Our legacy: how we will be viewed in 2050

This should not need to be the case, because humans, the dominant inhabitants of a pale blue dot in an insignificant galaxy, should be coexisting in harmony so that all our lives can be the best they can be. Instead, this intolerance has resulted in social and physical conflict and has thwarted attempts to progress to a more ethical, sustainable society.

The United Nations could help drive reform, improve the human condition and resolve international disputes. Unfortunately, it does not seem to have the influence and authority that an international body of its stature ought to command.

The United Nations is often felled by bureaucracy in the provision of goods and assistance to the needy. Politically powerful nations can and do veto any major progressive or ethical initiatives for their own nationalistic reasons, which is not particularly democratic. Democracy has its strengths, but nationalistic economic and political objectives are often given more credence than the attainment of ethical and humanist goals in international forums.

It is important that people consider how we can establish and maintain a high quality of life, live fulfilling and ethically good lives, respect the environment and use resources sustainably.

Regrettably, many nations and people seem to have thoughtlessly left this complex yet fundamental issue in the "too hard" basket. It should be the responsibility of all humans to ensure that our planet, and any planet we may inhabit in the future (unless the earth is where we as a species eventually become extinct), is effectively and efficiently maintained for later generations.

The world is now unsustainably consuming resources, particularly valuable metals. If new technologies arise, developing economies evolve quickly, and the population grows at current or greater rates, then the supplies of some metals could be exhausted within a few generations. Despite our best efforts to recycle materials, not all resources are fully recyclable.

We continue to burn fossil fuels to provide most of our energy needs. Despite the fact that these are finite resources and their combustion releases products that exacerbate global warming, too little effort is being expended on developing alternative renewable energy sources.

Without technological advancements to address the impending reduction in the availability and use of fossil fuels, the achievement of which cannot be presumed, our future capacity to generate energy, distribute food, provide emergency services and undertake everyday commerce will be severely impaired.

Humans’ rapacious use of resources is, unsurprisingly, coupled to the issue of human-induced climate change. While the scientific community has been proclaiming the dangers of global warming for many years, many political leaders have either failed to acknowledge the scientific consensus and evidence or they reject anything other than token action, due to national self-interest - "why should we act on climate change when others are not doing anything". This uncooperative and unethical approach has manifested itself in a lack of commitment from many political leaders to definitive action.

Governments and people must do more than focus on economic growth as an end in itself. Governments and people must acknowledge that the human race will not survive on this planet unless we can coexist sustainably, care for our environment, be respectful and tolerant of others, and mindful of our ethical responsibilities to future generations. Governments must act, and people must support governments that do.

What we are currently doing to future generations should not set an example for what the people of 2050 should do to the people of, say, 2100. Perhaps we should take greater notice of, and learn more from, the mistakes from our history, and critically and objectively analyse our current society, where human misery and conflict and environmental degradation are too prevalent. If not, our planet, our home, and future generations will be adversely affected by this generation’s selfishness and intransigence.

It would be lamentable if our grandchildren and their progeny judged our society as selfish, discriminatory, intolerant and short-sighted. Unless we change how we think and how we act, our lack of concern for the planet’s future inhabitants will validate such a judgement.