2030 is not a particularly easy read. It is very well researched and contains a great deal of interesting information from a variety of leaders in the fields of science and technology. Although I have not included many interesting facts in this blog, you may read more by clicking the link above.
Rutger Van Santen is an award-winning computational catalytic chemist who is a professor and former rector magnificus of the Eindhoven University of Technology. He is a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and a foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.
Djan Khoe is a Professor of Electro-Optical Communications. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineering and the Optical Society of America.
Bram Vermeer is a freelance science journalist who has written about technology for Dutch newspapers and scientific journals for the past 25 years. Vermeer maintains a website where much of the research used for 2030 can be accessed.
As the name implies, "2030" deals with the major challenges that mankind will face over the next 20 years. The authors identify the following: 1) malnutrition, 2) drought, 3) cancer 4) infectious diseases, 5) care of the elderly, 6) cognitive deterioration, 7) climate change, 8) depletion of natural resources, 9) natural disasters, 10) educational deprivation, 11) habitable cities, 12) financial instability, 13) war and terrorism, and 14) infringement on personal integrity.
More than half of the world's deaths, according to the authors, during the early 21st Century have been due to malnutrition. Lack of water also continues to be a problem for large portions of the earth's population. This is not because rain is scarce, but that it is unequally distributed.
The need for renewable energy resources relates to several of the major challenges. Finding new, renewable energy sources is essential to: mitigate climate change, bring deprived areas out of extreme poverty, promote financial growth and stability and cut off income to terrorist groups. The authors identify three elements that must by considered when seeking alternative energy: concentration, storage and transportation. They refer to this as the "energy triad."
The authors discuss several of the most promising alternative energy sources. None appear capable of replacing the dependency on petroleum alone.
Throughout the book, the authors discuss how technology can help to address the challenges faced by mankind. The suggest that the use of Microplants that build objects at the molecular level in order to eliminate pollution and the need for vast distribution networks. The use of small monitors and cellular level technologies could help to fight disease and provide greater independence for the elderly. They could also be used more effectively to mitigate natural disasters.
The authors view education as essential to meeting the challenges mankind will face over the next two decades. They state, "A world order is emerging that is characterized by connectivity, change and convergence." Students must learn to deal with complexity from the earliest grades on. Unfortunately, education usually stresses simplicity. What students need, however, is the ability to see the interrelationships among things and a better understanding of the complexity of technology and society.
Schools need to develop individuals "who are able to absorb knowledge to understand the background and context of the issues and who generate new knowledge and understanding." The linear transfer of knowledge does not develop such individuals.
Are we preparing our students for the world described above?
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