WWF has released their 2016 Living Planet Report. It paints a pretty bleak picture using a number of statistics and indices, including the shocking statistic of a 58% reduction in Earth’s wild animals between 1970 and 2012, headed for 67% by 2020. So humans have simply displaced nature physically on an enormous scale. The ecological footprint index is reported at 1.6 Earths, unchanged from recent reporting at least within its rounding error. But remember this index is itself a rate of change, and anything greater than 1.0 is a path to collapse. It’s like saying you only spend 1.6 times your income last year, but that is okay because it is the same amount you spent the year before. It’s not okay because you will run out of money and you and your family will be sleeping on a park bench at some point.

They try to offer some upbeat solutions. Some days I feel more upbeat than others. Today I feel like our civilization has to be faced with a crisis before we are likely to act, like a severe famine, energy shortage, or loss of major cities. And when that happens, any response may be too little, too late to prevent human suffering on an enormous scale. Anyway, here is the report’s attempt to be semi-upbeat:

Transitioning toward a resilient planet entails a transformation in which human development is decoupled from environmental degradation and social exclusion. A number of significant changes would need to happen within the global economic system in order to promote the perspective that our planet has finite resources. Examples are changing the way we measure success, managing natural resources sustainably, and taking future generations and the value of nature into account in decision-making.

This transition requires fundamental changes in two global systems: energy and food. For the energy system, a rapid development of sustainable renewable energy sources and shifting demand toward renewable energy are key. For the food system, a dietary shift in high-income countries – through consuming less animal protein – and reducing waste along the food chain could contribute significantly to producing enough food within the boundaries of one planet. Furthermore, optimizing agricultural productivity within ecosystem boundaries, replacing chemical and fossil inputs by mimicking natural processes, and stimulating beneficial interactions between different agricultural systems, are key to strengthening the resilience of landscapes, natural systems and biodiversity – and the livelihoods of those who depend on them.

The speed at which we chart our course through the Anthropocene will be the key factor determining our future. Allowing and fostering important innovations, and enabling them to be rapidly adopted by governments, businesses and citizens, will accelerate a sustainable trajectory. So too will understanding the value and needs of our increasingly fragile Earth.