In order to have hope and to be able to convert that hope into
meaningful change we must imagine a new meme, one that clearly signposts and
paves the way to a good future beyond The Anthropocene. Let us try and imagine
The Symbiocene. The Symbiocene will be characterised by a form of human intelligence
that replicates in society the symbiotic and life reproducing processes to be
found in life and natural systems. The vital elements of The Symbiocene might include,
full recyclability of all inputs and outputs and the elimination of all forms
of toxic pollution, safe and socially just renewable energy (preferably
produced from that safe and distant nuclear reactor, the sun), full and
harmonious integration with physical and living systems at all scales and the
minimisation of entropy in all aspects of human enterprise. Such imagination
includes all of our cultural and artistic responses to the challenge of
creating The Symbiocene.
Once our children are empowered with this vision of the future, they
will have the emotional energy to create it.
