Who are We?

In the end, that simple question, posed by Al Gore at the Copenhagen climate summit, sums up what's at stake.

Just who are we, as a species, if we don't act now to save our planet for our children? 

Together, in the past few thousand years, we've had the imagination and the energy to utterly transform this planet, to redirect its resources to our common (or perceived) good, and a better, more comfortable life.

After all of this, we can't agree to save it? 

Let's be clear.  We are not saving the planet.  The Earth will go on, recycling its raw materials for billions of years into the future.  Mountains will be built, oceans will rise and fall, structures, man made and otherwise, will be dissolved and reused.  The Earth will ultimately be fine, given time.  That is, until our sun enters its final stages, and consumes it all...sort of the ultimate recycler.

No, it is us that needs saving.  Humankind, and the creatures that share this world with us.  Our reign has been, so far, relatively brief on this planet (after all the dinosaurs ruled for 200 million years...us...well, less than a million), and we are in danger of making it end more quickly than we needed to.

Do we sentence our children (yes, the bill is coming that soon), and our grandchildren to a future less prosperous, and less optimistic than our own?  With dwindling natural resources, and the inevitable consequences of too little to go around for too many...wars, famine and disease?

I don't think we will choose that.  I share what Gore calls his core belief, the belief that animates his life, and keeps him moving forward.  Namely, that humans are better than that.

But we have to act soon to prove it.

They're way ahead, and that's good

Listen in on teenagers these days (without being noticed) and you'll hear a common theme.  No, I'm not talking about boyfriend or girlfriend issues, which are still big news.  No, what you'll hear about is communication...that is, the newest, coolest way to keep up with your friends' lives.

Teenagers are classic early adopters.  If it's new, they want it and must have it.  And these days "it" so often is the latest way to stay in touch.  Now, if you're a parent like me, you may struggle a bit to keep up and keep abreast of technologies that are moving at warpspeed (yeah, that word dates me a bit).  But I'm here to tell you that it's a good thing.  Here's why.

Communication, even in its most banal forms, is connection.  It is sharing a moment in time or space with someone else, and often, with new ideas.  It is the antithesis of isolation.  While some argue that young people are too wired (or wireless) these days, I think we should weigh the negatives with the positives...and I'm convinced the positives win out. 

Our planet is facing some tough times.  Money is tight, debt is high, and global changes in climate and shifts in power balance are making lots of people nervous.  The good news is that we're more connected than we've ever been.  Want to see what they're talking about in England? Browse to the London Times website. Or use google translater to discipher news and opinion from sources all over the globe.  Very little can be hidden...for long.  Many celebrities have learned this (Tiger Woods for one), and governments too.  Connection and communication have their downsides, but it can also be argued that they are like a digital cleanser...they tend to scrub away lies, and promote disclosure and in the end, transparency.

The point is, while we're facing tough times, we're communicating and sharing information as never before.  There is no way to remain isolated from information...whether you're in China (where the government has tried), or your kid's bedroom (where many parents have tried).  It's out there and it's not going away.

Kids know this instinctively.  They have adopted these technologies...the technologies of communication, as their very own and they will fight to keep them.  And that's important.  Because our kids are the future...they will say what stays and what goes.  It seems to me that communication, connection, is in.  To stay.