In 1798, Thomas Malthus wrote his population bomb thesis, in which he predicted that population growth would outstrip food production, leading to mass starvation. He also predicted that as population grows, so too would the demand for resources, leading to depletion and scarcity, and that as population grows, so too would the demand for energy, leading to pollution and environmental degradation.
Fast forward to today, and we've seen how the world's population has grown exponentially. When Malthus wrote his thesis, the world's population was around 1 billion people. We reached 1 billion people in 1804, and it took 123 years for the population to double to 2 billion in 1927. The population then doubled 47 and 48 years later, to 4 billion in 1974, and to 8 billion in November 2022. All this while reducing the people living in Poverty from more than 41% in 1981 to less than 10% today according to the World Bank.
This rapid population growth in number and prosperity inspite of being an innovation success story, predicted by Esther Bosenrop, has put a strain on the earth's resources and has led to environmental degradation. But, as Al Gore has pointed out, "We have everything we need to get started, with the possible exception of the will to try."
That's why it's so important to find sustainable solutions to the challenges we face. We need to find ways to regenerate the earth, atmosphere, and oceans while developing solutions to colonizing space as a space-faring human civilization.
Bill Gates has said, "We need to find new ways of producing energy and developing technologies that are cleaner and more efficient."
One way to find sustainable solutions is by researching sustainable innovation. Bjorn Lomborg has said, "Sustainable innovation is about creating a better future for everyone, not just for the privileged few."
The internet has made it possible for anyone to access information and knowledge from anywhere in the world. We can now learn about sustainable innovation and how to apply it in our lives and businesses. We can also connect with other like-minded people and collaborate on projects to create a more sustainable future.
I've been reading this book – "Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now" by Ryan Panchadsaram (start reading it for free here) & John Doerr, a prominent venture capitalist and early investor of GOOGLE, where he has pointed out, to keep our planet temperatures and society stable, we need to move at incredible speed and scale to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions while sustaining our economic needs by 2050. This means that we need to take quick and decisive action to reduce our carbon footprint and transition to clean energy sources.
This can seem like a daunting task, but there are many ways that individuals and businesses can help to achieve this goal. One way is by researching and implementing sustainable innovations. The GHG emissions today per sector are as follows:
One tool that can help with this research (that I used for this post) is CHATGPT, a large language model developed by OpenAI. It can provide information on a wide range of topics related to sustainability and clean energy, including renewable energy technologies, carbon capture and storage, and sustainable transportation. It can also provide information on government policies and programs that promote sustainable development and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
John Doerr also pointed out that, "Technology is the key to achieving a sustainable future. We need to invest in the research and development of clean energy technologies and find ways to scale them up to meet the demands of a growing global population."
By leveraging the power of technology and sustainable innovation, we can work towards achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and meet our economic needs. CHATGPT can be a valuable resource in this endeavor, providing information on the latest developments and best practices in sustainable technology and policy. We can find out recepies for the best Sustainable and Healthy diet for maximum taste and longevity and minimum cost & GHG emissions.
In summary, sustainable innovation is a key to navigate the challenges that the world faces today, and CHATGPT can provide information on a wide range of topics related to sustainability and clean energy, including renewable energy technologies, carbon capture and storage, and sustainable transportation, and how to scale them up, to meet the demands of a growing global population.
As Paulo Coelho said, "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." And, as Elon Musk said, "Sustainability is not a nice to have, it's a must have." For here and to explore space, colonize other planets and solar systems towards a universe with many trillion humans in the next thousands of years.
So let's take advantage of the technological resources available to us NOW and make a commitment to sustainable innovation. Together, we can navigate the Malthusian traps and create a sustainable future for the 10 billion humans sharing our planet by 2058.
By MARIO SEBOK
MPRO Innovation Advisory Services Lead PMO | Serial Entrepreneur & Scaleup Mentor & Angel Investor
MTP: Simplify Scaling Sustainability
Co-Author: ChatGPT JANUARY 2023
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