The human condition, in which we thrive on vast knowledge of our place in the cosmos and our influence on Earth, and on profound understanding of our body plan and its origins, and the unique traits of our intelligence, of spirit, imagination and dignity, fostered amongst societies each with customs and tolerances adapted to their own ecological and historical contexts, driving cumulative cultural developments and technological innovations that mould fabulously wealthy and powerful civilisations; in which our adventurous sociality builds cooperative networks to engineer expansions into every habitable region of the world and to exploit Earth’s resources ever more efficiently, until our insatiable growth exhausts ecosystems and destabilises climate, straining the integrity of our interdependencies amongst each other, and with nature, to breaking point and beyond, and in which our collective decisions to take responsibility for the wellbeing of future generations hang on a golden thread.