Do the current economic slowdown, the dwindling of fossil fuels, and the looming disasters of climate change mean we should aspire to a new steady state economic model, instead of the growth-based economics of the past? Or do emerging technologies like nanotechnology offer a third alternative, a growing and sustainable economy?
Which analogy is most apt for humanity in relation to our Earthly home:
- Alice rapidly growing too large for her house?
- Villagers destroying the environment of Easter Island?
- Crowded Europeans fleeing for the wide-open spaces of America?
- Animals out-populating a grazing or hunting range and starving back to a sustainable level?
Numbers 1 and 3 seem to offer hope for a non-disastrous solution, assuming that we can develop technologies and polities that will allow large numbers of humans to live off-Earth peacefully and sustainably.
Numbers 2 and 4 are bleaker, obviously, but given current trends—as shown below—we can be forgiven for not feeling entirely optimistic. [Click here for a larger image and click here for the accompanying article.]
We should not wait for advanced nanotechnology to reach the point where molecular manufacturing can assist us in managing the dangerous implications of these upward curves; the situation is too dire for complacency. But while we must not delay acting, we also should emphasize the urgent need for increased funding of nanotechnology research and development.
Any new technology that promises as much power for good as molecular manufacturing should be welcomed and encouraged, assuming that we act simultaneously to limit its potential for damage.
IEET Blog