Becoming a Kardashev Type I Civilization

The Kardashev Scale has become a standardized way of classifying (hypothetical) advanced civilizations. The lowest rank, Type 1, is still way ahead of us - but by how much? When will we achieve Type 1 status and exactly how could we plausibly do so? In this video, we go through some estimates of when humanity might become Type 1, and in particular what kind of energy sources we could harness to achieve this feat. You can now support our research program and the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University: ► Kardashev (1964), “Transmission of Information by Extraterrestrial Civilizations“, Soviet Astronomy, 8, 217: ► Michio Kaku video clip from BigThink: ► Wind map movie credit to Rufinoman and : ► Wind energy calculation based off Smil (2004), “Inherent limits of renewable energies“