THE GLOBAL FIVE CRITICAL CHALLENGES…….
The Global Trends, as expressed in each of the Five Critical Challenges of the 21st Century that follow, are converging and intensifying the conditions and effects within and between each challenge at an accelerating pace as each year passes. The United States and World Community must rise to totally new levels of global cooperation and collaboration to meet the combined effect of the Five Critical Challenges in a time frame between the present in 2017 and Mid Century – 2050.
THE FIVE CRITICAL CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY
1. POPULATION GROWTH & SUSTAINABLE CITIES: Address the predicted Population Growth of 3 Billion more people by 2050 – and the emergence of Sustainable 21st Century/ Smart-tech Cities/ with Economic Green Zones/ and near Net-Zero – Carbon Neutral Cities Worldwide by the Year 2050.
2. SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE: Initiate a Global Sustainable Technology shift to Clean Renewable Electric Energy Generation, Energy Transmission Systems and Transportation Technology / Infrastructure Worldwide to be phased in over a number of years – to be completed by the Year 2050.
3. GLOBAL POVERTY & SUSTAINABLE BALANCED GLOBAL ECONOMIC SYSTEMS: Address the Imbalance in the World’s Economic Systems and Development Practices that result in increasing levels Global Poverty for 1/3 of Humanity and greatly reverse and reduce this trend at a Systemic Economic level by the Year 2050.
4. WAR TO PEACE & the path to a SUSTAINABLE WORLD COMMUNITY: Addressing the underlying conditions of inequity that often leads to fear, distrust and confrontation between People and Nations, that are conditions that breed Terrorism and lead to War, and that must be transformed into a new balance to achieve a Sustainable 21st Century.
5. CLIMATE CHANGE & GLOBAL COLLABORATION: Finally develop the Global awareness and vision / action plan to address the combined effect of the previous 4 Challenges in addressing Climate Change and Global Warming where each of the previous Challenges must be addressed to effectively support the Earths Natural Life Systems and reverse the effects of Global Climate Change by the Year 2050.
The Global Trends, as expressed in each of the Five Critical Challenges above, are converging and intensifying the conditions and effects within and between each Challenge as each year passes at an accelerating pace.
These Five Critical Challenges are well known but normally presented in the media and in forums for discussion as separate issues. However as a group they reflect an interrelated and rapidly increasing systemic imbalance in the fundamental way that Human Civilization, and the man made life systems we all depend on have evolved and developed from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to the present time. These Five Critical Challenges collectively represent an unprecedented Global Challenge, and when understood together they should rise to the highest level of concern and National Security for The United States and for all Nations on Earth.
Collectively and individually, we must realize that collaboration, cooperation and the emergence of a clear vision and strategy to achieve a Sustainable 21st Century is essential at significantly higher levels of alignment than so far has been achieved by the United States as a Nation, as well as the World Community of Nations. An essential key is investing in the latest technology innovations that support a phased-in shift from our current dependence on predominately non-renewable and polluting energy resources, to the vast resources of Clean Renewable Energy Sources that are available in particular in The United States as well as Worldwide, and the shift in investment now to Renewable Clean Energy based Infrastructure Systems for a Sustainable 21st Century from this present time through the year 2050.
Note: Over 212,000-GW of potential Renewable Energy Resources (ie. Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Biomass, Wave etc.) have been mapped out across the Continental United States by the NREL – National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Well over 150x-times what the United States Electric Generation capacity is today from all resources Non-Renewable & Renewable.
This represents a vast untapped Clean Renewable Energy capability for the United States.
By meeting these challenges now, we will resolve many of the core stresses, drivers and problems present today that accelerate the effects of the Five Critical Challenges, and in so doing greatly increase the quality of life and the economic well-being of billions of people in communities throughout out the United States and the World Community. To not achieve the resolve, vision, alignment and commitment to cooperative action, and make the necessary investments in Sustainable Infrastructure, will have an equally profound negative effect throughout the World Community; and today’s Global problems and challenges will seem small in comparison.
GrowGreen Power’s overall Strategic Vision and Mission represents one of the key transforming technologies solutions and strategies in Urban and Community Infrastructure Planning & Development for the emergence of Sustainable Local Economies Worldwide.
