In 1900, David Hilbert outlined 23 major mathematical problems he thought were crucial to solve in the coming century. His list provided a guiding beacon for focusing the efforts and brainpower of many mathematicians, such that by the turn of the 21st century, the majority of the problems had been either fully or partly solved.
We are now living in the Anthropocene, an era defined by catastrophic biodiversity loss and the disintegration of Earth’s life support systems. But humans are clever, and with the coming years set to be a storm of technological disruption and enhanced human connectivity and knowledge, maybe it’s time to focus on the big questions of how we will balance human well-being with sustainable use of environments and ecosystems.
Nature is important. You probably couldn’t write a more non-partisan and blatantly obvious sentence than that if you tried.
Yet many of humanity’s greatest feats have so far come at considerable cost to the planet. The industrial revolution brought us steam engines and the modern battery but it also kickstarted industrial-level air pollution and man-made climate change.
The continued degradation, downgrading and destruction of the systems upon which we ultimately depend is not smart. Surely, we can build a better future for humans and the planet alike?
Having just entered the new year, maybe what we need is a Hilbert-like list of 23 problems our planet would like us solve. I don’t have the expertise to create such a list. But here’s a few ideas that come to mind. Feel free to add any suggestions, point out what I’ve missed or got wrong, or create lists of your own—they’ll probably be much more informed than mine.
- How to develop a restoration-based economy that returns ecological functionality to degraded and fragmented landscapes.
- How to create and inspire environmental heroes.
- How to overcome shifting baseline syndrome (Google it).
- How to foster widespread connection with nature even as societies become more urbanised.
- How to effectively manage the illegal wildlife trade.
- How to deploy efficient farming methods that restrict agriculture to a shrinking area so that there is space for the restoration and recovery of habitats (and how to farm without fucking up our soil).
- How to manage human population growth to ensure it doesn’t undermine the environment or the well-being of future or newly born generations.
- How to deploy large-scale carbon sequestration.
- How to create a connected global agricultural trade where crops are grown in the regions where they have the best cost-to-the environment/yield ratio, and where animals are replaced as a food source with market alternatives.
- How to develop systems that make pro-environmental decision-making the choice of least resistance.
- How to bring evidence-based scientific discourse and environmental concerns into all spheres of policy-making.
- How to capture the environmental costs (e.g. pollution) of making and consuming products into their price, without unfairly burdening people on low income.
- How to create democratic political systems where long-term problems (like climate change) are prioritised over short-term minutiae in the digital age (i.e. getting past the pitfalls of short election cycles) .
- How to overcome political polarisation and create interfaces and platforms that allow people who disagree to come to reasonable agreements on how to tackle problems.
- How to ensure fair access to nature and wild experiences for all people, regardless of background.
- How to deal with invasive species in a way that is scalable.
- How to find and exploit leverage points in our current systems that will allow for a speedy transition towards sustainable resource use and planetary stewardship.
- How to manage waste disposal in a circular economy, to create zero-waste societies.
- How to make artificial intelligence work for people and the planet.
- How to make highly efficient renewable energy sources and battery storage that are cheap.
- How to mainstream emissions-free transport, including in aviation and shipping, and how to bypass the need for road construction through biologically rich regions.
- How to create profitable, desirable and accessible substitutes to all jobs that destroy the environment.
- How to create affordable, sustainable housing.
These might not be easy challenges to crack, but with the full might of ingenuity brought to bear upon them, they are certainly achievable.
