Abstract
According to Meadows' model, the main factor that determines the limits to the growth of the human civilization is the agricultural sector of the planet, the latter, however, significantly pollutes the environment and togather with other factors contributes much to global warming. A half of all the habitable land is used for agriculture. Unless the efficiency of agriculture is fundamentally improved and the amount of waste generated as a result, is reduced, a global catastrophe may befall in 30–50 years. Whereas agrarian “garbage” may not be just the waste that pollutes the environment, it can decrease the burden on the environment by being the raw material for fertilizers, feed or fuel manufacturing. Modern digital technologies can improve the efficiency of agriculture, organize low-waste or non-waste production and that will enable people to diminish the pollution of the environment and push away the limits to the growth of human civilization. The developed countries are using digital technologies more and more intensively to increase agricultural productivity and, at the same time, reduce both environmental pollution with agricultural waste and disruption of the ecological balance. The digitalization of agricultural business, the use of geoinformation technologies, drones, robots, artificial intelligence and other technologies of the digital society help to push the limits to the growth of human civilization away into the future.
Highlights
The growth model of human civilization was developed by the Club of Rome in the late 60s
Financial group Goldman Sachsa notes that the global agricultural industry has entered the "digital era" and the use of new generation technologies can increase its productivity by 70% by 2050
It has long been believed that digital technology is environmentally friendly
Summary
The growth model of human civilization was developed by the Club of Rome in the late 60s. The authors of the report concluded that if the current trends in population growth, industrialization, environmental pollution, food production and resource depletion continue, over the century the world will come to the limits of growth, there will be an unexpected and uncontrollable decline in population and production volume. The model they built, like any other, proved out to be imperfect, oversimplified and incomplete so later they repeatedly tried to update and improve it. According to UN forecasts, by 2030 there will be 8.5 billion, by 2050 - 9.7 billion, and by 2100 – there will be the number that the authors of the "Limits to Growth" report warned about - 11.2 billion people
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