“We are at an incredible juncture in human history… Each one of us has to start limiting our consumption of ecological resources like water, and our emissions to the environment of wastes such as carbon dioxide. We can do so without compromising our ability to live well, and by doing so will allow others – in the present and the future- to also have a good life.” So said Prof Bob Scholes to the Wits University newsletter in 2015. He also said he is confident that humankind has the technical solutions to overcome the major problems we face, “but whether we can achieve this politically and socially remains an open question.”  “Knowledge encourages action and I have built my research on this premise.”