It gets better than you think
We pay 10x as much attention to negative news as we do to positive news. We are inundated with negative news on every conceivable device.
Is our world really that bad? In this blog I want to show that things are getting better, including the most recent (technological) developments.
NB: I am not concerned with ignoring the problems that this world still has. I sincerely hope that mankind, with the help of technology, will be able to ensure that this world as a whole becomes better.
I want to take you to a more positive worldview than we see passing by every day. Feel free to forward this article to a gloomy fellow human being.
Are you traveling with us?
1. Health
Wherever you look in this world, all mortality rates have fallen dramatically over the last 300 years.
The following graph shows life expectancy at birth in different countries. Just 100 years ago, the life expectancy of a baby in India or South Korea was only 23 years. Today, life expectancy in India has tripled. In South Korea, it has quadrupled, making it higher than in the UK. Source: Our World in Data
Healthcare continues to make great leaps in development. A Chinese robot dentist implanted a 3D-printed tooth in a female patient last month. Human medical staff only helped with the preparation.
Imagine if robots could perform medical procedures anywhere in the world for the price of electricity (a robot doesn't need a doctor's salary).
2. Environment
30 years ago, world leaders signed the Montreal Protocol. This international treaty was created to protect the ozone layer. Today you can conclude that this treaty has prevented 280 million cases of skin cancer. Furthermore, 45 million cases of cataracts and 1,5 million deaths due to skin cancer. Without this treaty, the world would be 2050 degrees warmer in 4. Due to this lower warming, major droughts, floods and tropical storms will occur less often.
This graph shows the decrease in the number of fatalities due to natural disasters:
Source: Our World in Data
Why?
New technologies (satellites, sensors, networks, machine learning) enable humans to predict and model natural disasters earlier and better. These models provide better and faster warning systems.
Drones and the environment: Until now, animals were counted manually by researchers from helicopters. Today, drones collect images, animals are counted digitally and increasingly better observed. People help machines to improve the algorithms.
Faster, cheaper and more accurate.
In India (Bengaluru), drones are being used in areas that are difficult for people to access, to map deforestation.
What would happen if thousands of drones were deployed to better protect the environment?
3. Energy
A benchmark for economic growth, living standards and poverty reduction is access to electricity.
More people than ever before in the world have access to electricity. And the absolute number of people without electricity is falling, despite the increase in the world population.
Check out the graph below to see how more and more people are able to use electricity.
Source: Our World in Data
In India, 1990% had access to electricity in 45. In 2014, almost 80%.
Afghanistan shows an even greater increase. In 2000 0,86% had electricity, in 2014 89,5%.
Renewable energy sources are becoming cheaper and more accessible. Worldwide, solar energy prices are still falling.
Ultimately, the entire world population will be able to use (almost) free electricity.
4. Food
Despite the (mostly negative) headlines, we are making steady progress on food scarcity and world hunger:
Source: Our World in Data
Increasingly, (with the help of technology) food scarcity can be turned into abundance. I have read articles about bio printed meat, about vertical farming (vegetable flats), agricultural robots and drones.
Two examples from 2017:
- Human-free farms: On a remote 1,5-hectare farm in the UK, Harper Adams University and Precision Decisions recently harvested their first barley. Unusual? Yes, it is: the farm is run autonomously. Instead of human farm workers, Hands Free Hectare uses self-driving vehicles, machine learning algorithms and drones to plant, feed and harvest.
- Food from electricity: Another big idea in the fight against food shortages and malnutrition comes from Finland, where researchers are creating food from electricity. The scientific team from Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) has developed a machine that runs on sustainable energy to produce nutritious, single-cell proteins.
5. Mobility
Just like electricity and mobile phone ownership, the number of cars in the world is increasing. This is another example of increasing prosperity.
Source: Our World in Data
Of course, this also increases environmental pollution. Although there is some room for criticism: engines are becoming more economical, and the number of electric vehicles is increasing. Furthermore, we see a (small) increase in the number of shared cars, especially in large cities.
But let's be honest: the number of car kilometers in the Netherlands has never been so high. Also, more and more cars are being bought, more than ever.
Can we not find a glimmer of light in our last topic?
Doesn't our government try so hard?
There is one development that is remarkable. Car ownership and car use are declining among people under 30 years of age. This is not only the case in the Netherlands, but worldwide in most rich countries such as the US, Germany, Japan and Australia. Apparently the young generation is going to set a good example for us. Less attached to car ownership, but attaching value to the use. Among young people you will find many more fervent Snappcar, BlaBla car and car sharing users than among my peers.
For me it was a great experience at the beginning of this year to be with my son traveling without a car to be. More forty-somethings should do that.
We live in exciting times, full of change. And if your way of thinking allows you to see problems as challenges, the future will be even more exciting.
This article is largely inspired by the article Why the World is (still) better than you think by Peter Diamandis.
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