Current human civilization has reached the point of being able to commit planeticide: the killing of an entire world. We can and we must do better. These technologies exist and every single person who is concerned about the environment and the human future should call for urgent hearings to allow these technologies to be disclosed, declassified and safely applied.
Implications for Society and World Poverty
From the above, it is obvious that these technologies that are currently classified would enable human civilization to achieve sustainability. Of course, in the near term, we are talking about the greatest social, economic and technological revolution in human history - bar none. I will not minimize the world-encompassing changes that would inevitably attend such disclosures. Having dealt with this issue for much of my adult life, I am acutely aware of how immense these changes will be.
Aside from the singular realization that homo sapiens are not the only - or most advanced - creatures in the universe, this disclosure will cause humanity to be faced with the greatest risks and opportunities in known history. If we do nothing, our civilization will collapse environmentally, economically, geo-politically and socially. In 10 – 20 years, fossil fuel and oil demand will outstrip supply significantly - and then it is the Mad Max scenario where everyone is warring over the last barrel of oil. It is likely that this geo-political and social collapse will precede any environmental catastrophe.
The disclosure of these new technologies will give us a new, sustainable civilization. World poverty will be eliminated within our life times. With the advent of these new energy and propulsion systems, no place on Earth will need to suffer from want. Even the deserts will bloom…
Once abundant and nearly free energy is available in impoverished areas for agriculture, transportation, construction, manufacturing and electrification, there is no limit to what humanity can achieve. It is ridiculous - obscene even - that mind-boggling poverty and famine exists in the world while we sit on classified technologies that could completely reverse this situation. So why not release these technologies? Because the social, economic and geo-political order of the world would be greatly altered. Every deep insider with whom I have met has emphasized that this would be the greatest change in known human history. The matter is so highly classified not because it is so silly, but because its implications are so profound and far reaching. By nature, those who control such projects do not like change. And here we are talking about the biggest economic, technological, social and geo-political change in known human history. Hence, the status quo is maintained, even as our civil ization hurtles towards oblivion.
But by this argument, we would have never had the industrial revolution and the Ludites would have reigned supreme to this day.
An international effort to minimize disruption to the economy and to ease the transition to this new social and economic reality will be needed. We can do this and we must. Special interests in certain oil, energy and economic sectors need to be reigned in and at the same time treated compassionately: Nobody likes to see their power and empire crumble. Nations very dependent on the sale of oil and gas will need help diversifying, stabilizing and transitioning to a new economic order.
The United States, Europe and Japan will need to adjust to a new geo-political reality as well: As currently poor but populous countries dramatically develop technologically and economically, they will demand - and will get - a meaningful seat at the international table. And this is as it should be. But the international community will need to put in place safeguards to prevent such potential geo-political rapprochement between the first and third world from devolving into bellicose and disruptive behavior on the part of the newly empowered.
The US in particular will need to lead through strength - but avoid the current trend towards domination. Leadership and domination are not the same, and the sooner we learn the difference the better off the world will be. There can be international leadership without domination and hegemony, and the US needs to realize these distinctions if it is to provide much-needed leadership on this issue.
These technologies, because they will decentralize power - literally and figuratively - will enable the billions living in misery and poverty to enter a world of new abundance. And with economic and technological development, education will rise and birth rates will fall. It is well known that as societies become more educated, prosperous and technologically advanced - and women take an increasingly equal role in society - the birth rate falls and population stabilizes. This is a good thing for world civilization and the future of humanity.
With each village cleanly electrified, agriculture empowered with clean and free energy and transportation costs lowered, poverty will dramatically fall in the world. If we act now, by 2030 we will be able to effectively eliminate all poverty in the world, as we know it today. We only need the courage to accept these changes and the wisdom to steer humanity safely and peacefully into a new time.
__________________
|