GrowGreen Power Centers incorporate various Renewable Clean Energy Technologies in combination with Sustainable Farming in the form of large scale commercial Hydroponic Greenhouses that produce high yields in Local Produce (fruits, vegetables, herbs and lettuce) Production. These Sustainable -Energy Efficient/ water & resource efficient/ Pesticide Free /Climate Controlled Greenhouse & Energy Centers will, when replicated in cities Worldwide, contribute substantially in meeting the needs of a rapidly expanding World Population – using far less critical resources such as water and land requirements than traditional methods. A secure and reliable Clean Renewable Energy Supply and an abundant and Healthy Food Supply is an essential fundamental requirement for security and productive living in Communities Worldwide, and to minimize forces that can take hold that lead to confrontation and destabilized societies particularly with an increased population pressure of 3 Billion more people by 2050.
GrowGreen Power’s mission is to develop GrowGreen Power Centers in Cities and Communities Worldwide producing a wide variety of reliably abundant healthy and fresh fruits and vegetables, within fully climate controlled hydroponic greenhouses –
as well as renewable clean energy production that is essential for the stability, security and healthy living of all people and families within our Cities and Communities Nationally and Worldwide, and therefor addressing a critical component of each of the Five Critical Challenges presented below.
1. POPULATION GROWTH & SUSTAINABLE CITIES
The implications of the Population Growth of another 3 Billion people on the Planet by 2050, and how that will effect all Cites and Communities Worldwide is immense.
The magnitude of this population growth will challenge all nations in the Sustainable Design Renewal and Development of infrastructure throughout our existing cities Worldwide.
The situation implies the need for the vision, design and development of totally new cities that are Clean Renewable Energy Infrastructure Based/ Smart-tech/ approaching Carbon Neutral and therefor are Sustainable Cities for a Sustainable 21st Century.
The implication of population growth and economic growth in emerging developing countries with regards to infrastructure, water reserves and food resources in this Century further implies the World’s Nations must work together in order to not be overwhelmed by the problems that are emerging. Projections show that most of the population growth will be in the growing cities of the world.
The World Communities’ Cities and expanded Metro Regions are the most complex developed structures of modern civilization. Existing cities and totally new cities like those that began development since 2000, and that are continuing to be developed currently in the Middle East should now set targets to reach Carbon Neutral – Net Zero Standards for sustainable clean energy development. The United States can also invest in completely new Sustainable Smart Tech Cities to develop that the latest leading ideas in Sustainable Urban Planning along planned High Speed Rail Lines particularly in the Western States.
The worldwide development of sustainable city infrastructure will have the greatest effect on diminishing Poverty and Economic inequity Worldwide that is the basic underlying driver for tensions that leading to Civil Wars, Terrorism. From this current and increasingly problematic situation we must move rapidly towards developing economic stability through Sustainable Planning Practices to reverse the effects of Climate Change as our cities are where the largest population centers occur.
This transformation of urban infrastructure to Clean Renewable Energy Systems beginning with our cities in America, followed by The United States in conjunction with other major Industrial Nations in leading, as was done in the Marshall Plan after World War II, in the development of Sustainable Cities worldwide should be a major National and International objective of the United States and World Community for the next 40 years.
Note: The exponential increase in Global Population Growth since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution has been the driving force in each of the Five Critical Challenges. For an excellent overview of the past/ present & future World Population Situation and its Global Impacts – The Ecology Global Network website is an excellent resource. Please refer to this link for a complete overview of Global Population – http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/26/day-seven-billion/
“The day of seven billion arrived on October 31, 2011, according to the United Nations Population Division. Less than 12 years into the 21st century, Earth grew by another billion living human beings… and almost exactly 12 years prior to that, in October of 1999, Earth’s population reached six billion. And yet again, in the twelve years prior to 1999 dating back to July 11, 1987, another billion people were added to the planet. In fact, the entire human population is twice today what it was in 1968 when 3.5 billion people populated Earth.” – The Global Ecology Network – The Day of 7 Billion People.
2. SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
Urban, State and National leaders must recognize the significant impact of rapidly accelerating Population Growth in the 20th & 21st Century will magnify the problems that arise from the nonrenewable energy based infrastructure that we continue to depend on in Cities Worldwide.
We must rapidly develop a clear vision and action plan, and mobilize our Nation to make the shift from the current unsustainable polluting Energy and Transportation Infrastructure of the United States to clean & abundant and Renewable Energy Infrastructure.
It is imperative that a National and International strategic plan be developed, that can be phased-in within a sufficient timeline (20-30 years) for existing industries to make the shift without great disruption to the communities they serve and the Nation as a whole.
This includes designing and building the new Clean Energy Economy Infrastructure, the retraining/education of the Nation’s workforce in the new Clean Energy Economy, and the decomissioning of older polluting technologies as they reach the end of their current economic lifecycle. We will then be able to move away from the currently unsustainable, Climate Change threatening and polluting non-renewable sources that were fully developed after World War II, and that all economic progress depended on in the second half of 20th Century. Today, 15 years into the 21st Century we are beginning to make real progress but not nearly fast enough, and so far not with a clear vision and end game that has been aligned upon. We continue to depend upon 20th Century Infrastructure even though we must make the change to the Clean Energy Economy within 20-50 years.
The current increasingly imbalanced Global Energy Paradigm implies developing a plan and mandate now that recognizes much longer consequences to our present day actions, or inaction in Sustainable Infrastructure Development Planning. What is required is a collaborative and sustainably base approach to planning for the future now that is developing, but must gain much greater momentum, and the rapid mobilizing the shift in the Energy and Transportation Infrastructure of the United States and the World Community to a new reliance on abundant (for Centuries to come), Clean Renewable Energy Sources, and away from currently increasingly-costly, polluting and diminishing non-renewable energy sources that the World depends upon today and that threatens our collective future, and we must make the changes to Clean Sustainable Energy within 20-50 years. To not do this will eventually put the United States and the World’s established Industrial Nations, and new rapidly developing Industrial Nations in direct competition for increasingly scarce, more costly and diminishing non-renewable fuel sources. As this is occurring with each passing year the risks of major confrontation amongst Industrial Nations increases greatly.
Innovations in Transportation Technology and movement towards Smart Cities today are encouraging particularly in the Western States of California and Nevada. The newly commissioned Bright Source IVANPAH Solar Towers totaling 377-MW on the boarder of California and Nevada are part of a new generation of large renewable energy projects coming on line.
Electric car sales in California are increasing steadily – and with Tesla’s breakthroughs a totally new generation of Electric Car, Battery Technology and Charging Stations are being built across the State of California and spreading across the country. There is a new commitment to building the necessary core infrastructure to make the electric car/ truck and vehicle transition to a near carbon neutral transportation paradigm shift in the coming years.
Tesla is also building the new GigaWatt Factory in Nevada now under construction that will double the World’s current production of batteries. With Solar City and other solar companies residential rooftop Photo Voltaic systems are being installed in an ever increasing volume in particular in the Western States and the momentum is building.
Beyond these advances greater visionary progress is now underway with the commitment to build the first High Speed Rail System in California between San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and over to Las Vegas currently in advanced engineering stage. Elon Musk founder of Tesla, SpaceX has also advanced a visionary white paper that points to practical application of current technology advances in building a Hyperloop 750-MPH ultra high speed transit system. This would have been consider a total fantasy just a few years ago, but not today with a new generation of young engineers that are working on these projects, fully energized by their vision an commitment to building this new Clean Energy Economy Future.
3. GLOBAL POVERTY & SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
The current Global Poverty imbalance of 1/3 of humanity living on less than $1-2 per day and the implications of this situation to violence of all kinds, conflicts between ethnic and religious groups, Civil Wars and the spread of Global Terrorism increases significantly with a projected World Population Growth of 3 billion people.
It is now time to develop policies amongst all Nations that will address the major imbalances that have left so many people in abject poverty. Without addressing the underling imbalances that exist in current World Economic Systems, this imbalance in poverty will continue to lead to increasing civil unrest and war throughout many regions of the World Community. A major source of unrest that can often be the trigger to increased conflict leading to Civil Wars, as well as in an increased Global Terrorist activity which usually has a significant Economic Imbalance Component embedded in the causes of the conflict. Scarcity in food production and the cost of food in the poorest regions of the World left unresolved will continually disrupt the 21st Century Global Economy.
