After Earth Day

Yesterday was Earth Day. Is Earth Day like Christmas Day, one day a year of good thoughts and glad tidings, then we forget about it and get back to what we were doing before?

Back on the first Earth Day in 1970, there were 3.6 billion of us (now 8 billion), carbon dioxide levels were at 325ppm, and we were pumping out 15 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year. Since then we’ve increased CO2 in the atmosphere to 423ppm, up an impressive 30% to the highest known levels in around 15 million years (not sure what caused the peak back then, there weren’t a lot of people driving cars - we only started 200,000 years ago, & after a very slow start, we really got the hang of it the last 100 years). The 37 billion tons a year of CO2 we currently produce helps us hit new highs each year for CO2 in the atmosphere.

There’s a flood of information on the internet, in media and other sources on what this means for us, and not all of it is fake or agenda driven. There’s a number of scientific reports that are worth a read, many of which can be found on the UN web page.

Earth Day is about action, about the positive things that are being done, about what we can do, and this years’ theme was “Invest In Our Planet”. We have the tools we need to fix things. Millions of people around the world are working on better tools to create energy, grow food, provide water, rejuvenate and protect soil, landscapes and the oceans. There’s more money, societal and consumer demand, and political will than at any time since 1970 to do things better.

So what are you doing? Because if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. We all consume – are you putting back more than you’re taking out??If not, why not? The solution lies in each one of us doing our bit – reduce, reuse, reinvest.

I get asked what I’m doing, so I put together a shortlist of some of the things our team and partners are involved in.

1. Food

Our main focus right now is solutions to the worsening food crisis – the Ukraine war and the impact on food production of climate change has made a bad situation into a crisis that is killing people every 4 seconds.

The problem of rising prices and shortages of supply needs to be fixed now, to buy time for longer term solutions.

Africa, which usually gets a lot of its’ imported food from Ukraine and Russia, has been particularly badly hit by shortages & price rises, especially for staples like rice, where supplies globally are a problem.

We’re working with importers, distributors and government bodies in several countries to bring rice from Asia into Africa.

As well as bringing in investors and trade financiers, we’re helping those countries sell some of their coffee, cocoa and other products to pay for it.

The profits are being reinvested to increase local production, to reduce the need for imports, and to create jobs, food security, and more cash flow for the country from exports and spending less on imports.

We’re working with e-commerce, logistics, quality control, payment systems, organic fertilizer, training and other businesses globally to reduce food waste, get more money to farmers, and increase the amount of sustainably produced food.

In the US, we’re sponsoring a food and agriculture technology fund, investing in solutions to increase yield, reduce resources used, convert waste to fertilizer, grow in cities, and solve a range of other problems.

2. Energy

In Africa, half the people don’t have access to electricity, and many of the other half have seen big increases in cost, or increasing shortages, as the Ukraine conflict disrupts markets and supplies.

Energy problems means factories closing, jobs lost, and the cost of food and other goods rising beyond what people can afford.

For many of us, it’s hard to imagine life without easy access to affordable electricity – you wouldn’t be able to read this message.

We’re working to set up distributed renewable energy systems in multiple areas, on a for profit and not for profit basis.

In the US, we’re working with technology solution providers coming up with new or smarter ways to generate and distribute energy, helping them find funding, markets and partners.

3. Water

Increasing droughts, floods and disrupted weather patterns are the most visible sign of climate change, and are causing disruption to food production around the world.

In many places, the water people drink is toxic, or they have to travel distances to get it, exposing the girls whose job it usually is to the risk of rape or kidnapping.

We’re working with partners in Africa to provide access to clean, safe water – for drinking, washing, and growing food, on a for profit and not for profit basis.

?The US has seen a worsening water situation in many areas, hitting the farmers on which the world depends. We’re working on a major combined water, power, and hydrogen infrastructure project to bring water to those areas in the US that need more than hope and words.

4. Health

I was on a webinar last week, and the person based in Africa said there’s no point in talking about health solutions, if there’s no food, water and energy to keep people alive.

So I’ve listed health as the 4th most important area we focus on, assuming we can get people the solutions above, and you’re still reading this far.

If you Google “Sanitary pads crisis”, you will probably be shocked by the results. There’s a shortage, girls are selling their bodies to get them, missing school, or forced to pick between food and pads.

So we’re working on several not for profit and for profit projects to try and get more products made and distributed in countries where there are shortages or the process are too high.

We’re also working with several other femtech businesses, focused on mental or sexual health, addressing issues that have been made worse by the response to covid and other crises.

5. Smart Solutions, Smart Communities, Smart Giving

Technology is evolving rapidly, impacting the way we work, live, invest, interact.

Data, digital, mobile, AI, fintech, blockchain, digital assets, carbon credits, ESG verification, carbon certification are tools that we invest in and use to improve the ways things are done.

We’re putting a range of solutions together for communities, societies, countries, islands, to move them from where they are now to become more sustainable, food and energy secure, with better education, job opportunities, cleaner air and water

6. Funds

Parts of what we are doing are on a not for profit basis, crowdfunded, or funded using digital tokens.

But sustainable solutions need sustainable cash flow to survive and thrive. So much of what we do is profit based, working with businesses and investors who see the opportunity to make good returns and do good.

We fund projects directly, raise funds for projects, and help set up SPVs, investment vehicles and funds.

We’re working with fund managers who want to make a difference, many of whom are first time funds or operating in Developing Economies, who need support to get their message in front of the right people. Some funds are focused on countries, others on specific industries or section of society

7. Story Time – bringing people together, learning & sharing

Much of what we’re doing is building platforms – for sharing information and solution; raising funding; helping bring people together, making money and improving lives.

We’re working on several projects to improve skills and knowledge, so that communities can develop and create more wealth – thru online education, training programs, traditional education, mentorships and other methods – on a for profit and not for profit basis

We’re investing in networks to bring people together – building a global network of the African diaspora; of experts; and investors.

We’re telling the stories of people who are doing great things, of the problems that are opportunities to be solved, of how by changing what we are doing, we can all benefit.

There’s no channel doing that effectively now, so we’re creating it, launching Light A Fire Group along with our partners to invest in impact media, networks and traditional and new channels for getting the messages out, bringing people together to solve the problems we all face.

The future can be great - we have the technology, solutions and desire to fix all the problems we face.

We just need to act, and show people how they can make a positive impact.

To quote Will Smith’s character in After Earth, the story of humans forced to abandon Earth after technology expanded beyond our control (not the worst thing Will has done) “if we are going to survive this, you must realize that fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Danger is very real, but fear is a choice”