4Waves Course
When seeking solutions to the problems facing the world today, we need to understand that the world is in the midst of a Great Transition from an agricultural to an urban industrial society.
Alexander Chikunov
1. We Will Fail to Solve Global Problems Simply By Looking at the World as It Is Today
Long-term risks identified by the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2020 were dominated by climate change, water shortages, and other environmental issues with a clear social impact. These challenges will no doubt sound familiar to you. Sadly, the proposed responses to these challenges are entirely inadequate. We may
2. Does Population Growth Need to Be Stopped? The Answer Is More Complicated Than You Think
Arguments about a population crisis are all around us and fail to agree on even the most basic facts. Many people around the world blame the problems we face today on the fact that there are “too many people.” Policymakers around the world have tested ways to limit population growth.
3. How Did We Increase Food Production to Feed 8 Billion People and Can We Now Secure Everyone a 1st Wave Diet?
Today, citizens in 1st Wave countries, and increasingly 2nd Wave countries, spend ever smaller proportions of their income on food, and can almost always expect to have a broad selection of food available for purchase in shops, cafes and restaurants, or even delivered to their homes. Food production, distribution, and
4. Urbanization
The world reached a landmark in 2008 when, for the first time in history, more than half the population were now living in urban areas. Urbanization is naturally one of the most important aspects of the Great Transition from an Agrarian to an Urban Industrialized society. For those that live
5. Energy
Until you experience a power cut, it can be easy to forget just how transformative the energy transition has been for our lives, societies, and economies. For all of human history, until the 19th century, almost all the power to create and move things or cook and keep us warm
6. Causes of Climate Change
We keep hearing ever more about Climate Change, through the news, articles, books, and even blockbuster films. But despite these discussions, broad scientific consensus, and hard-won political victories, we have not changed our trajectory towards global temperatures rising above levels most scientists agree would be catastrophic. As we all head
7. Climate Change: Can We Fix It?
Climate change today is often represented as a technological challenge. We discover every day about new businesses presenting climate-friendly technologies to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. It gives us a sense of calm knowing that major financial institutions promise to only invest in climate-friendly companies, to see the vast renewable
8. Between Disaster and Prosperity
Societies and economies around the world are being transformed dramatically and irrevocably. The Great Transition from an agrarian to an urban-industrialized society lies behind the extraordinary improvements in our standards of living.
Resilient Cities with Michael Berkowitz
Michael is the founding principal of Resilient Cities Catalyst, a new global nonprofit helping cities and their partners tackle their toughest challenges. He’s a world-leading expert on making cities resilient to everything from natural disasters to terrorism.
Previous roles include Founding President of the 100 Resilient Cities, which as