Was eating with friends some time ago. At the end of the dinner, while we were sipping some glasses of excellent local wine, the conversation once more turned to climate warming, soil and water contamination, plastic waste and ocean pollution, and… and… and…
In spite of the excellent food, I left with a bad taste in my mouth, and mulling over those ideas. Is our future really so dim? Our food so poisoned? Our planet so grey? Humankind so terribly blind? Are we really all running like brainwashed lemurians towards the final cliff?
Well, when I woke up the next morning – blue sky, shining sun (too hot for the season?) – I decided I wanted to think beyond the current widespread pessimism. Mourning over a lost paradise that never existed does not help solving a problem. And I started listing some reasons to be optimistic and believe in the future:
- The nature: I am writing this post in a remote mountain village. The landscape is stunning. Snow is starting to melt, the first Pulsatilla vernalis open their corolla. Yes, this place is privileged; yes, nature and biodiversity are critically endangered. But given the resilience of life, I am convinced it is not too late. When we reduce our pressure, nature recreates diversity.
- The people: indeed, there are plenty of stupid, arrogant, egocentric persons in the world. They may be rulers of Great Powers or small communities, neighbours or only people we meet in the street. But overpowering them, there is a vast and growing majority of persons (young or aged) doing their best efforts, genuinely trying to improve things at their own level, fighting injustice and helping others. These people will overcome.
- The art: art is inherent to humankind. It blossoms on the ruins of destroyed cities, behind the iron curtains of tyrannies, like the small flowers that grow on freshly liberated glacier moraines. Architects create places of poetry (everybody has its favourite, mine is probably the Chapelle de Ronchamps). Musicians connect the world. Writers denounce human stupidity. Plastic artists explore new avenues, some of them certainly dead end, but others will help us building the future.
- The science: Science, that crystallized as a result of the Enlightment, is one of the pillars that makes us human beings (art being the second). It tells us a story of the universe, where reality is more stunning than any belief. It tells us of reason as opposed to foolishness. Yes, science is today undermined by politicians with not-so-well hidden agenda or narrow-minded and skittish persons. But rational thinking is the only way out of any crisis and science will help us pushing our future forward.
- The technology: Technology has become one of those ubiquitous words that lost their meaning. Basically it is applying science for practical purposes. Today, cohorts of engineers work to improve the efficiency of our systems and develop appropriate technologies for remote places. Never since the beginning of the industrial era have we been so close to a large scale energy system completely relying on renewable energy. For one misused technology blown up out of proportions, there are hundreds of solutions that will positively impact our society.