Too Easy, Too Fast, Too Big?

By Chris Westra

“There is great chaos under heaven, and the situation is excellent." Mao Zedong

Encouraged by a heartfelt and considerable connection to learning and understanding our place on planet earth, I'm kicking off this year with another environmental message knowing that each of us can make a difference. 1

My dream is that people will engage collectively to start the 1st earth revolution with ecological agendas rather than business as usual models embracing the 4th industrial revolution. Instead of many leading companies (I think we know who they are) charging towards ecological unsustainability while relentlessly promoting a culture of mass consumerism with dominant values of products and information controls. The topic is serious and relevant: the value chain revolution in a complex world. The conclusion is clear: community cooperation and integrated business collaboration defines biological destiny or collapse. Our wake up call is not new and should come as no surprise. Green messengers want to ensure the survival of people with a healthy community, social and planetary values. 2

The following sustainability principles are proposed to guide us.

Axiom 1: Everything is connected. Therefore economy and ecology cannot be considered seperately.

Axiom 2: The fundamental problem is a lack of knowledge. Therefore the art of thinking is necessary, prescriptive and constructive.

Axiom 3: Real science (physics, chemistry and biology) defines the will to power and power to change. Only science can logically refute the globalized market economy and that another world is possible.

Axiom 4: Diversity that builds ecological health, function and longevity, is the structural model to make another world.

Axiom 5: The only real advantage humans have is their ability to co-operate; not speed, intelligence, language or strength.

Less (smaller) is more. Yes small(er) ‘x’ or everything. Rehabituation of our collective earth defines carrying capacity and biological evolution. This is a prescription of what will happen. The foundation of future human life will be defined by the principles of art of thinking and logic based on cooperation of both community and business (economic) collaboration, while mathematics and computer science plays a secondary role in systems optimization including big data, AI, ML and the like, with citizen-community data science. Simplicity rules while complexity leads to extinction. 3

Bold Whole-Systems Thinking: driving sustainability planning and holistic design strategy 4

Digital Reduction (complexity: see Turing reduction, many-one reduction) is rooted in biological evolution. It provides a new epistemological paradigm and knowledge base for the digital value chain transformation (revolution). The transition parallels the move from Silicon Valleys to Carbon Mountains. Carbon many-one completeness is the essence of diversity and Gaia principle. The translation of the interactions of public goods into ecological value (developing digital languages = all connected inputs) requires a new language of production, consumption and exploitation of natural resources that are best defined by community cooperation with integrated business collaboration. This agenda also involves enabling higher population densities and increased healthcare (carrying capacity of earth wrt humans). Why? Because we have long passed the earth’s natural carrying capacity with human population. The constraints of the biosphere with natural resources are fixed. Population estimate is 9-10 billion. Some of the agendas include: efficient ways of converting plant energy into food for an all vegetarian diet; sharing resources of water, nitrogen and CO2 cycles.

Flows of Value Data provides deep ecological and economic utility. This utility with its governance needs to be clear, open and concrete. A person’s and/or entity’s principles or standards of behavior (ethics and integrity) also defines the importance, worth or usefulness of something with interconnected networks of Time, Place, and Experience. The end of capitalism or the fact that it becomes obsolete, as we move away from capital based on common commodities, is simply a death by a thousand cuts (do you feel it?) with an implicit dynamic of self-destruction. We are working towards a new record of social value, planting new seeds with a transformation away from an outdated state and primitive relationship with technology. What will replace it is defined not by the Amazon or Apple super corporations but an exchange and interactive process of people cooperation which provides direct insight into the IoV (Internet of Value = digital ESG) and focus on ecological communities of value (water, food, material & health).

Digital Planet is the creation of ecologically principled, business communities that provides a new world of value, integrating people, things and business. An ecological world blurred with the digital world. Architecting the Digital Ecological Platform that provides the edge economy operating within a shared planet economy. Cross disciplinary, cross business, the diversity of people across spatial geographies will define the simplicity of the new value chain of everything connected. Looking at people, things and business with new filters and an enlarged holistic, everything connected worldview.

Sustainablity Disclosure: Where do autonomous lockers fit into sustainability thinking?

The big picture involves a cost reduction and efficiency in the last mile, better customer experience, data generation and analytics and building knowledge for logistics and sustainability.

Every locker you use, every effort you make to pick up there, instead of home delivery, has an outsize effect on the health of the planet and everything living on it. It’s an important part of the ultimate digitally connected force multiplier for the exchange of goods, including feeding the planet. We’re helping to do our part in the value chain revolution. Companies with poor ESG [Environmental, Social Governance] values, and lack of focus on environmental recording disclosure and sustainability strategy, means bad cultures and economic models, with ultimately bad (long term) shareholder value. Of note, please refer to Larry Fink’s letter to CEO’s about Sense of Purpose that focuses on social and environmental responsibility. 4

Notes:

1.    My indulgence to the reader, between digital addictions, messy Trump tweets, mindless robots, fake news, and a general uncomfortable malaise about the state of affairs here and abroad.

2.   “The State of Green Business 2018”, by Joel Makower and the GreenBiz.com team. https://www.greenbiz.com/article/state-green-business-2018

3.  “The local environment of cooperators and defectors is shaped by the production or consumption of common resources. Hence, diffusion-induced self-organization into spatial patterns not only enhances cooperation but also provides simple mechanisms for the spontaneous generation of habitat diversity, which denotes a crucial determinant of the viability of ecological systems.” Article: Spatial dynamics of ecological public goods. http://www.pnas.org/content/106/19/7910.full

4. Click here: https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/en-us/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter