we are the first generation for whom “later” will be the time when all of Mother Nature’s buffers, spare tires, tricks of the trade, and tools for adapting and bouncing back will be exhausted or breached. If we don’t act quickly together to mitigate these trends, we will be the first generation of humans for whom later will be too late. Sylvia Earle, the renowned oceanographer, puts it succinctly: “What we do right now, or fail to do, will determine the future—not just for us, but for all life on Earth.”
