State of the Planet

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Sachs at Haverford College on Global Economic Crisis

A slot machine turning up three lemons is how Jeffrey Sachs described the global economic crisis at Haverford College last week.  “Three ‘uns’: It is unstable, unfair, and unsustainable,” he said. “It’s the life-and-death struggle of the poor, and the plight of the planet.”

“You are the answers,” he told the audience. “This crisis is an opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. We have the best president in modern history to change the direction of the economy.”

“We are so far from out of the woods,” Sachs concluded, “and we must do all we can to shift the world’s path to a stable, fair, sustainable trajectory. This is the job of your generation.”

See the entire video discussion here

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

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Dr J G Ray
16 years ago

Yes Sachs has rightly pointed out the good opportunity that the humans have now to save human life on earth; humans cannot destroy life on the earth, but only destroy human life. Humans have to realize that the ‘cowboy economics’ works no more; instead we need to accept the limit of nature’s potentials. Therefore, principles of inclusions – inclusion of the interests of people out of the nations – shall guide all nations in their economic plannings and development. Let Mr Obama, the president of the US (the leading nation of the world), lead the global society to a different economic, political, scientific and spiritual perspetives for a sustainable future for humans on the earth.