"In effect we are pushing a lot of species off the planet."  Given our natural resource limitation, Sachs claims, "If we don't stabilize the population at 8 or 9 billion people and lower fertility rates, we aren't able to invest in our kids properly." He also makes a good point on the need to improve infant mortality rates as part of the solution. "When families know that more of their children will survive into adulthood, they have fewer kids."

"With a crowded planet, we will suffer quality problems with food for instance … all the more reason why we shouldn't be putting food in our tanks."  Nor should we be "driving cars the size of houses to have a good quality of life…and investing in war instead of peace."

Because of "geometric growth," Sachs says, "We're up against a cliff wall."

"This was never so evident until China's growth took off dramatically—with a per capita doubling of income every year. This is why oil and food prices have been driven so high."

The View From the Other Side
"The view from the other side is that they don't want to be impoverished and vulnerable.  The view from our side is very self-absorbed, and denying SUV driving is bad.  But reality will set in boldly when China starts changing our climate."

In fact, this is already happening, and experts estimate that as much as 10% of the air pollution in California comes from China.

Sachs, who is known for his 'can do' optimism, claims there is hope. He insists that collaboration, literacy, and inter-disciplinary understanding are key to solving these tough problems in addition to modest investments by richer countries in third world sustainable development.

In his latest book Common Wealth, he says the bill for tackling the issues he raises will come to a total of only 2.4% of rich-world economic output (about one year's growth).

Common Wealth also describes the heart of Sachs' strategy, the 'Reductionist Approach' -- a philosophical position shared by other experts, such as famed biologist E.O. Wilson, that a complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts. "We have to break down a lot of disciplinary boundaries to solve these problems."

An Inter-Disciplinary Challenge
In fact, Sachs explains that Columbia University's Earth Institute was founded and put together for this very issue.  "One of Earth Institute's biggest challenges was getting the economists to be part of the game.  Even getting the scientists to engage in inter-disciplinary activity was and still is a challenge.  The conventional science disciplinary focus that continues to resonate through academia—including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health—is that science is just about publishing scientific papers. We need universities to step forward with practical problem solving."

With respect to solving climate change and earth system degradation, "The scientific community has understood this phenomenon well for 20 years and consequently joined together."  Unfortunately there is significant lag time with policy and public discussion. Wall Street doesn't get it at all, and apparently the Oval Office is the last to know."

Sachs also illustrated the issue of malaria and poverty in Africa. He claims malaria—which kills close to 3 million people a year—was tragically neglected for decades because experts were not talking to each other and rich countries lacked the collaborative effort to make practical, even basic, investments in sustainable solutions.

"For years the multitude of experts in African communities knew nothing about each others' disciplines … The soil scientists really know a lot about how to improve soil nutrients and the doctors really know a lot about how to keep children alive. The malariologists really know how to control malaria and the hydrologists really know how to get safe drinking water in a community."

But at the end of the day, "if you are trying to help a community solve poverty in a malaria-stricken environment, you've got to take an interdisciplinary approach."

The Millenium Project 
In effort to solve many of these disciplinary boundaries central to poverty and sustainable development, nearly 250 experts joined together to create what is known as the U.N. Millennium Project—a project that engages rich countries to help poverty stricken communities help themselves, at a very modest cost, by giving them the initial resources to do it.

From 2002 to 2006, Sachs was Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Director of the U.N. Millennium Project. Shortly after the final release of the UN's Millennium report came the publication of Sachs' book, The End of Poverty, in which he laid out his own strategies for eradicating poverty by 2025.

"The main arguments of the Millennium Project Report, and the main argument of my book is that there are certain places on the planet that, because of various circumstances—geographical isolation, burden of disease, climate, or soil—these countries just can't quite get started. So it's a matter of helping them get started, whether to grow more food or to fight malaria or to handle recurring droughts. Then, once they're on the first rung of the ladder of development, they'll start climbing just like the rest of the world."

Sachs emphasized that the argument points to pressuring rich nations to set aside 0.7% of GNP for development aid and poverty alleviation. "That is not a goal that I set, or that the UN set, this is a goal that was adopted 35 years ago by the world community and the goal that was set again in the Monterrey consensus signed by the U.S. in 2002."

The Market Alone Can't Solve Poverty 
Many of Sachs naysayers argue that development economics have failed and should be left to the free market to solve problems.  Contrary to the market argument, Sachs states, "Markets are lousy at saving impoverished people and by themselves, they are insufficient." As an example he states, "The market fails when $5 mosquito bed-nets [which help prevent malaria] don't get to everyone. Bed-nets need to be given to everyone by allocation institutions." 

But the market is very good in some areas like innovation. For instance, they are instrumental in the move to sustainable energy use, which is "a new approach to global problem solving".

For the same reason great universities can't be run like a business, the market alone can't solve poverty. We need philanthropy and the synergies of many institutions.  "VCs, labs, businesses, universities all have to work together."  

"The UN was not designed for maximum efficiency and flexibility.  It is global cooperation that is so important for the next step forward."

Send Engineers instead of Armed Forces
Sachs also highlights that the US must engage with the world again.  "The whole world will be happy when we return with diplomats instead of armies … or when we send water engineers to Darfur instead of armed forces."

"People aren't sitting around hating us for our freedom…they wonder where their next meal will come from.  The idea that we shouldn't talk to another country unless they surrender is absurd.  To not talk is a guarantee to war."

Sachs emphasized that the right place to be addressing the Millenium Goals is in the next presidential inaugural address.  He also emphasized how critical public understanding is.  "Overcoming fear and ignorance by far is the biggest obstacle" in engaging support in Millenium Goals.

Sachs claims that Americans tend to overestimate U.S. assistance efforts, usually by a factor of about 25 or 30. "They're shocked to find out that it's actually much less than 1 percent of our budget."

In the words of Al Gore in his introduction to Common Wealth, "...We can address poverty, climate change, and environmental destruction at a very modest cost today with huge benefits for shared and sustainable prosperity and peace in the future..."

Photo courtesy of Columbia University