Welcome to One Finite Planet.
This site contains ‘explorations‘: exploratory papers on topics and subtopics, all impacted by humanity adjusting to the reality that our planet is finite.
As this is neither a news site nor blog, most new content is in the form of updates to existing pages/exploration. As most new information is in the form of updates to an existing page, new pages/explorations are rare. This different approach results in pages with more information in one place, and a more in depth look than typical blog posts. Use of the ‘page contents’ may help when information on a section of an exploration is sought, as pages can be long.
Topics are interlinked, so some explorations cross boundaries, but the goal is to form a cohesive a “blook“, with each topic as a chapter.
Site navigation can be by drilling through topics, using the ‘topics and subtopics’ dropdown to the right, or the search box.
The topics are chosen as those where I, as an analyst and futurist feel I can contribute, or have found surprises beyond those already on the web.
Topics
Population: The human population has been growing throughout history, but now growth may stop. What would population stability mean, and why has every other species had a long-term stable population the whole time?
Environment: Our planet has only been suitable to support human life for the most recent 10% of its life, how much longer will our One Finite Planet support life? What real role does CO2 play in determining climate?
Influence:
If you see your dream home, do you think:
a) I want that home!
b) I wish everyone could own as nice as that.
Influence is all about how people persuade us in their pursuit of either type of dream. But has the science of influence reached levels where what people believe can be influenced too much?
EVs, phones, homes and clothes are all tools, and tools give humans ‘superpowers’ and define societies.
Continually improving tools passed from generation to generation are the clearest difference between humans and other species.
Population: yes we have overpopulation but this one is full of surprises, includong surprising economic implictions.
The ‘poster child’ of environment discussion breaks out into its own topic,
Beyond the climate, the popular issues of habitat destruction, extinctions, and plastic waste, there are still suprises that are overlooked, as well as predictions and analyss on covid-19/pandemics that may surprise.
remember when a photograph was proof? Is a video still evidence? What
can we still be certain of in the world of fake news and outrage media
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, is about the likely future outcomes. In the first section, the outcomes are those likely in response to challenges (or “threats” in SWAT terminology), while those in the second section are pure opportunities. section 2, “opportunities”.
Continually updated evolving book on a set of 8 topic groups, that i have found to constain surprises, and key insights into the likely future.
wraps around.
This site started in 2015, for reasons outlined in ‘why’.
Topics here have evolved to now be grouped under threats and opportunities. All contain subjects I have found to surprise, give insight into our future, or both.
, and have evolved to cover subjects i have found
the future
Not advocacy of what people should do, nor outrage about what people are doing, but a collection of observations that i find either suprising, revealing about the future, or both.
Topics and Subtopics.
Charge Time Calculator: Configured for Atto 3.
This is a charge time calculator, which can be set to the charge curve of any car, but defaults to the values for the Atto 3.
Any transition from gas to EVs needs around 30 years.
In this polarised world, there seem to be two groups: those who all vehicles to be EVs now, and those who feel EVs will never be a good idea.
Truth is, it would create a legal minefield and cost consumers and the environment heavily to ban too quickly, but bans will come.
This is an exploration of reality of a transition to EVs, which concludes any optimum transition takes around 30 years.
This conclusion means anyone wanting to reach EVs by 2050 needs to start very soon, and anyone worried all EVs should never happen, can take comfort that any environmentally sound transition will take a long time, although for economic reasons, does need to at least start soon.
The 3rd EV wave: The Chinese are coming, and in a hurry!
The world outside of China has had two waves of EVs, the first with the Leaf, i-MiEV Zoe, and Tesla Model S, and the second led by the Tesla 3 and Y. Neither wave have been inexpensive.
China has been another world as for EVs, with an EV market as large as the entire rest of the world, but with a completely different set of vehicles priced from as low US$5,000. Other than Tesla, EVs from outside China don’t sell in China, and EVs from China have not sold outside China.
These two separate worlds have begun a hurried unification, that will bring the world a 3rd wave of EVs, further disrupt the automotive industry, and bring EVs to more people than ever.
EV Literacy: AC, DC and Electric Motors for dummies.
For almost 100 years, people have grown up in an age of the internal combustion engine. For many people this has meant an understanding of engine capacity, cylinders, spark plugs, engine compression, crankshafts, valves, turbochargers, exhausts etc.
The bad news is that EVs mean so much that previous literacy is about to be consigned to history and replaced by induction and permanent magnet motors and other new terms.
