Palaeosciences in 2050: Some Thoughts

One of the advantages of writing about futuristic scenarios, is that an elderly author has little chance of facing criticism. The Indian born author, George Orwell knew this fact well, when he published his famous novel of life and times 1984 in the summer of 1949. He painted a rather dark, sombre picture of life in 1984 keeping in mind the dark clouds of intrigue and conspiracy that hung over the post WWII world at the time. 1984 came and went and was not as eventful as George Orwell had imagined and most of his predictions went unnoticed. Encouraged by this, I venture to see 2050 as a very crowded planet (with well over 9 billion inhabitants) competing for resources, conscious of the need to preserve and conserve the earth for future generations, sentiments that were not a priority in 1950 when we were rebuilding after 2 world wars. The factor that would dominate all activity is the restriction of the amount of carbon emissions by human actions. The Paris agreement of 2015 points to limiting temperature increase on our planet to below 2o C from start of industrial revolution. Reliance on fossil fuels will be reduced; rise of renewable energy and lower carbon economy will take shape. By 2050, we will have a very electrified world with more electric vehicles replacing internal combustion engines and hydrogen replacing natural gas. These issues will dominate on how and on what topics we will do our research and what challenges need to be tackled. The changes will help mankind towards sustainability, alleviating climate hazards and improving quality of life on our planet. But will that be enough to reverse the course of the planet?