Note: The placement of GrowGreen Power Centers in major cities in the Developing World is a major long term goal for GrowGreen Power Inc. These GrowGreen Power Centers will contribute to the stabilization and reliability of major supplies of primary fresh vegetables, fruits and lettuces through local production in climate controlled greenhouses even in the harshest desert regions.
This is one important building block for developing balanced economic systems for Sustainable Cities and Communities throughout the world. These larger GrowGreen Power Centers will augmented with smaller GGP Centers in more remote and rural regions and sized for the communities they serve.
4. WAR to PEACE and the Path to a Sustainable World Community
The 21st Century began with great expectation for a positive future for Humankind, but within less than two years, in 2001 and with 9-11, there was a rapid return to a continuation of 20th Century confrontation and War.
The Cold War chess moves of proxy wars that defined the second half of the 20th Century turned into the asymmetrical conflicts in the Middle East in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other regions. These conflicts have continuously changed, much like a wild fire that is never quite extinguished, and finds a new path to spread, taking a new form.
There are many imbalances within these regions where these fires of Civil War, Terrorism, territorial aggression have continued in numerous parts of the World for last fifteen years. Each century brings new and changing challenges that are far more complex, unpredictable and changing more rapidly than the century before as we have seen. As Global Population increases doubling since 1968 to today along with the associated increase in urban development and our rapidly expanding Global Cities and Civilization Structures based on 20th Century Technology, the underlying pressure and drivers for these conflicts are increasing, as imbalanced growth and economics create greater stresses on all societies and Nations.
Even as confrontation increases between, political, societal, cultural and religious interests, the opposite is necessary – we must move towards greater cooperation. What is required is that we must find a way that all Communities, Nations and Human Civilization on Earth to evolve and understand with greater wisdom the course ahead that requires that we change to meet these challenges with greater understanding and cooperation versus greater confrontation that comes from increased fear which breeds greater separation. The History of World Civilization shows clearly the dual paths we are embarked on of cooperation and/ or confrontation and the question arises will we travel the best path to a Positive Future? Do we have enough strength and resolve to align and come together beyond our differences generated by our fears and judgements that separate us even further to the point of a complete breakdown communication. Rising above these blocks and confrontation do we have the resolve and wisdom to see that Positive and Connected Common Future and take the necessary aligned action to achieve a Sustainable 21st Century?
The implications of the above global systems situations to emerging conflicts, civil wars, and the continued rise of Global Terrorism movements is important to recognize. The instability of War, or even of one Terrorist Act of significant destruction in a 21st Century World Economy, threatens global markets, regional and national economies.
A major conflict between the Major Industrial Powers, or between developed and emerging economies competing for increasingly scarce non-renewable energy sources, is an even greater concern and of course would greatly compound the present obstacles to a positive transition to a Sustainable Future.
Therefore there is a great need to move to Sustainable Infrastructure Systems Worldwide as stated in Critical Challenge No. 1 and to increase communication and collaboration with all Nations through the United Nations, along with new communication and conflict resolution strategies – innovations in conflict resolution and consensus building. There is a need to use the power of the Internet more wisely to understand the full Global Situation in a transparent way through the concept of Regional Earth Situation Centers, and innovations at the community planning level such as Sustainable Community Vision Planning Centers Globally connect via the Internet, to meet peacefully the complexity of challenges humanity faces and move beyond war to solve the critical challenges of The 21st Century.
5. CLIMATE CHANGE & GLOBAL COLLABORATION
The Convergence of these four Global Challenges and their impact on Climate Change & Global Warming poses collectively the most serious life altering threat that the United States and the World Community faces.
