Will we ever run out of resources in the future?
Let’s start with a story: One day, far in the future, you open your eyes for the first time in ages. Your cryopreservation was successful and you are being briefed on the most important information about the future. The person in charge of your revival starts explaining: “Climate change has been contained. We now produce clean energy in abundance, and the population overgrowth that we feared in the past is no longer a problem.” You ask the guide to stop for a second, and clarify. “How is that possible?”. The friendly individual smiles and, seemingly prepared for your question, hands you a paper titled, “How Humanity Reached Sustainable Superabundance”.
This, or at least similar to this, is how David Wood optimistically paints the future in his book, “Sustainable Superabundance”. Recently, Marian L. Tupy and Gale L. Pooley shared another such vision in their work “Superabundance”.
But what is this elusive term that will allegedly save the world?
Sustainable Superabundance predicts future advancements in technology leading us to a point of universal “superabundance”. Simply put, a future where we have more than enough of everything.
There are 7 spheres of human life we will have to overcome to reach that future according to Wood: energy, nourishment, material goods, health, intelligence, creativity, and collaboration.
In this article we will take a closer look at how and why humanity will likely reach Sustainable Superabundance and make your future after revival one worth living in.
Ever since the Industrial Revolution around the 19th century, humanity has consumed enormous amounts of resources such as wood, coal, gas, oil and others for its own gains. This is exemplified particularly within the past century due to technological advancements and related boosts in productivity. To our dismay, these energy resources are becoming scarce (with the exception of wood to some degree), all of them harmful to our environment, and consequently to us, when burned.
Yet, we do not have to slam the breaks and live an energy-scarce life in the future according to David Wood. Instead, a drastic course-correction is necessary to become fully sustainable. Luckily, this shift is well underway in the form of renewable energy. Wind- and hydro-power energy lead the pack to the development of solar energy and other natural resources. Forecasts assess a complete transition to renewable electricity by 2050 is feasible. Paired with future technological advancements, this will, according to Wood, lead to a superabundance of energy further down the road.
As long as we aren’t cryogenically frozen, nutrition is important to keep our bodies intact. It comes as no surprise then that food-shortages are high up on the list of things we don’t want to experience in the future. The current state of the world paints a picture of duality, where parts of the world waste upwards of a billion tons of food every year, while others find themselves in a constant battle against starvation.
Luckily, world-hunger is slowly diminishing through ongoing efforts of globalization and technological advancements suggest a rise in sustainable food production. Vertical farming promises to reduce environmental impact and increase efficiency of growing crops, while cultured meat aims to move cruelty-free meat to the forefront of sustainable foods. Younger generations additionally show an increase in mindfulness regarding consumption, eating increasingly local, plant-based and sustainable products. Prognosis for the future shows that all kinds of nutrition will be easier to come by the next century compared to today.
The days of sticks and stones are long behind us, and so humanity has turned to different, more effective materials. Earth is home to all kinds of resources we can use for crafting, but not all of them are abundantly available.
A promising bypass to this problem is nanotechnology. This ever-advancing field of science would allow scientists of the future to manipulate matter at a nanoscale through which materials can be changed into whatever they may want.
Read more about the possibilities of nanotechnology and how it could assist with cryopreservation in this article.
The previously mentioned sustainability options will aid humanity in living a life that won’t be at the cost of the nature of our planet. But that only ticks off the “sustainable” part of the equation. Let’s now focus some more on “Superabundance.”
Biostasis is currently the only option available that gives you the chance to see the future for yourself. But surely you wouldn’t want to wake up in that future in a frail, tired, old body. If abundant longevity is reached, you won’t have to. Advancements in medicine are predicted to solve the issue of biological aging in the foreseeable future, meaning abundant longevity will likely be achieved long before cryogenically frozen people will be revived, allowing you to live your second life inside a healthy, rejuvenated body.
Your body won’t be the only thing benefiting from futuristic technology. Our growing understanding of the human brain will allow us to take current mind enhancing activities such as education, meditation, and culture and magnify their potency. Artificial intelligence can be used to solve brain-melting problems for us, and we in turn, can learn from their discoveries. This trend of technology-supported intelligence can already be observed today. The average IQ score worldwide has historically risen by about 3 IQ points per decade since 1900. This puts the average person today at a score of 130 by 1920 standards, which means 50% of the current population would rank in the Top 2% from the early 1900s.
Globalization is a key factor in modern scientific and medical progress. Instead of being at constant war with each other, the collaboration of the world's smartest minds has led to global advancements at a speed the world has never seen before. The internet, global connectivity at the press of a button, is still only in its infancy. With modern technology an abundance of collaboration will certainly help make Sustainable Superabundance a reachable goal.
“We have all the resources we need, we just have to use them right.” This sentence coined by David Wood is the general motivator of a plentiful future. We at Tomorrow Bio believe that the same sentiment is true for Biostasis. There is no evidence suggesting that human cryopreservation is not possible. By using our resources correctly, we can make this vision a reality.
Are you optimistic about the future as well? Do you want to experience what the world will be like decades, or centuries from now? If so, we implore you to take a closer look at Cryonics. Feel free to schedule a call with us and ask any questions you may have directly.
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