Misc

Assessing Priorities

Dec 2, 2024

This is a list of problems that I think are important to solve for the future of humanity. Finding well defined solutions to the causes of these problems would make Earth (or any other place) viable for high quality, long-term habitation.

Low Cost, Abundant Energy

This is probably the big one. If we can produce and distribute energy for free (or free after taxation), then the future looks bright.

Aim: Non-polluting, free, abundant energy
Sales Pitch: Take free energy for granted

Water Sanitation

If wastewater is not well sanitised then the groundwater will become polluted, which ultimately means the drinking water becomes polluted. This has the additional effect of causing people to purchase water in plastic containers, contributing to the litter problem. My experience of India was that people don’t find the problem of polluted water even when it becomes unbearable, they just learn to live with it.

Aim: Process 100% of human wastewater
Sales Pitch: Restore every river to it’s natural state

Litter

Plastic waste doesn’t degrade fast enough, so it ends up in animals, water, and humans. The fact the plastics don’t degrade rapidly also means that their contents remain in the environment for longer as opposed to being treated or degraded. My experience of Turkey was that regardless of how much litter there was on a beach, people simply got used to it.

Aim: Replace/eliminate/reuse 100% of disposable plastics
Sales Pitch: Never see a piece of litter again

Air Pollution

The first thing you notice about a place is the smell. Internal combustion engines (in cities) and the use of fire to dispose of waste and clear fields (in the countryside) impacts life expectancy and contributes to global warming. In India, cities were polluted to the extent were people knew there life expectancy was reduced but they were still massively overpopulated.

Aim: Replace IC engines with electric motors, and use zero carbon methods to produce electricity
Sales Pitch: Never breath polluted air again

Individual Freedom

Political systems that suppress groups of people are obviously undesirable. Often the majority group benefits from the mistreatment of the other so the system doesn’t get changed.

Aim: Implement rule of law and basic human rights worldwide
Sales Pitch: Make everyone free to live how they want to live

Family vs Career

Women face the most difficult question in the history of humankind; career or family. When society values career over family, women understandably choose career which results in a population decline and lots of miserable middle-aged people. Society needs to recognise that nurturing happy, healthy children is more important than anything else. Once this happens, women can choose whether they want to focus on career or family without concerns for their autonomy or quality of life.

Aim: Pay women who choose to have children a living wage
Sales Pitch: Family or career becomes a fair choice

Moral Relativism

Ethical questions tend to be met with disappointing responses from "educated" people, rather than recognising obvious moral imperatives.

Aim: Teach morality in schools
Sales Pitch: Get everyone aligned on the most important questions

Secularism

Religion is demonstrably false, distracts from moral responsibility and is too easy to use for bad purposes. Atheists need to become confident in their position and political systems must become independent of religion.

Aim: Teach the value of secularism
Sales Pitch: No one needs religion to find solid footing in their life