Financial Times (November 13)
Events in Hong Kong are revealing “the thin veneer of civilization…. If this breakdown can happen in Hong Kong it can happen anywhere. And while a civil society can be torn apart virtually overnight, it almost always takes decades to build it back up.”
Tags: Breakdown, Civil society, Civilization, Hong Kong, Revealing, Torn apart
New York Times (April 19)
“Civilization’s understanding of Earth has expanded enormously in recent decades, making humanity safer and more prosperous.” But a new “dark age is a growing possibility” as our ability to predict future weather patterns is disrupted by climate change. Without the ability to accurately forecast long-term phenomena, “we will face huge challenges feeding a growing population and prospering within our planet’s finite resources.”
Tags: Challenges, Civilization, Climate change, Dark age, Disrupted, Earth, Forecast, Humanity, Patterns, Population, Predict, Prosperous, Resources, Weather
New York Times (March 13)
“Civilization is at last turning green, albeit only pale green.” Our focus needs to shift toward preserving biodiversity, rather than merely protecting the physical environment. “The global conservation movement is like a surgeon in an emergency room treating an accident victim: He has slowed the bleeding by half. Congratulations, we might say—even though the patient will be dead by morning. Unless we wish to pauperize the natural world drastically and permanently,” we “must take more serious action to preserve the rest of life.”
Financial Times (November 16)
“The terrorist assault in Paris in Paris that has killed at least 129 people is civilisation’s worst nightmare: indiscriminate attacks in the heart of a capital city on peaceful people…. The immediate reaction of the civilised world must be: collective courage in the face of such outrage; heightened vigilance and intelligence sharing; a targeted military response; and international solidarity with the French people.”
Tags: Capital, Civilization, Collective courage, Intelligence, Military response, Nightmare, Paris, Peaceful people, Reaction, Solidarity, Terrorist, Vigilance
