By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 25 Apr 22
Images from Unsplash by Spencer Davis and Avel Chuklanov The basics of life â energy, minerals, water, food â are not evenly distributed around the world, so peace and prosperity depend strongly on the ability to move goods and people quickly and cheaply. Thatâs how a seemingly obscure technology revolution starting in the mid-1950s created the foundations for the international trade on which the modern economy depends today â in the process dramatically reducing the risk of famines. With the world on the brink of another global food crisis, this is a story with crucial lessons for our times …
Images from Unsplash by Spencer Davis and Avel Chuklanov The basics of life â energy, minerals, water, food â are not evenly distributed around the world, so peace and prosperity depend strongly on the ability to move goods and people quickly and cheaply. Thatâs how a seemingly obscure technology revolution starting in the mid-1950s created the foundations for the …
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 24 Mar 22
A global food crisis is looming, with high natural gas prices driving up the cost of ammonia fertilizer and the war in Ukraine threatening this yearâs crops from both there and Russia. The consequences of mishandling this crisis could be dire. Research by complexity theorist Yaneer Bar-Yam suggests that high food prices are directly connected to riots. High food prices precipitated the 2011 âArab Springâ, the 2007 Mexican âtortilla riotsâ, and numerous other incidents of unrest. Now we might be on the cusp of a new wave of chaos if we are not able to manage the global supply. To …
A global food crisis is looming, with high natural gas prices driving up the cost of ammonia fertilizer and the war in Ukraine threatening this yearâs crops from both there and Russia. The consequences of mishandling this crisis could be dire. Research by complexity theorist Yaneer Bar-Yam suggests that high food prices are directly connected to riots. High food prices …
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 7 Mar 22
Fence in the colours of the national flag of Ukraine, photo by Tina Hartung on Unsplash We are now at a crossroads in history, and no path forward looks pleasant. The war in Ukraine is killing innocent civilians, disrupting lives, and shaking the markets in energy, food and other commodities, making us wonder how we let ourselves become so complacent in trading with Russia, whose government has shown such little respect for the rights of its neighbors and its own citizens. The obvious path seems to be to boost oil, gas, coal, food and metals production from friendly countries. Cut …
Fence in the colours of the national flag of Ukraine, photo by Tina Hartung on Unsplash We are now at a crossroads in history, and no path forward looks pleasant. The war in Ukraine is killing innocent civilians, disrupting lives, and shaking the markets in energy, food and other commodities, making us wonder how we let ourselves become so complacent …
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 23 Feb 22
When people figure out how to do something that previously only nature had done, this new technology can completely transform the possibility space for a sector while making old ways of doing things obsolete â and all in a surprisingly short period of time. While the time can be very long between when an idea is first dreamt up and when its first practical demonstration appears, the time between the first practical demonstration and the idea becoming  commonplace can be quite abrupt. Flight â from mythology to reality Cave paintings suggest that human beings have long imagined being …
When people figure out how to do something that previously only nature had done, this new technology can completely transform the possibility space for a sector while making old ways of doing things obsolete â and all in a surprisingly short period of time. While the time can be very long between when an idea is first dreamt up …
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 17 Feb 22
Europe is amid an energy crisis of epic proportions, with a shortage in the supply of fossil fuels causing painfully high energy prices. And today, French President Macron wants to revitalize nuclear to solve this challenge. But if you understand the pattern of disruption, you will see why this might not be so straightforward. When it comes to energy crises, Iâm not just talking about today â Iâm also talking about OPECâs 1973 oil embargo, which sent fuel prices soaring. In its aftermath, French Prime Minister Pierre Messmer announced a proposal, the âMessmer Planâ, whose intention was to get France’s …
Europe is amid an energy crisis of epic proportions, with a shortage in the supply of fossil fuels causing painfully high energy prices. And today, French President Macron wants to revitalize nuclear to solve this challenge. But if you understand the pattern of disruption, you will see why this might not be so straightforward. When it comes to energy crises, …
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 10 Feb 22
The first in a new series about how the ‘pattern of disruption’ explains how our societies and economies change and evolve, and where they might be heading. Itâs often assumed that âdisruptionâ is a uniquely modern phenomenon. But itâs not. Technology disruptions can be found at the heart of major societal and civilizational upheavals going back to even the earliest human settlements. At RethinkX, weâve discovered that the rapid and transformative adoption of new technologies – and with them new ideas, new behaviors, and new business models – has followed a repeatable pattern for at least hundreds of years, maybe …
