What Does Earth Need To Do To Make 2020 Better Than 2019?

Here we are, starting a fresh year. What are your resolutions? Eat healthier? Use less plastic? Spend more time with your family? What if Planet Earth could make resolutions? What should they be? World peace? An environmental about-face? What does Earth need to do to make 2020 better than 2019?

- Melinda Murphy

For years now, I’ve been waking up every morning, reading a half dozen news sites, checking out my Facebook feed and then sitting down for breakfast with a black cloud over my head. “What is happening? I mean, really – what is happening?” The news is so dire.

For starters, there’s the planet itself. In November, 11,000 scientists released a joint statement claiming the population of the world faces “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” unless there are major and immediate transformations to global society. Untold suffering? Gosh. That sounds bad. Really bad.

And you can see it, too – our Earth dying. Plastic oceans. Burning forests. Unbreathable air. If the planet were a patient, you’d be exploring experimental medicines since the traditional stuff isn’t working. Or maybe you’d even be discussing end-of-life treatments...

Then there’s the whole political climate. Brexit. The impeachment of Trump. Protests in Hong Kong. Somalia. South Sudan. Mounting US-China tension. North Korea’s launches. The conflict in Ukraine. Venezuela’s implosion. Attacks in New Zealand. Oh my gosh – the list goes on and on. If I wrote about them all, this magazine would be filled with nothing else.

The grim bit

In fact, according to a website called warsintheworld.com, there are – ready for this – 69 countries currently waging war and a staggering 827 militia/guerrilla/ terrorist/separatist/anarchist groups involved. That just seems impossible. Most of these are civil wars, but many are backed by superpowers.

Of course, some conflicts are larger than others. The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is the world’s worst. After years of war and a Saudi-led siege, the UN estimates that 16 million Yemenis face “severe and acute food insecurity”. Half the population is starving.