Earth Stewardship, Climate Change, and Low Carbon Consciousness: Refl ections from Brazil and South America - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 368

industrial era. It changed slightly between 1948 and 1989. During these years, the
United States and the USSR rivalry was the main driver of international affairs, but
it was constrained by the nuclear arms race and the real risk of a global nuclear
war. 13 Since the 1990s, war between the major powers became very unlikely, as
their economic interdependence means both sides lose if involved in escalating
confl icts. It is understood that cooperation is needed to tackle global problems.
However, due to the narrow defi nition of national sovereignty that still prevails in
most countries, while humankind is capable of avoiding major wars, it cannot act
collectively in order to cope with global climate change, the deregulation of the
global fi nancial system, extensive poverty, massive loss of biodiversity, failed
states, civil wars, and transnational religious confl icts. Understanding power in this
confrontational sense is a major constraint for advancing global paradigms; revis-
ing it to fi nd effective solutions to contemporary issues is a principal challenge for
international politics. Unfortunately, there are no clear signs that the world will be
successful in completing this transition in time to deal with urgent environmental
matters, so alternatives that balance geopolitical consideration and planetary con-
sciousness must be considered.
Engaging South America further in Earth stewardship means recognizing its
demands in international politics and acknowledging its contributions to developing
tailored solutions to current global problems. Development has always been a central
demand in South America. Because power has been distributed among countries
according to the size of their population and their level of development, South
American countries resent their past as exploited colonies, and demand opportuni-
ties to reach a more egalitarian status with other actors of world politics. Dismissing
these concerns is counterproductive because it creates resistance to international
policies that are of the interests of South Americans as well, but might be regarded
as foreign imperialism by them, thus delaying their implementation. Instead, sup-
porting South American policies that aim at achieving reasonable standards of
development 14 would ensure a more proactive and creative participation of South
America in solving global problems.
South America has important contributions to an Earth Stewardship paradigm in
general, and a low carbon consciousness in particular. First, some of the world's
most precious natural endowments are located in the continent and are still well
preserved. The Amazon forest is one of them. One of the most biodiverse areas of
the world, it is crucial for mitigating climate change, biodiversity loss, water scar-
city, land use change, and air pollution; it is home for Amerindian populations
whose lifestyles are in harmony with forest dynamics. Patagonia is another example,
13 The geopolitical equilibrium was always on the brink of annihilation based on the doctrine of
mutual assured destruction (MAD).
14 A good standard of development could be defi ned as a combination of per capita income of at
least USD 20,000, GINI index < 0,4, almost 0 % illiteracy, an average of at least 10 years of good
quality education, fertility rate below replacement levels, and life expectancy above 80 years
(Viola et al. 2013 ). For other defi nitions check World Development Indicators 2014 , by the World
Bank, and the Index of Human Development , by the UN.