At the Aspen Ideas Festival Thursday, New York Times columnist and The World Is Flat author Thomas Friedman gave a preview of his new book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- and How It Can Renew America, which comes out in September. The book's main argument is that the convergence of global warming, global flattening (the rise of middle classes all over the world), and global crowding (the population boom) is driving five key trends that will define the 21st century. Friedman argues that those five trends -- energy and resource supply and demand, petro-dictatorship, biodiversity loss, climate change, and energy poverty -- have all been driven past a tipping point such that they have created a new era of history: the energy climate era. "We're not post-something anymore," Friedman said. "We're not post-war, we're not post-Cold War, we're not post-post Cold War. We're pre-something. And what we're pre-...is the energy climate era, defined by these five problems going over a tipping point. And how we manage these five problems, I believe, is really gonna define the stability or instability of the 21st century."
At the Aspen Ideas Festival Thursday, New York Times columnist and The World Is Flat author Thomas Friedman gave a preview of his new book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- and How It Can Renew America, which comes out in September. The book's main argument is that the convergence of global warming, global flattening (the rise of middle classes all over the world), and global crowding (the population boom) is driving five key trends that will define the 21st century.
Friedman argues that those five trends -- energy and resource supply and demand, petro-dictatorship, biodiversity loss, climate change, and energy poverty -- have all been driven past a tipping point such that they have created a new era of history: the energy climate era.
"We're not post-something anymore," Friedman said. "We're not post-war, we're not post-Cold War, we're not post-post Cold War. We're pre-something. And what we're pre-...is the energy climate era, defined by these five problems going over a tipping point. And how we manage these five problems, I believe, is really gonna define the stability or instability of the 21st century."
So the world (or at least America) is still flat? When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
That should be qualified with "except in developed countries, and many other ones too".
There has been a fall of middle classes in a great many countries (hello, neo-liberalism, how have you been?), not least his.
Having said that, I agree that the world needs a sustainability revolution, and that it would do a lot of good to the US (jobs rather than dividends). Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
One of my heroes, for sustainability in general (renewables in particular) is Amory Lovins. But i've differed with him over the roles of utilities for decades, even thinking (knowing?) that he's sold out. I think it's hubris to believe you can change the attitudes of the Pentagon, for example, where he's gotten lots of funding. Yet, one can argue he's having a positive effect.
Friedman will have to walk the walk a long time before he meets the credibility of Amory.
(btw, if any of you have read my last blog entry, 1.5 years ago, you know of my eulogy for Woody Stoddard, who was one of the key players in establishing windpower in amurka, and my best friend and colleague in the industry. He and Amory went to high school together... can you imagine how that prepared them for their revitalizing of amurka's energy scene?) "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin
