Age of Abundance

May 23, 2014

Age of Abundance
The phrase age of abundance was brought forth to the general public by Professor Michio
Kaku and it may be what our human race is aiming for with all our scientific discoveries and
inventions.
Professor Michio Kaku teaches theoretical physics at the City College of New York and is
best known for his outlook on futuristic science and technology. Age of Abundance
discussed by Professor Kaku and because I am also a fan of Sci-Fi, I have since been
intrigued by what our race can achieve in the age of abundance. For a comprehensive
introduction to the topic, I suggest watching this youtube video on the aspects of age of
abundance[i] by Prof Kaku himself.
Many skeptics will deny the notion and suggesting such optimism as total bull but it wouldnt
hurt to dream a little, does it?
Avoiding all the scientific jargons and straight to the point, the age of abundance is a time
when our world will not be limited to the basic rule of economics demand and supply, a
time when humans are able to create objects of value at whim and away from the term
scarcity. This reality may come in another century or millennium, nobody knows but
however far-fetched this may sound, Im still looking forward to it.
Signs of the new age
Researches and inventions that may lead us to the age must first tackle issues faced by our
current world; energy, food and supply issues.
In the field of energy, our main source comes from burning of fossil fuels, there is a limit to
how much we can burn based on what we can forage from our mother planet. We do have
alternative sources such as nuclear, solar, wind and more. However, these alternative energies
are still considered to be at infant stages, which mean that they are not ready to go large-
scale any time soon.
Interesting fact: there is a city in Abu Dhabi called Masdar City that is built as a cleanhub
capable of self-sustainability, using only renewable and clean energy for the city functions.
For a brief introduction to the city, I suggest watching Stephen Hawkings Brave New
World[ii] which talks about Masdar city.
In terms of food supply, our world is actually facing a bigger issue than most have
understood. In fact, the UN has mentioned that the unpredictability and more frequently
extreme disasters and weather conditions will be the key causes for global food shortages[iii],
shifting the world to an age of scarcity. It is therefore a race against time that we find new,
and more stable, means of supplying food for our global population.
The most recent breakthrough in this sector will be the introduction of lab-grown meat or
otherwise known as In-vitro meat. However grotesque this may sound, the meat produced
this way actually does not harm any animals and will consist of same bio-material as found in
grazed cattle. The issues surrounding such lab-grown meat stems further from just
affordability but also ethical considerations which may stop mass acceptance of the idea of
consuming such products despite its potential of controlling global food shortages. However,
coming back to the topic of age of abundance, considering the potential of lab-grown meat
from a scientific point of view, and the amount of space it can free up from cattle-grazing,
more time will be needed to evaluate its true value for the global community.
What the age will bring
Now to the topic of concern, age of abundance will bring about major changes for the world,
there are many possibilities and futures we as a race can achieve in the age but until then, the
two closest restrictions have to be dealt with fast.
1. Breaking from economics
The world now revolves from the basic law of Demand and Supply; prices are all determined
by commodities such as oil and food. In the age of abundance, much resource could be freed
to focus on other important avenues such as reforestation, science and technology.
2. Eliminating poverty
Many times we have seen poverty from third-world countries from documentaries, and
constant aid from charitable organizations to help combat food issues and more. If supply of
food and technology is not a restrain, we may be able to eliminate poverty as a whole.
Actually, the most important possibility of the age of abundance is the potential of recovering
our planet of damages done by global warming and other human activities.
Who knows, maybe the researchers at CERN will be able to dig deeper into the secrets of our
universe? Who knows, maybe our planet can develop a space program to colonize our moon
and beyond? These are all in the realms of science fiction but I definitely want to see that
become reality.
(Disclaimer: I am no scientist nor am I trained in any way near professionals mentioned in
my posts; some of my comments may be wrong or ridiculous but however, there are many
things in life that I look forward to, and dared to dream for it to be realized.)
Anndy Lian
Chief Marketing Officer
Scientific Tradition Pte Ltd
www.scientifictradition.com
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[i] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAKpdulxhf8
[ii] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV5g5h5AyCc
[iii] http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/oct/14/un-global-food-crisis-
warning