Increasingly severe weather in the form of Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Drought, Flooding, reduced Snow Pack and reduced Water Table Reserves can affect our major cities and communities around the World, threatening vital infrastructure and the production and delivery of the food supply to significant populations around the World where most people live in large Cities. The evidence of Arctic and glacier ice melt worldwide is clear, and studies have shown that the melt has the potential to precede significant rise of the oceans that could effect millions of people living in low lying regions of World. This is a slow process where for the most part people living our daily lives in the World we do not perceive the changes or the threat. It is a problem that can gain momentum beyond our ability to respond and adapt that is a approaching a critical state and that if it manifests well beyond current imbalance effects – it will affect millions of people and infrastructure particularly in low-lying Coastal Regions Worldwide.
There is a far better future that is possible than the present situation in the World Community or the future that will likely ensue with inaction as this last scenario suggests. It will require great a collaborative Vision / Action and Alignment Worldwide to produce the necessary action and make the fundamental changes that are necessary. However with these changes towards a Sustainable Way of Living Worldwide the future can truly be bright. Its in a way each of our choice to choose such future and make our positive contribution.
The FIVE CRITICAL CHALLENGES of the 21st Century –by Christopher H. Belknap – Design Earth Synergy – extracted from The United States Sustainable Cities and Infrastructure Initiative for a United / Clean Energy America by the Year 2050 – http://www.DesignEARTHsynergy2.com – For GrowGreen Power Inc.
Links to Climate Change and Global Challenges Resource References Online:
Met Office / Hadley Centre – WFP –World Food Program http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate-guide http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/newsroom/wfp229182.pdf http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/k/5/Climate_impacts_on_food_security_and_nutrition.pdf WFP – World Food Program http://www.wfp.org/students-and-teachers/teachers/blog/climate-change-why-it-matters-and-how-wfp-taking-action Verisk / Maplecroft – Map of World Terrorism Hotspots https://www.maplecroft.com Water Scarcity UNEP United Nations Environment http://www.unep.org/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGgYTcPzexE&feature=youtu.be CEOS – Committee on Earth Observation Satellites http://www.eohandbook.com/eohb05/ceos/part2_5.html Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=83341&tid=3622&cid=13366 US Global Change Research Program http://www.globalchange.gov/browse/sea-level-rise-tool-sandy-recovery Bright Source – IVANPAH – Clean Energy Solar Tower Power Plant http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/ivanpah-solar-project#.Vg7KRntdDKI Popular Science – Where will the World’s Water Conflicts Erupt? http://www.popsci.com/article/science/where-will-worlds-water-conflicts-erupt-infographic
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THE FIVE CRITICAL CHALLENGES OF THE 21st CENTURY & GROWGREEN POWER:
To meet these challenges one of the fundamental paradigm shifting technological advances for communities and cities throughout the Nation and World Community is embedded in – GrowGreen Power’s mission to develop at the local level Sustainable Energy Power Plants combined with fully climate-controlled Hydroponic Greenhouses in Cities Worldwide – that ensure reliable local production of wide varieties of the highest quality fresh fruits, vegetables, lettuces and herbs – while using a small fraction of the resources of water, nutrients and energy relative to traditional farming methods.
GrowGreen Power Center’s Hydroponic Greenhouse growing environments increase annual production 30-times or 3,000% over traditional farming methods while providing hundreds of new jobs at the local level in communities throughout the United States and World Community.
GrowGreen Power Centers are a fundamental building block in the emergence new Economic Green Zones that can be developed around American Cities and Communities producing much of what need in the United States at home with American resources in new High-tech, Sustainable Energy driven Net Zero Economic hubs. This will be the key to reinvigorating the American Economy and the American High Tech work force – with well paid and high quality American jobs.
The Emergence of the Economic Green Zone Development Model Worldwide is also the paradigm shift that can be replicated in China, Mexico and countries around the World as all Nations move toward a much more Sustainable Economic Model with a higher quality of life for the people within each Nation on Earth.
It will be seen in time that GrowGreen Power Centers – at the center of new Economic Green Zones are one of the fundamental paradigm shifting industries and sustainable urban planning approaches that will meet the massive transformational challenges that the United States and World Community must address to meet The Five Critical Challenges of the 21st Century – and reach a Sustainable 21st Century by The Year 2050.
View GrowGreen Power Inc. website at: http://www.growgreenpower2.com
Click on illustrations to expand view: GrowGreen Power Economic Green Zones
