The Solutions

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But with human ingenuity and optimism, there exists the potential to develop alternate systems that sustain, rather than degrade, the earth. "All of these forces sweeping over the planet are the forces created by human beings," comments National Geographic Society explorer Wade Davis. "And if human beings are the source of the problem we can be the foundation for the solution."

Adds social entrepreneur, author, journalist and filmmaker Kenny Ausubel, "With existing technologies that we basically already have on the shelf or things that we know we can develop in a very rapid period of time, we could literally reduce the human footprint on planet earth by 90 percent, which would be a huge shift to what we’re doing right now."

What will guide this massive change? And does nature hold the answers to help restore the planet's resources, protect our atmosphere and therefore, help all life survive? "I believe this could be like the civil rights movement 40 years ago," says Nadia Conners. "We have to come together and show our leaders we want change while also showing each other that we are unified in saving the life support systems that we all depend on."

As an intelligent life-form at the very top of the food chain, humanity nonetheless is susceptible to the same implacable threat faced by generations upon generations of other living organisms. "When we started the project, we wanted to take a 'big picture' look at how humans have related to the earth and take stock of the state of the planet," says Leila Conners Petersen. "It seems so obvious now but I was surprised to find out that humans are facing an extinction crisis along with all other life; that we are not excluded from catastrophic events; that, in fact, we are the most vulnerable even though we have technology. We learned that the earth is going to be fine. It's us, human beings, that are in trouble."

"We, as citizens, leaders, consumers and voters, have the opportunity to help integrate ecology into governmental policy and every day living standards," concludes Leonardo DiCaprio. "During this critical period of human history, healing the damage of industrial civilization is the task of our generation. Our response depends on the conscious evolution of our species and this response could very well save this unique blue planet for future generations."

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