What or where is Safe Earth?

Safe Earth is a vision of profound safety.

It involves:

1. Climate
2. Environmental
3. Human aspects

As the Rose requires thorns to protect it... 

In Safe Earth, ‘safety’ goes hand in hand with far stronger capacity to protect what is good, pure and precious. 

Safe Earth’ is a simple way of referring to what climatologists describe as ‘stabilised Earth,’ as shown in this picture. As you see, there are two possible future destinations for Earth’s climate.

SAFE EARTH involves safety for ALL forms of life on Earth, (not just the human species…)

In scientific and policy language, that means grappling with problems like:

• The ‘6^th Extinction Event’.. and
• ‘Planetary Boundaries’ being exceeded…

The Sixth Mass Extinction:

• Involves loss of about 3/4 of all Earth’s species a relatively short period of time…
• More information? “What is a ‘mass extinction’ and are we in one now?”

Diagram: Corey J. A. Bradshaw and Frédérik Saltré, 2019, LINK

Image: Credit: J. Lokrantz/Azote based on Steffen et al. 2015.

The Planetary Boundaries concept

Defines an ecologically ‘safe operating space’ for humanity on Earth, with  9 categories:

• climate change
• biodiversity loss
• nitrogen cycle
• phosphorus
• ocean acidification
• land use
• freshwater
• ozone depletion
• atmospheric aerosols
• chemical pollution.

References: Rockstrom, Steffen et al. 2009, Steffen, Richardson et al. 2015, O’Neill, Fanning et al. 2018

• Safe homes
• Safe streets
• Safe workplaces
• Physical, emotional and psychological safety
• One’s safety is not at the expense of another

It is a place where gentleness, sensitivity, openness, fragile beauty, innocence and vulnerability can exist; they are protected, not tramped upon or exploited.

Predators, exploiters and “the cruel” will still exist, however, they won’t hold the balance of power.

• There will be a highly sophisticated capability to identity and quick address problems….

Despite more danger, like extreme weather events…

• Humanity will have a bolstered capacity to protect people, ecosystems and Earth in general…