The good news is, it is easy to build and EV literacy on the those ICEV foundations, so there is no need to feel illiterate in this new EV world.
Why Population growth even before the explosion?
Throughout history, although no other species on Earth has experienced such long term overall population growth, even before the recent population explosion, the human population kept slowly growing.
Yes, we recently had an unprecedented population explosion, driven by is hidden by by the near elimination of previously tragic infant mortality, but against the background of long term growth, many of us never didn’t even realise their was an explosion.
But what drove population growth even before the explosion? What will now happen as the explosion ends?
Fragile Democracy: Was Scott ‘Scomo’ Morrison autocrat of Australia?
Democracy collapses when a leader, who is able to bypass the checks and balances, uses their position to retain power.
Steps by recent leaders Scott Morrison and Australia and Donald Trump in the USA, raise questions as to whether current reliance on conventions and constitutions reliably protects democracy.
China, Russia and even North Korea are all technically democracies, and all proof of how technically being a democracy does not necessarily deliver real democracy.
Welcome to One Finite World. As opposed to blog posts that convey a persons thoughts at one point in time, most pages here continue to evolve to be improved and updated over time, and are explorations of ideas being examined to discover answers, by career analyst of future trends with a background in science.me to One Finite World. These pages are explorations of a variety of topics from a futurist perspective, and unlike blog posts, have their content updated and improved over time.
The pages are not “this is what I think”, but more “here is the information I have, so what is the answer, and am I missing things?”.
What is here that might be of interest? And how to find it? The summaries, surprises and myths are of potential interest to everyone, while other content is more specialised. The search box and categories to right may help, but the contents below intended to best facilitatinallow finding anything and is organised from general interest through to the more specific as the intended best path to navigate to find content of interest, with the most common theme be .
Population. My journey to understanding population and overpopulation.
- Normal Population growth mirrors what happens with cells within our bodies, there is growth to maturity, growth for repair, but otherwise, there is stability.
- Our recent population explosion was not normal, and resulting in an unsustainable population without major concessions to how we live.
- We are at peak child and approaching Peak Humanity:
- We have only one finite planet, and it is already full of life. Further growth of the human population, requires a reduction in the population of other life.
- Further population growth will erode quality of life for all but a small elite group.
- —
- We have only one finite world, which can only host a finite amount of life. One of the biggest questions is how much of the life we share the planet with should be other humans, and how much do we leave for other living things?
- Is increasing the percentage of life that is us humans essential for economic growth, or from a certain point, does it means a smaller share each of an increasingly damaged planet?
- Does the qualify of life suffer for all without the wealth to increase their share?
- A summary of the findings from exploration of the population explosion, the impact of future population, and how this elephant in the room taboo topic is not only, as discussed by David Attenborough, critical to the natural world.
- The economic future as the battle intensifies between those running the humanity equivalent to a chicken farm, and the masses or ‘caged hens’ producing the golden eggs.
- Key highlights and surprises from deeper explorations of contemporary topics such as:
Will Electric Cars Change the Balance of Economic and Military Power In the World?
Covid-19, and how long will vaccinations against Covid-19 be required?- Social media uses the power of AI to increase polarisation, dissatisfaction and outrage. Why?
The Earth has only recently supported life on land, and that support will not continue for much longer..- Why do CO2 levels create a climate crisis now, when it was not a problem back when there were dinosaurs?
UFOs, are real! Now even Obama, Republicans and the current US government are spilling the beans.
- In depth explorations of a range of contemporary topics for those interested in the topics:
- Population, Overpopulation, and the 300 year population explosion.
- Polarisation and Conflict, and Left vs Right: The ideology of conflict and we all get along in a world where polarisation has now been monetized.
- Wealth Creation and Distribution: Earths almost 8 billion needs food, clothing, housing and more.
- Electric Cars and the changes to society once stop being too expensive for mainstream buyers.
- ‘Posts’ that reflect a chronology of events:
Trump and the 2020 US election.- Covid-19, from first being alarmed back in Jan 2020 through an observation of the pandemic from Australia.
- Science and Technology Explorations.
- Science, from science background and relativity made simple through to theories as the cutting edge.
- Technology, ‘Free Technology‘ and Robotics.
- Electric Vehicles.
- Product Reviews: Of potential interest to those looking for information on a product I have reviewed.
“Anyone who believes in indefinite growth in anything physical, on a physically finite planet, is either mad or an economist.”
Attributed to Kenneth Boulding in: United States. Congress. House (1973)