The first in a new series about how the ‘pattern of disruption’ explains how our societies and economies change and evolve, and where they might be heading. Itâs often assumed that âdisruptionâ is a uniquely modern phenomenon. But itâs not. Technology disruptions can be found at the heart of major societal and civilizational upheavals going back to even the earliest …
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 22 Nov 21
Decision-makers at the COP26 UN climate summit might do well to remind themselves of a game called âSix Degrees of Kevin Baconâ. Because only by understanding the interconnection of the worldâs problems can we recognize how they can be rapidly solved by addressing them systemically at the root. Invented in the 1990s by three college students, âSix Degrees of Kevin Baconâ was based on the idea that prolific actor Kevin Bacon has appeared in films with a vast number of other actors. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the movie âDaveâ with Laura Linney who was in âMystic Riverâ with …
How Kevin Bacon Can Save the Planet and Regenerate the Earth Read More »
Decision-makers at the COP26 UN climate summit might do well to remind themselves of a game called âSix Degrees of Kevin Baconâ. Because only by understanding the interconnection of the worldâs problems can we recognize how they can be rapidly solved by addressing them systemically at the root. Invented in the 1990s by three college students, âSix Degrees of Kevin …
How Kevin Bacon Can Save the Planet and Regenerate the Earth Read More »
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 13 Oct 21
Photo by ZdenÄk MachĂĄÄek on Unsplash Many scientists now believe that the Amazon is close to a tipping point, after which it would become a savanna rather than a rainforest. Instead of pulling greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, it will start pumping them into the atmosphere, leading so-called flying rivers – bands of moisture in the air that bring rainfall to the continent â to dry up. âAs many as 10,000 species may be at risk of dying off,â reported Bloomberg. By 2018, as much as 17% of the Amazon rainforest had already been destroyed. According to Time magazine, …
To Save the Rainforests, Stop Doing the Things That Are Destroying Them Read More »
Photo by ZdenÄk MachĂĄÄek on Unsplash Many scientists now believe that the Amazon is close to a tipping point, after which it would become a savanna rather than a rainforest. Instead of pulling greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, it will start pumping them into the atmosphere, leading so-called flying rivers – bands of moisture in the air that bring …
To Save the Rainforests, Stop Doing the Things That Are Destroying Them Read More »
Air pollution endangers billions, but a handful of technologies can make air clean again this decade
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 23 Sep 21
You would probably not willingly drink contaminated water or eat rotten food. But every day billions of people breathe polluted air and do not stop to think twice about it. Thatâs why air pollution is slashing the lives of billions of people around the world by up to six years, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Chicago. With only a third of the worldâs countries home to legally-mandated outdoor air quality standards, the air pollution crisis has accelerated alongside climate change and biodiversity loss.  Gaseous emissions, both the kind that affect the climate on a …
You would probably not willingly drink contaminated water or eat rotten food. But every day billions of people breathe polluted air and do not stop to think twice about it. Thatâs why air pollution is slashing the lives of billions of people around the world by up to six years, according to a recent study by researchers at the University …
By: The Posts Author | Posted on: 14 Sep 21
North Atlantic right whales face an increasing risk of extinction due to climate change. According to a new study by scientists at Cornell University, warming oceans have driven the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population from its traditional and protected habitat in the Gulf of Maine into cooler waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where they have been exposed to more lethal ship strikes, disastrous commercial fishing entanglements and greatly reduced calving rates. The study in the journal Oceanography, warns that if this continues the right whale populations will decline and potentially become extinct in coming decades. The …
Despite Growing Extinction Risk, This is How Whales Could Flourish Like Never Before Read More »
North Atlantic right whales face an increasing risk of extinction due to climate change. According to a new study by scientists at Cornell University, warming oceans have driven the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population from its traditional and protected habitat in the Gulf of Maine into cooler waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where they have been …
Despite Growing Extinction Risk, This is How Whales Could Flourish Like Never Before Read More »
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