Читать книгу The Next Generation - Ryan Tony - Страница 9

The future is meant to be a promise, not a threat. If Boyan Slat is any indication, our Next Generation will rise to that promise. This young Dutch entrepreneur is part of the new cohort determined to create an inspiring world up ahead. While he was still a teenager, Slat launched the Ocean Cleanup project,¹ which has been dubbed the largest clean-up in history. His astounding proposal? That up to 40 per cent of all rubbish in the world's oceans be removed within 10 years.

This is no small ambition. About eight million tonnes of plastic enters our oceans every year, and the cost of conventional removal methods is prohibitive. Slat asked, Why move through the ocean with a clean-up, when the ocean can move through you? His ingenious system relies on the ocean's currents collecting the debris inside what is called an Ocean Cleanup Array. Much of the oceans' rubbish presently accumulates in five ocean garbage patches around the world. In 2017, the first pilot installation of an array became operational in the largest of them all – the Great Pacific Garbage Patch between Hawaii and California.

Their unprecedented entrepreneurial involvement will unleash one of the greatest economic and social evolutions in human history.

Boyan Slat is just one of millions of energetic young entrepreneurs determined to make the world an even better place. Around thirty-five per cent of the world's population is under 20 years old.² It is they who will become the movers and shakers of the 21st century. Many already are. With increased access to the internet, and to learning opportunities that were simply not available at the start of the century, this generation will transform the planet. Nearly 90 per cent of these under-20s live in emerging countries in Africa, the Middle East, South America and Asia.³ Their unprecedented entrepreneurial involvement will unleash one of the greatest economic and social evolutions in human history.

For the purposes of this book, the Next Generation refers to two cohorts: Gen Z (born between 1994 and 2009); and Gen Alpha (born after 2009). These young people, who will become the leaders of the mid 21st century, will be the most educated in human history.⁴ Approaching the 22nd century, they will experience techno-enhanced lifestyles far beyond our present imagination.⁵

This is a good time for them to be alive. Most people in the future are likely to live much longer than those who came before them. Since 1900, average life expectancy has more than doubled.⁶ First-year infant mortality has dropped from 19.5 per cent to 3.69 per cent.⁷ Global poverty has plummeted from 44 per cent to around 10 per cent in the past 30 years.⁸

Here is one improvement in this new millennium that will astound most adults. Our present Gen Zs behave better than their parents did at their age.^{9, 10} You may want to think carefully before you share this information with your resident teenager. Rates of a wide range of discouraged behaviours such as smoking, drinking and even (gasp) sexual activity are much lower than for the previous generation.

Does this mean they are behaving perfectly? Of course not. There are still problems. Today's children are more overweight, and some of their dietary habits need lots of attention. Teenage depression appears to be on the rise. Sporadic violence by a small number is unsettling. A minority become cyber-addicted, and a few engage in cyber-bullying. However, the overall landscape can be viewed with some degree of optimism.

For the sake of our children and their future, let's set the record straight. Most indicators (although not all) clearly show that the standard of living has improved dramatically for many people around the world. Right now there are countless projects taking place that are as inspiring as the Ocean Cleanup, and they have been developed by young people who want to make life better for all of us.

But let's pause for a moment and consider: is everything really all that wonderful?