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The title for our Annual Letter this year is
two superpowers we wish we had.
And it’s because we were on a trip in Kentucky talking to students
and they asked us exactly that question
and we both said if we could have two superpowers
we’d like to have more time and more energy.
Energy is what’s allowed the entire modern lifestyle
and yet several billion people don’t have access to it.
And so as we grow the energy system we also have this constraint
that we can’t do it with more hydrocarbons
because then the CO2 emissions will make the planet’s weather
really, really bad, particularly for poor farmers.
And so that calls for innovation.
That’s a challenge for this generation of scientists.
Getting government R & D money
and startup companies to come up with that solution.
Everywhere all over the world we all talk about time.
Wanting to have more of it.
And we don’t think what it means for women.
Women do things they’d like to do in the home like raise their children
but they also are saddled with doing all kinds of chores
whether it’s cleaning dishes or collecting firewood
or going and collecting water.
All over the world women do more unpaid labor than men.
And what it means for them is that they then can’t do other things
like get educated or go to the doctor or earn an income.
There are things we can do about this
and we ought to talk about it and make those changes.