I can’t think of one problem on this list which would be solved by abundant and cheap energy alone. The problem as I see it is Management. Almost every organization succeeds or fails based on good or bad management skills. Almost without exception whether the organization is large or small, cash rich or poor. Management is usually the single deciding factor in the fate of the entity.

So here is my interpretation of your 10 problems facing humanity with Management as the key focus.



Energy!

With 6.3 billion people on the planet growing to 9 or 10 billion by 2050 it certainly is a challenge. But with every problem we face it comes down to management. Overpopulation is a problem that, I propose should solve itself, if managed correctly. The reason I say this is because each new human being comes with a “super computer” between his ears. If 3 billion more people arrive on Planet Earth there are 3 billion more super computers to work on the problems created by the new population. But it all comes down to management!

There are literally hundreds of new sources of energy and improvements in technology that should be implemented cheaply enough to solve the problem. Solar power, tidal power, algae fuel, ethanol, natural gas hydrates, HHO gas, wind power, hydro power, nuclear power, magnetic power, etc. These are just a few examples.

The developments in solar power alone could be enough to eliminate the problem. The third law of thermodynamics is only valid in a closed system and the sun is outside of the system and injecting abundant energy.

Water

Lack of water is definitely a problem that again comes down to management. If it is managed properly everyone would have access to plenty of water. The problem is, in order for proper management, we need a correctly functioning free market economy and an empowered population. In the majority of the third, fourth and fifth world this is non-existent. And in the West it has been bastardized by corrupt politics and monopolization of the market. Good management requires a competitive market for goods and services.

Food

Thomas Malthus once predicted that population growth would increase more rapidly than our ability to produce food. This was back in the 18th Century. Malthus proposed that population increases at a geometric rate while food production grows at an arithmetic rate. Malthus failed to foresee the power of technological innovation. The doom and gloom scenario of mass starvations never happened in The West.

Worldwide food production was so successful that we could have fed the entire Earth many times over. The problem is distribution. Once again, it comes down to management. I agree it takes energy to create food. And I agree if we have the energy we can feed everyone. But I also believe that we can have the energy and NOT feed everyone. There is enough food in the USA alone to feed the entire world but there are still malnourished people within the United States and starving people all over the world. It comes down to management. The food supply is becoming increasing processed and synthetic…. (I could go on about this one but I’ll make this point later).

Environment

With a properly functioning competitive free market economy allowing for ease of entry into and out of the market, environmentally friendly alternative products become available with much less resistance. Technology is a double edged sword. It can save us or kill us. We do have a choice, a management decision.

Poverty

The only single factor that determines economic well-being of a civilization more than the availability, quality, and cost of it’s energy is…. good management.

Terrorism and War

I would argue that bad management creates terrorism and good management prevents war. Wars may be fought because of energy or more accurately over “control” of energy. Besides this point I have no comment.

Disease

I agree that disease is dependent on the food supply, lifestyle, clean water, health care, etc. In developing countries it is the lack of proper distribution channels and the ability to produce food.

This problem is compounded by genetically engineered seeds that are designed to only produce crops in a single season. Of course, the regime makes a deal with the corporation to ban all natural seeds (which can be recycled from year to year) to protect the profits of the corporation. This type of deal making is contrary to a free market and is unfortunately the norm in our modern (monopolized) capitalist societies around the world.

The proliferation of processed, sweetened, synthetic, pasteurized, irradiated and toxin laced (msg, aspartame) foods has led to an explosion of diseases in the chronic and degenerative category. These include cancer, diabetes, arthritis, allergies, alzhiemers, and parkinsons to name just a few. A few decades ago, Cancer was rare and now it affects one out of every three of us. Obesity and Diabetes is rampant in all western countries, especially in the United States, where the new processed food diet is more widely consumed.

Diabetes is a clear example of this mismanagement of resources. An alarmingly large segment of the United States population is now either Diabetic or Pre-Diabetic. They are being given toxic blood sugar modulating drugs or insulin to “manage” their condition. It has been demonstrated repeatedly that the best way to eliminate the spikes of sugar in your blood is to eliminate sugar from your diet. No sugar (and carbs) in your diet equals no spiked sugar levels in your blood equals no insulin response required equals no need for blood sugar modulators equals no huge profits for Big Pharma. A raw food diet can literally “cure” a diabetic within a few weeks and for as long as he adheres to the diet. Or he can take drugs the rest of his life and probably end up with diabetic neuropathy, retinopathy and ED which results in leg amputations, blindness and divorce.

Access to modern health care is very important and of course should not be limited to Allopathic Medicine but also include more traditional disciplines like Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Ayurvedic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chiropractic Medicine, etc. The complete domination of the Allopathic Medicine model in the West has had many unfortunate side effects and is contrary to the free market which is a cornerstone of my management hypothesis.

Education

I agree that the most effective way to decrease the fertility rate is to provide economic options for women. It is absolutely true that the number of children per household decreases significantly when there is an opportunity cost attached to the child.

Education is crucial to my hypothesis (actually borrowed from Julian Simon, a great economist) that with every new human being there is a super computer automatically included to help solve the problem that he created by being born! Well, that human being is only potentially a “super computer” and without basic education, opportunity and empowerment the computer won’t be turned on. Education is a key to this problem and it if managed correctly can be effective.

Democracy

Democracy or even perceived democracy can empower the people and activate the super computers!. Energy does not induce democracy. Iraq is energy rich but the abundance of energy didn’t help them achieve democracy (on their own). Likewise, a lack of energy does not prevent democracy. Unless you have a benevolent dictator, democracy is the only way to have an opportunity to manage the energy problems facing humanity.

Population

In my opinion, as stated earlier, population growth should not be a problem. In western countries negative population growth is typical. As countries develop and economic opportunities become available to women their economic status puts a price tag on children that was previously not there and population growth declines.

However, if the population growth was managed correctly there wouldn’t be any significant problems. If we were to take the entire worlds population and place it in a geographic area the size of Texas we would still have a lower urban density level then currently exists in the Netherlands. We are not running out of room and we are not running out of resources. The problem is we are seriously mismanaging our space and our resources.

I don’t believe the answer to the problems facing humanity is to wipe out most of humanity. Every time I hear this argument, which unfortunately happens a lot these days, I think to myself that this is probably exactly what Hitler was thinking.

If we could harness the power of the “super computers” in all 6.3 billion people, imagine what we could achieve.

Even if we could switch on 10% of the population we could have significant change.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – unkown author