Report on Global Reports, 2020-2021: The Whale and the Minnows

Abstract

The first survey of 25 recent online reports on the global environmental emergency was published in CADMUS (4:1, 2019), with emphasis in the title on “Scientists Reporting.” This second survey also covers 25 recent reports on sustainability issues, but it is juxtaposed with a relatively long review of the March 2021 global trends report of America’s National Intelligence Council, which received a lot of publicity, and is thus described as “the whale” in terms of its visibility. The NIC report has much to consider in terms of structural forces and emerging dynamics leading to “a more contested world.” However, remarkably, it pays no attention to gathering forces for sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals, or science-based environmental reports from the UN and other respected organizations, described here as “the Minnows” in terms of their visibility. These reports are arranged in four categories: 1) Other General Reports (WEF, GCF, UNOG/WAAS, UNDP, etc.); 2) Biodiversity in Peril (CSR, PNAS, WWF, UNEP, etc.); 3) Climate Concerns (CCS, The Lancet, NOAA, CIEL, etc.); and 4) Proposals (Oxfam, HRW, ILC, FABLE, CIEL, UNEP, WBCSD). If the NIC social scientists had paid attention to the earth scientists and biologists, their outlook would be even more grim. But our contested world could be less bleak if widely proposed transformations to security and sustainability are recognized and even partly successful in the critical decade ahead. Concludes with proposals for strengthening visibility and leadership of the “minnows.”