Thomas Friedman
What would I do if I were King of the world? I would start by broadcasting a speech about my two broad goals. Firstly, I aspire to create a world in which more people can realise their full potential—to work, invent, parent, collaborate and create joy and wealth with one another. Secondly, I aspire to nurture a planet whose natural systems can continue to sustain human, plant and animal life in as great an abundance and in as healthy a balance as possible.
My eco-plan would be based on the great biologist EO Wilson’s book Half-Earth—a call-to-action to commit half of the planet’s surface—land and oceans—to protected zones. Right now about 15 per cent of the Earth’s land and 10 per cent of its territorial waters are covered by national parks and protected areas. If we protect half the global surface, Wilson argues, the fraction of species protected will be about 85 per cent, which would keep life on Earth in a safe zone. Vast areas will be off limits to logging, fishing and development, except by the indigenous people.