EDITORIAL
The Choice is Ours to Make
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Thus, there is hope that there will be s the world steps out of the a newer version of ‘normal’, exemplified darkness of 2021 and steps by the cover of the National Geographic into 2022, we find ourselves magazine, January 2022, depicting a health wishing that the worst is worker standing on a hillside in Kashmir behind us and things will now ‘return in personal protection gear, holding a to normal’. Why this retrograde wish? cold box of vaccines, and looking into the Humankind evolves and there is no distance searching for nomadic shepherds ‘return’ to any state called ‘normal’ who he has to vaccinate. because normal itself evolves — hopeProf. Arup Dasgupta fully for the better. Looking back for Managing Editor arup@geospatialworld.net This picture tells a remarkable story of a moment at the year before COVID vaccines developed, tested, and cleared struck, was that state desirable and for human use within a year of the start acceptable? The world was hurtling of the pandemic. It tells of rapid manufacture worldtowards an unsustainable future with global wide, and its distribution to the remotest corners warming and climate change. That a tiny virus, of countries, and the dedication of the persons at which somehow managed to make the jump from the end of the chain. This is an example of how bats to humans via an unidentified intermediary, technology has helped humanity — in metropolises, would make this journey extra challenging was cities, towns, villages, and even people without a never expected — except by a few concerned fixed address. epidemiologists.
However, the pandemic did show some unexpectedly pleasant outcomes too. As human activities came to a crashing halt, the skies cleared, pollution receded, global warming slowed down, and animals returned to their homes that had earlier been rudely taken away from them in the name of development. This shows that all is not lost.
ANNUAL EDITION / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022
However, the future is uncertain, as exemplified by COP26 outcomes. The goal is to achieve about 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 to limit warming by 1.5ºC, in line with the Paris Agreement aims. Can it be done?
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The Boston Consulting Group suggests industry “make bold moves, embed the climate transition, and accelerate change through ecosystems”. It further adds: “Monitor developments in climate tracking and reporting, carbon markets, voice of civil society, and adaptation.” McKinsey also has suggestions for an orderly transition to a net-zero situation. The company names nine requirements to solve the net-zero equation, which include, among others, technical innovation, collaboration among public-private- and social-sector leaders globally, and support from citizens and consumers.
Satellites and drones and IoT will continue to create a flood of data using Cloud services, and applications will use artificial intelligence and Big Data analytics to implement technological advances in information systems for agriculture, water, Smart Cities, Digital Twins, and all the rest. At the same time, the challenge will be to address the needs of each person individually or in very small groups. The technology to achieve this is available today. Of course, there is an alternate dystopian view that humans will venture forth to newer worlds and colonize the planets using the Moon as a jump-off point. They will leave Carl Sagan’s Blue Dot a wasteland populated by Wall-Es and other non-biological ‘intelligent’ machines. Maybe the lesson from planet Earth will be finally learnt, or maybe further technological advances will be achieved that will enable the conquest of other planetary systems in the Universe! The direction the world will take will be determined by what steps the governments, industries, and citizens take in 2022 and beyond. The choice is ours to make.
