Black carbon (soot) shrouds the globe Credit NOAA

Oberlin College’s Sears Distinguished Professor David Orr is eloquent and plainspoken about the state of the world – and the failures of governance to deal with the most meaningful and far-reaching climate and environmental issues of the 20th and 21st centuries. “ We have passed the exit ramps to the world we wanted,” he says in a brilliant 21-minute talk he gave in Washington DC to debut State of the World 2014: Governing for Sustainability (World Watch Institute).

Watch the video here (scroll back to start the video)

“We need to think of governance extending over hundreds and thousands of years,” he says, to create effective climate policy, take back “the commons” (air, oceans, forests, the planet’s rich biodiversity), govern on behalf of future generations and turn ourselves around.

His facts are spot on and painful. His list of “must do’s” are emphatic. Do not miss this 21 minute presentation – one of the very best summations I have ever heard of what’s at stake and what we need to do NOW.

Ocean Soul. Brian Skerry – all rights reserved.

Who is David Orr ? Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College, author of nine books, including Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse, published by Oxford University Press (2009). Here is an extended excerpt from his book on climate collapse

Learn more about David Orr