It is the best of times.
If you are an inhabitant of the developed world today, one of the many benefits you enjoy is an abundance of food, the likes of which mankind has hitherto not experienced in its first hundred thousand years on the planet. From the minute you wake to the time you lay your head down to sleep, the availability of food and drink is almost unending - from the coffee shop at the corner to the drive-in restaurant, and millions of vending machines that hum innocuously in the corner of offices, schools, hospitals, amusement parks and anywhere else one can find a few square feet of empty space.
You are also the beneficiary of an energy infrastructure that delivers 24x7 - something that you take for granted every time you flip a switch and the lights come on, or drive into a gas station to fill up your car. This infrastructure is a direct outcome of the technological advances of the late 19th and early 20th century, when both the oil and electricity industries were growing in leaps and bounds, with strong support from governments that saw the availability of energy as a key driver of industrial and, therefore, economic growth. And while most mature economies have stopped growing in terms of energy consumption, they are still light years ahead of much of the developing world in both reliability and affordability.
And yet it is the worst of times.
While there is plenty to eat, the general quality of food is often cited as one of the prime causes for the growing physical obesity of people across all demographic segments. Whereas infectious diseases used to be the single largest killer of people in the first half of the 20th century, that has now given way to "lifestyle afflictions", of which cardovascular disease and cancers linked to poor dietary habits and sedentary daily routines. Approximately one third of Americans are considered overweight, with a significant fraction of those in the "obese" category - with the projection of this reaching over half the population in the next few decades. And this is after the criteria for obesity have been redefined - if the comparison were made with people at the end of the second world war, that number would surely be higher. The US is not alone in this regard - the UK, Australia and other European countries also have a similar problem, albeit to a lesser extent.
Similarly, while energy is available 24x7, it is typically derived from sources that result in significant amounts of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Excess use of energy, akin to overeating at a buffet table, is the norm and with the growing number of electronic gadgets owned by individuals and households, or the large vehicles that people drive with the view of being safe, society tends to actively encourage (or at least accept without too much of a fuss) this behavior of overconsumption. Even though laws have been in place for years that have resulted in cleaning up of the environment, the need to keep the lights burning in car dealership lots all night long, or heading out for a vacation in the family car every long weekend is so ingrained into the culture that is seems almost impossible to change.
The debate we need to have at a local, national and global level is the solution to this Faustian bargain that the human race has made - while we can realize huge gains, there is also the prospect of massive losses. And where you end up is purely a matter of chance. The largest economics of the 17th century are today backward countries struggling to improve, while the developed countries at one time were at the bottom of the ladder.
If you are an inhabitant of the developed world today, one of the many benefits you enjoy is an abundance of food, the likes of which mankind has hitherto not experienced in its first hundred thousand years on the planet. From the minute you wake to the time you lay your head down to sleep, the availability of food and drink is almost unending - from the coffee shop at the corner to the drive-in restaurant, and millions of vending machines that hum innocuously in the corner of offices, schools, hospitals, amusement parks and anywhere else one can find a few square feet of empty space.
You are also the beneficiary of an energy infrastructure that delivers 24x7 - something that you take for granted every time you flip a switch and the lights come on, or drive into a gas station to fill up your car. This infrastructure is a direct outcome of the technological advances of the late 19th and early 20th century, when both the oil and electricity industries were growing in leaps and bounds, with strong support from governments that saw the availability of energy as a key driver of industrial and, therefore, economic growth. And while most mature economies have stopped growing in terms of energy consumption, they are still light years ahead of much of the developing world in both reliability and affordability.
And yet it is the worst of times.
While there is plenty to eat, the general quality of food is often cited as one of the prime causes for the growing physical obesity of people across all demographic segments. Whereas infectious diseases used to be the single largest killer of people in the first half of the 20th century, that has now given way to "lifestyle afflictions", of which cardovascular disease and cancers linked to poor dietary habits and sedentary daily routines. Approximately one third of Americans are considered overweight, with a significant fraction of those in the "obese" category - with the projection of this reaching over half the population in the next few decades. And this is after the criteria for obesity have been redefined - if the comparison were made with people at the end of the second world war, that number would surely be higher. The US is not alone in this regard - the UK, Australia and other European countries also have a similar problem, albeit to a lesser extent.
Similarly, while energy is available 24x7, it is typically derived from sources that result in significant amounts of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Excess use of energy, akin to overeating at a buffet table, is the norm and with the growing number of electronic gadgets owned by individuals and households, or the large vehicles that people drive with the view of being safe, society tends to actively encourage (or at least accept without too much of a fuss) this behavior of overconsumption. Even though laws have been in place for years that have resulted in cleaning up of the environment, the need to keep the lights burning in car dealership lots all night long, or heading out for a vacation in the family car every long weekend is so ingrained into the culture that is seems almost impossible to change.
The debate we need to have at a local, national and global level is the solution to this Faustian bargain that the human race has made - while we can realize huge gains, there is also the prospect of massive losses. And where you end up is purely a matter of chance. The largest economics of the 17th century are today backward countries struggling to improve, while the developed countries at one time were at the bottom of the ladder.
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