In yesterday's sessions at Pop!Tech, we were enveloped by a tone of almost unfathomable optimism and ambition. Technological genius, indescribable integration of art and engineering, the exploration of space and oceans. Heady stuff, indeed ...
In contrast, this morning so far has been way more sobering and, in a way, a welcome grounding. The effects of global warming presented by author Mark Lynas literally stopped my brain in its tracks. In a synthesis of scientific investigation on the subject, Lynas made me believe a quote I read in the local paper: "Climate change is nuclear war in slow motion." The implications of even single degree increases in ocean temperature have vast implications on the physical, geographic, and social structures that provide a precarious equilibrium for citizens around the world.
Finally, I haven't gotten through all of Suketu Mehta's book Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found but if his excerpt reading is any indication, it's a must read. Cities now make up 1/2 the world's population and in the developing world, the migration of people from rural areas to cities (driven by what appears to be a universal lure, dependable income and the potential for a "better life") will fundamentally change our very notion of what constitutes "acceptable living standards."
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