nature´s power," they wanted to think up realistic, workable solutions for climate change.
The problem:
From early times of its existence, Homo sapiens interfered with the ecosystem he was a part of. Even during periods with low global population density, the ecological, sanitary, economic and political changes triggered by human society were significant, on the local scale, at least. Due to lacking knowledge humans could not assess the wider implications and effects of their doing. Despite this ignorance, ethical principles took hold, mostly enforced by religions, in order to guide humans and their communities towards a good life.
In contemporary times, science has brought about far-reaching knowledge about the complexity of the world we live in, and the processes that shape it. Consequently, this understanding engenders a high level of accountability for our doings and wrong-doings. With global human population approaching the eight billion mark, rising life expectancy, accelerating mobility and knowledge exchange across continents, the “responsibility question” has gained unprecedented importance. The human society as a whole is therefore obliged to not only talk about responsibility, but to formulate clear measures of how to execute it. To ensure a sustainable impact of these steps, it is crucial to take into account and involve all those humans who have “skin in the game.”
