The World Is on Fire. This Startup Gave Me Hope.

Summary

The article discusses a promising agricultural technology startup, SupPlant, which offers a solution to significantly reduce irrigation needs amidst global crises, providing a glimmer of hope for the future.

Abstract

The world is facing multiple crises, including the war in Ukraine, the ongoing pandemic, and climate change disruptions. Amidst this backdrop of despair, an agricultural technology startup called SupPlant has developed an innovative "Internet of Trees" solution. This technology uses sensors to communicate the water needs of plants, allowing for precise irrigation, which is crucial as climate change alters traditional weather patterns. SupPlant's system not only conserves water, a rapidly becoming scarce resource, but also has the potential to save 70% of water usage for crops like date trees in the United Arab Emirates. The development of such technologies instills a small yet significant sense of hope for the future of humanity and the planet.

Opinions

The author expresses that the current state of world affairs is dire, with the situation in Ukraine described as "fucking horrifying" and the pandemic's persistence as an ongoing concern.
There is a sense of frustration and resignation, particularly with the resurgence of Covid-19 cases leading to lockdowns in China.
The article conveys a mix of emotions, from the anxiety of waking up to check if Europe is "still there" to the relative comfort in knowing that not everything is on fire, metaphorically speaking.
The author has a positive opinion of SupPlant's agtech solution, describing it as "niftiest" and highlighting its potential impact on water conservation and agriculture in the face of climate change.
The author views the advancements by SupPlant as a beacon of hope, suggesting that humanity is actively seeking and developing solutions to adapt to and mitigate the effects of global challenges.

Because people are out there trying.

So, the world is on more fire.

What is happening in Ukraine is fucking horrifying. The pandemic still isn’t over. China just re-locked down 51 million people according to ABC News because Covid surge (god damn it). Waking up at 3am last Wednesday to make sure Europe was still there wasn’t fun, and I cannot begin to imagine how not-fun it was on the other side of the Atlantic.

Yeah.

But not everything is on fire? Some people are working to adapt to the fires and find solutions to the fiery pit of awful? In some massively needed encouragement re: the state of the world and humanity at large, I read the niftiest article from Techcrunch today.

There is an agtech (agricultural tech, I learned this term 12 minutes ago) startup called SupPlant that is “an Internet of Trees solution that dramatically reduc[es] irrigation needs for thirst crops” (article link here).

In “we live in the future” news, the company is “leveraging a set of hardware sensors, the plants can tell you whether they’ve been drinking enough water, or whether they could do with an additional sip or two.” The plants can tell you if they’re thirsty (or their data can, whatever), which is awesome because normal weather patterns that farmers rely on to know how much to water their crops are being disrupted (read: fucked to hell) by climate change.

From what I understand re: the state of the future, water is going to be a problem for a lot of people, which sucks. A lot. So the knowledge that solutions like this are being created (the article mentions that the company is on the verge of signing 100% of the date trees in the United Arab Emirates, and will save them 70% of their water usage wut) gives me a slight, itty, bitty, teeeeny little inkling of hope.

For like, our general future.

Fin.