What does the Great Acceleration mean? To the World, individuals, continents, countries, humans, animals, the future, the present. How is it related to planetary boundaries if it is at all?
What is does the US Military think about the great acceleration? What is it doing to prepare for possible security concerns over food insecurity, or peak water?
What effect would a United States effort akin to the WW2 efforts (industrial solutions to help the war effort i.e. meat rations, or entire industries converted to weapons development) tackling these problems have on BRIC countries or other developing nations.
Why do we feel the need to tease out information about climate change rather than other factors related to the great acceleration? Why not biodiversity, population growth, urbanization, energy use, ocean acidification, real GDP, or water shortage?
Is mushroom technology a replacement for trees in the packaging industry which makes up 50% of the paper industry? What about recycling plastic? Sonoco paper mill?
What is closing the loop and why is it important?
How do we store carbon?
What is embodied impact and how can we know for sure what things have what embodied impact? What role does it play in The Great Acceleration?
These are great questions the supporting videos seem spot on Jed. My suggestion to you is to really start narrowing your focus as soon as you can. Land on something that is tugging at you (even nagging you) and move forward from there. You can’t “solve” this in a few weeks – but you can totally carve a path. No doubt.
I am leaning toward a couple of ideas right now.
–Leapfrogging
–Design with embodied carbon footprint in mind (Layla Acaroglu)
–or National Security Implications of the great acceleration (Admiral Samuel J Locklear, Tom Donilon National Security Adviser)
I should know a little better after tomorrow.