Are You Safe Earth?
A Lethality Assessment for the Metacrisis
Applying a Suicide Prevention Tool to Our Global Crisis: A Sobering Look at Humanity’s Existential Risks and the Path to Resilience
As a certified crisis advocate, I’m trained to ask one crucial question when faced with someone at risk of suicide: “Are you safe?”
It’s time we ask Earth the same question.
In recent years, the concept of the “Metacrisis” has emerged to describe the profound and interconnected challenges facing humanity. This term encompasses a web of simultaneous environmental, social, political, and technological crises that collectively threaten our global stability. Unlike isolated problems, these issues compound and exacerbate each other, creating a complex tapestry of risk.
As a Metacrisis Coach and crisis advocate specializing in suicide prevention, I decided to undertake a unique experiment: assessing our planet’s current status through the lens of a lethality assessment, an empirical tool typically used to evaluate the risk of suicide in individuals. This exercise provides powerful insights into where humanity stands in the face of these existential threats, treating the world as a single organism on the precipice of self-destruction.
Understanding the Lethality Assessment
The lethality assessment focuses on several key criteria:
Lethality of the Chosen Method: How deadly is the potential method?
Availability of the Means: Does the individual have access to carry out their plan?
Specificity of the Plan: How detailed and concrete is the plan?
Timing and Proximity of Help: How soon might action be taken, and is help available?
Applying the Lethality Assessment to the Metacrisis
To gauge where humanity falls on the scale of risk, here are the elements of the Metacrisis mapped to the criteria of a lethality assessment:
Lethality of Chosen Methods:
Environmental Degradation: Extreme weather events, rising sea levels, loss of biodiversity
Technological Risks: Potential misuse of AI, biotechnology, and cyber warfare
Social and Political Instability: Civil unrest, wars, and large-scale migrations
Availability of Means:
Weapons and Technology: Proliferation of nuclear weapons, access to advanced technologies
Environmental Exploitation: Continued exploitation of natural resources, deforestation, and pollution
Economic Systems: Globalized economies creating vulnerabilities in supply chains and financial systems
Specificity of Plans and History:
Historical Patterns: Recurrent financial crises, historical wars, and previous pandemics
Current Crisis Plans: Climate agreements, disarmament treaties, and international collaborations
Timing and Proximity of Help:
Global Response Mechanisms: International aid, disaster response teams, global health initiatives
Political and Economic Constraints: Inefficiencies and delays in response due to geopolitical tensions
Overall Lethality Scale for Humanity:
• Lethality: 8/10
• Availability: 7/10
• Specificity and History: 8/10
• Timing: 6/10
Renowned systems theorist Donella Meadows once said, “We can’t impose our will on a system. We can listen to what the system tells us, and discover how its properties and our values can work together to bring forth something much better than could ever be produced by our will alone.” This quote resonates deeply with our current global situation, emphasizing the need for a systemic approach to our metacrisis.
Humanity’s Position on the Lethality Continuum
The analysis indicates that humanity currently falls at a high risk level. The interconnected nature of global crises, the availability of means to cause large-scale harm, and historical patterns of insufficient response all contribute to this alarming assessment.
However, it’s crucial to remember that even in the face of such daunting challenges, humanity has shown remarkable resilience and capacity for innovation. As the great anthropologist Margaret Mead once noted, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Applying the Lethality Assessment to Our Personal “Metacrisis”
Just as we’ve assessed the global situation, we can use a similar approach to evaluate our personal challenges:
1. Identify your most severe issues (e.g., depression, stress, addiction)
2. Assess your access to potentially harmful means
3. Evaluate the specificity of any harmful thoughts or plans
4. Consider the immediacy of your risks and your access to support
By understanding your personal “metacrisis,” you can take proactive steps to seek help and build resilience. Remember, your individual well-being is intrinsically linked to our collective health as a species.
Moving Forward: A Call to Action
Understanding the severity of the Metacrisis is crucial for developing effective strategies to address it. As Daniel Schmachtenberger, a key thinker in the metacrisis field, states: “We have to solve for the whole system. We can’t just solve for parts of it anymore.”
Here’s how you can contribute:
Educate yourself about global challenges and their interconnections
Support and engage with organizations working on sustainable solutions
Make conscious choices in your daily life to reduce your environmental impact
Advocate for policies that address long-term global risks
Foster community and build local resilience networks
In the realm of mental health, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, a leading expert in trauma, reminds us of the importance of collective action: “Being able to feel safe with other people is probably the single most important aspect of mental health.” This principle applies not only to individuals but to our global community as we face these challenges together.
A Critical Juncture
Humanity stands at a critical juncture. The Metacrisis presents both an unprecedented threat and an opportunity for profound transformation. By understanding the complexities and risks involved, and by taking action at both individual and collective levels, we can navigate towards a more resilient and sustainable future.
As we face this global “lethality assessment,” let’s heed the words of environmental scientist Gus Speth: “I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address those problems. But I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy… and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural transformation.”
The goal is to ensure that when we ask our planet, “Are you safe?”, the planet can confidently answer in her own way, “Yes, and getting safer every day.”
Note on Methodology: In crafting this article, I worked closely with an advanced AI Large Language Model, leveraging its capabilities in understanding and analyzing complex concepts. Through iterative discussions and careful guidance from colleagues and thought leaders in both arenas, I refined its ability to apply a mental health tool to a broader geopolitical and environmental context. This unique approach allowed for a comprehensive evaluation of humanity’s current risk status, communicating the severity of the Metacrisis in a novel way.
