In the mid-90’s, the world woke up to a potentially catastrophic event – Y2K was barreling towards us, ready to end our computer-run world. Proclamations of doom abounded, this, it was said, was certainly the end.
And yet, somehow, January 1st, 2000 came and went with no fanfare – all of the doomsayers had been wrong and everything was fine. According to the general populace, it was much ado about nothing.
Programmers and software executives see things differently. In total $308 Billion was spent worldwide to fix the software issues related to Y2K. This was twice the cost of cleaning up after Hurricane Harvey, the most expensive hurricane in US history.
It was a disaster averted rather than a disaster cleaned up, a tremendous effort to ensure that nothing happened.
The most recent IPCC report has set a similar goal – get to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the Half Century or risk catastrophe.
Our collective mission is to ensure that the Half Century passes by with as much fanfare as Y2K; that the global population looks back and says, “What was all the fuss about? Nothing happened!”.
From a climate perspective, unlike Y2K, we’re already in the thick of it. The climate is going through radical changes and our natural systems will likely never be the same. We are past the point of small, individual efforts. If we are to be successful, we need major projects driving major change. We need reductions in our consumption through efficiency measures and technologies, reductions in our emissions profile through carbon-neutral energy sources and major, world-altering projects that will actively draw down carbon to offset the emissions we can’t prevent.
This is a task that requires multiple solutions, all executed at once. It requires a pragmatic approach and rapid investment around the world. Most importantly, it requires high speed innovation.
This is the mission of HalfCent – to develop and deploy technology aimed at making the Half Century a non-event.
Explorers
An incredible amount of work is already being done to address the challenges of the Half Century. We’re exploring to find where we can make the biggest impact.
Evan Butler-Jones
Creator
Brock Battochio
Engineer
Mike Kelland
Entrepreneur
Nick Lapointe
Conservationist
Gerald Oakham
Scientist
Research
We’re working to refine our ideas, learn from others and explore our opportunities for impact. Here are some areas we’re exploring.
Infrastructure
Can semi-autonomous robots be married with additive manufacturing to facilitate the scale of infrastructure projects required to meet the Half Century goals?
Land Use
How large of an impediment is the coordination of land use rights to major climate initiatives like reforestation or accelerated rock weathering?
Energy
Can a collective commons approach to energy yield strong enough gains in terms of consumption leveling to make a material impact on climate?
Industry
Is current industrial monitoring of emissions sufficient? Would increased monitoring lead to lower overall emissions?