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SUMMARY:Rethinking Research Objectives for the 21st Century - Professor Si
 r David King\, Director\, the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environme
 nt\, University of Oxford
DTSTART:20120430T183000Z
DTEND:20120430T200000Z
UID:TALK32256@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Nigel Bennee
DESCRIPTION:Unprecedented improvements in human well-being over the ninete
 enth and twentieth centuries\nhave been driven largely by developments flo
 wing from advances in engineering\, medicine\,\nagriculture and technology
 \, and by political and economic developments coupled to consumerism.\nBut
  a necessary consequence of these successes has been an equally unpreceden
 ted growth in\nthe global population. The twenty first century will be dom
 inated by the challenges posed by a\nmid-century population of around 9 bi
 llion people\, all seeking a high standard of living. Climate\nchange\, dr
 iven by fossil fuel usage and by deforestation\, provides the biggest chal
 lenge of all\,\nsince it requires a collective response of the global popu
 lation\, to mitigate the effect and to manage\nthe growing impacts upon ou
 r societies.\nWell designed technological solutions are desirable and are 
 compatible with the continued growth\nof human well-being. The socio-polit
 ical challenges in directing such a collective response are\nbeyond anythi
 ng previously managed. This may well lead to a mid-century slide into conf
 lict\ncaused by environmental and resource-driven challenges on a scale no
 t previously experienced.\nThe thesis presented here is that meeting these
  challenges will require a global cultural and\ntechnological transformati
 on on much the same scale as the European Renaissance or the\nIndustrial R
 evolution itself\, and a clear understanding by all societies of the need 
 to adapt and\nstrengthen global governance procedures. Decision making at 
 all levels will require significantly\nenhanced knowledge and understandin
 g.\n
LOCATION:Wolfson Lecture Theatre\, Churchill College\, Storey's Way\, Camb
 ridge
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