Time to Question Short Term Perspectives

Sir Martin Rees in his closing comments makes a moving reference to the builders of Ely Cathedral and the way that despite the harshness of their lives they built a structure of enduring magnificence. He draws a nice contrast between that aspiration to provide a legacy to future generations despite their relative lack of knowledge about the world and our current short term approaches to problems. Despite all our scientific knowledge our historical understanding of how failed policies lead to more hunger and poverty we seem fixated on repeating them and not addressing how we can make the planet a safer and healthier place for the billions more people who will occupy our world.