Mankind has reached a critical stage in its evolution and has to come to grips with daunting environmental and existential challenges. After behaving as the rulers of their local world for many centuries, human beings must acknowledge that they are a relatively minor species on one of an essentially infinite number of planets and that they may be about to kill all earthly life, including their own, by their irresponsibly aggressive and greedy actions. This article spells out some of the facts that condition our survival and should inspire our collective behaviour.
