Welcome to the future. Welcome to the 20’s. This could be the decade that changes everything. I am rationally optimistic that the changes will be for the better.
Imagine a future where cities become greener with more trees and parks. With more people choosing to cycle and walk and an expansion of pedestrian and cycle infrastructure. Cities across the globe with clean air.
We could see 100% renewable electricity production and EV’s making use of all the free energy that our local star provides:
If we reduce the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases we’re putting into the atmosphere, we can avoid the worst effects of man-made climate change.
With the media’s focus on short-term bad-news stories it’s easy to think things are getting worse rather than heading towards a brighter future.
Positive Progress
If we look back in history and look at global trends we can see there is a case for rational optimism:
Life expectancy across the globe has doubled since 1800 and real income (accounting for inflation) is nine times higher.
Some of the amazing trends happening right now are counter-intuitive (again mostly due to the media focus on the individual bad-news stories rather than the trend):
In other cases there is progress we may not have heard about:
Instant improvements for the world
There are simple things we can do that provide instant improvements for the world as well as for our own health and wealth:
- Cycle or walk our commute as often as we can
- Change to a 100% renewable energy supplier
- Change all lightbulbs to LED
- Buy fewer things
- Buy things without packaging where possible
- Otherwise buy things with recyclable packaging
- Plant trees
- Eat less meat
The future is here
The future is here. We get to decide what we want it to look like. Having a clear view of the progress being made helps us to see where and how we can continue to make improvements. The positive trends are already in motion and each of us can make simple changes that will instantly improve the world.
The following books tell the story of these (often surprising) positive trends beautifully:
Wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year and here’s to a prosperous new decade.
Welcome to the future. Welcome to the 20’s 🙂