Technology can solve most of the world’s biggest challenges. In the last two decades we have seen such rapid advancement in so many areas of technology. Information and communication have been the biggest areas of this increase.
It is now possible to access almost the entire body of human knowledge, from a device in the palm of my hand, from anywhere.
Compared to our ancestors just 200 years ago, this ability puts us in the same realm of knowledge as the gods themselves. Yet even with all this, our culture and society is progressing so slowly in some areas that I fear for our very survival.
That’s not to say I’m an alarmist, or that I think the end of the world is nigh. Quite the opposite in fact. I believe that things are on the road to being better than we could ever imagine. I just think we are likely to go through a period where stuff gets way worse before it gets better. Bad planning and stupid government policies are largely to blame for this.
If you have known me for any length of time or followed my writing, you probably already know my views on government incompetence and cronyism. So I won’t bore you with that discussion.
What I will say though, is that there are enterprising people working feverishly to solve some of our most critical problems. Food and water being at the top of the list.
In the next 35 years we are projected to add another 2.5 billion people to the planet. As things sit right now, we will have to increase global agricultural production by over 70% to meet this growth. Its possible, but it is probably going to involve some growing pains first. And the biggest reason is because of a lack of water.
Even though the earth’s surface is 70% water, a remarkably small amount of it is freshwater, and even less is available for human use. That tiny fraction of all the water on earth is what we all have to share to drink, bathe, wash our cars, water our lawns, and the biggest one is to water our crops.
Farms take a lot of water. In California, 85% of all the water use in the state is used by agriculture. While the farmers have made a lot of progress in conserving water, there is still a huge amount wasted by inefficiencies. Things like flood irrigation, leaky canals and reservoirs, badly managed sprinkler systems and outdated technology all add up, and the result is massive. We are running out of water and we farmers are most of the reasons why.
But we still have to grow food to eat.
That’s a huge gap in ideology. We have to conserve the water we have so that we can grow more food, but we also have to keep using the water to grow the food we are already eating.
Technology to the rescue.
Recent advances in low water use systems like drip irrigation, computerized irrigation systems, and especially closed loop systems like hydroponics and aquaponics can make a huge difference.
I especially like Aquaponics.
I like it enough that I have spent the last 2 ½ years learning everything I can about it, and then implementing it.
My wife Desi and I are building a 6000 square foot set of aquaponic greenhouses on our farm in Enoch Utah. In addition to this I have invented several new processes and systems for aquaponics and small farm applications. We are working on automation systems, construction advances, and business systems. This set of projects has consumed us for the better part of the last two years.
And it has finally come time to share it.
We have set a huge goal to help a million people get their food from these amazing aquaponic systems. Our best guess estimates tell us that a million people eating aquaponic food can conserve about 17 billion gallons of water per year. For reference, that’s about half the water capacity of Strawberry Reservoir. Every Year.
To make this happen I am releasing a complete book on everything we have learned on this journey. This is a huge technical manual interspersed with a lot of personal stories and cool ideas.
Before that, we want to give our close friends a sneak peek of what is to come.
So I wrote an introductory version of this book, and it is yours for the asking.
All you have to do is download it and read it.
If you like what you see, please let us know, and then look forward to some of the other cool stuff that is coming in the next few weeks and months.
The world is changing, Let’s help change it into something great to pass on to our kids and grandkids.