After one of the most controversial and cutthroat election campaigns in US political history, which saw the prospective ‘leaders of the free world’ debate policy with an unprecedented lack of respect and decorum, today is the day that will reverberate for generations. Or so many of the world’s news and political organizations will have you think.
As voters walk into voting booths, and as the world watches from the edge of their seats, the normal sense of uncertainty nurtured and propagated by the mainstream media has been catalyzed by presidential campaigns that take advantage of our most fundamental fears. The reason is simple – this is an incredibly effective campaigning strategy as it taps into one of our primal defense mechanisms. Of course the elections are incredibly important but inevitably one candidate will win today and we will simply move forward as we always have. Fortunately, the world isn’t as bleak as some profess and although there are difficult times ahead the human race has an incredible capacity to evolve and prosper in times of adversity.
Contrary to popular belief we are in fact living in one of the most peaceful and prosperous times ever experienced in human history. Over the last 100 years our lifespans have doubled, per capita income (adjusted for inflation) has more than tripled and we are living in a world where extreme poverty exists in only 1% of the population as opposed to 99.9%. The world has even become safer from terrorist threats, with the number of terrorism-related deaths peaking in the early 1980s and halving by 2009. The cost of food, electricity, transportation and communication has decreased by 10x – 1000x, therefore drastically increasing universal access to these previously rare and unavailable luxuries. By almost every measure the world has become much better for a much greater portion of the population.
This is predominately due to exponential technologies that have enabled unprecedented access and abundance of vital resources, which is on course for further innovation in the years to come.
Agriculture has sustained more people with increased efficiency and at a lower cost than any other period in human history. The problem is that extreme hunger still exists today and industrial agriculture continues to have an astounding influence on global health and the environment. Recognizing the value of safe, effective and sustainable crop care is the first step in catalyzing an agricultural system that focuses on productivity for the long-term and Primal Group are dedicated to driving innovation in this field.
Source: World Development Report, The Word Bank
Energy scarcity is another significant issue and yet solar provides the Earth with 5,000x more energy than we use in a year every 88 minutes. A total of 153GW of net renewable electricity capacity was installed globally in 2015, a record high and up 15% on the year before. The costs of renewables have also declined by 30% for wind and 80% for solar over the last decade, with forecasts expecting a further 15% decline for wind and a 35% decline for solar by 2021.
Source: UNEP and Bloomberg New Energy Finance
663 million people (10% of the world’s population) lack access to safe drinking water and yet 70% of the planet is covered by the resource. We have the technology to produce 3,500 gallons of clean water per day at half the cost of traditional desalination methods using tidal energy. We can also use solar panels to turn water vapor into clean, drinkable water, with one unit able to produce up to 5 liters of water per day
Information is of course power and we live in an age where information has become an easily accessible commodity. 40% of the global population (circa 3 billion people) is connected to the Internet, compared with 1% in 1995. The amount of information available is also increasing. From the very beginning of time until 2003, the human race created 5 billion gigabytes of digital information. We currently generate the same amount every two days.
We have the opportunity to create abundance and prosperity for the planet. All we need to do is invest in the right solutions.