BY DOYIN ADEOYE
Annually,
Bill and Melinda Gates publish a letter where they outline the goals of
their philanthropic organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation.
In its recent letter released online last week, the billionaire urged high school students, who are the next generation of world leaders, to think about how they can be a force for good in the world.
The letter outlines the environmental and economic quandary that the world faces: a growing population, growing demand for services and increased energy use, with each of these factors contributing to the rising carbon dioxide emissions, a major driver behind climate change.
“In short, we need an energy miracle. When I say ‘miracle,’ I don’t mean something that’s impossible. I’ve seen miracles happen before. The personal computer; the Internet; the polio vaccine, none of them happened by chance. They are the result of research and development and the human capacity to innovate.
“In this case, however, time is not on our side. Every day we are releasing more and more CO2 into our atmosphere and making our climate change problem even worse. We need a massive amount of research into thousands of new ideas, even ones that might sound a little crazy if we want to get to zero emissions by the end of this century,” he said.
In an interview, Gates expounds on his energy ideas and faith in the world’s youth, noting why the year’s edition of the annual letter is targeted at the teenage audience.
“I think this younger group has a lot of advantages. They will tend to take a long-term view of things. They’re more scientific oriented and more interested in opportunities they can dream about where our generation hasn’t solved the problem, and therefore, they can take up and surprise everybody by what they are able to do.
“With scientific innovation, you see that people in their 20s get a depth of knowledge and a willingness to look at things in a different way. So, I would say it’s likely that if an energy miracle comes in the next 15 years, key participants will be the teenagers of today.”
In its recent letter released online last week, the billionaire urged high school students, who are the next generation of world leaders, to think about how they can be a force for good in the world.
The letter outlines the environmental and economic quandary that the world faces: a growing population, growing demand for services and increased energy use, with each of these factors contributing to the rising carbon dioxide emissions, a major driver behind climate change.
“In short, we need an energy miracle. When I say ‘miracle,’ I don’t mean something that’s impossible. I’ve seen miracles happen before. The personal computer; the Internet; the polio vaccine, none of them happened by chance. They are the result of research and development and the human capacity to innovate.
“In this case, however, time is not on our side. Every day we are releasing more and more CO2 into our atmosphere and making our climate change problem even worse. We need a massive amount of research into thousands of new ideas, even ones that might sound a little crazy if we want to get to zero emissions by the end of this century,” he said.
In an interview, Gates expounds on his energy ideas and faith in the world’s youth, noting why the year’s edition of the annual letter is targeted at the teenage audience.
“I think this younger group has a lot of advantages. They will tend to take a long-term view of things. They’re more scientific oriented and more interested in opportunities they can dream about where our generation hasn’t solved the problem, and therefore, they can take up and surprise everybody by what they are able to do.
“With scientific innovation, you see that people in their 20s get a depth of knowledge and a willingness to look at things in a different way. So, I would say it’s likely that if an energy miracle comes in the next 15 years, key participants will be the teenagers of today.”
No comments:
Post a Comment