We stand at a crucial point in the history of the earth. Perhaps at no time since the Permian–Triassic extinction event (the Great Dying) ~ 252 Ma ago, has life on this planet been poised at such a precarious point. The ramifications of our misuse of this planet is now forcing us to make decisions that will determine the survival or extinction of life on the earth. We stand on the brink and no further missteps are possible. We either act or become part of the geological record of this planet.
We have ignored stewardship of our earth, have used its resources without understanding what could happen. We can no longer claim ignorance. We know what we do, and see what we have done. From this point onward, we will suffer the consequences of every careless act that we do.
Scientist have been studying the causes of climate change for decades. We know what has brought us to this point, we even know what we should do, but governments lack the will to do anything or are diverted by self-interest, and short-term financial gains. Industry bears just as much blame. Ironically, we scientists also carry some of the blame, because we were slow in alerting the people, and now, we sound like the boy who cried wolf.
Today we not only need to deal with the cause of climate change, i.e., carbon emissions, but we need to begin remediation of the impacts of climate change as well. We at EESEEMR, as environmental scientists, are dedicated to applying what we know about the relationships between climate, land use and landscape dynamics to restore landscapes as much as we can. We hope that through our work we can revitalize the lives of peoples who have been severely impacted by climate change.
It is our mission as scientists, and as citizens of this planet to become part of the solution, and continue as part of the problem.
