Now, I know what everyone is thinking - has Dr. Cristy become a global warming fanatic? The answer is not exactly, but I do think two things: (1) we need to reduce our reliance on middle-east petrol and (2) we can and should act more responsibly when it comes to how we treat the planet - and this would be easier if we had some economic incentives to do so. I've been all over the world and just seeing the piles of trash and human defecation along the roads alone would be enough to fuel #2. Then, you see the abysmal state of human rights and democratic institutions in most of the oil-producing nations of the world and it is easy to see why I think #1.
Thomas Friedman is no doubt a global-warming believer. I can amiably disagree with him on that point, and yet agree with him on several of the central theses of his book, which may be better described as a tome - it took me almost three weeks to read it.
Mr. Friedman makes an eloquent argument for a Green Revolution by appealing to the democratic capitalist in us - to not fund what he calls "petro-dictatorships" and ensure that America doesn't get beat by China in the next big industrial revolution: green technology. And he has a valid point. The Americans are way behind in this race already due to scattered tax and regulatory policies - and we are definitely in danger of losing the innovation race when it comes to finding the next great energy source that is cheap, readily available, clean and inexhaustible. In America we don't really need some government-funded Manhattan project. He argues that what we need is the right regulatory and tax-incentive environment that would encourage thousands of garage-innovators to do what America has always done best - creatively invent and hone a technology that will work and bring profits to those who are its champions.
The one point that he made that I think is completely valid and actually applies to our work in ILDI is this: creating larger middle classes through development is good, but the problem is that we are creating middle classes around the world that want the energy-guzzling American middle class lifestyle. The issue is not really about depriving our own middle class of lifestyle, but maybe incentivizing industry to develop an alternative energy system that is cheaper than our existing one. This would help us to make the change-over to the new technology (economic decisions are much easier to sell than environmental ones) and give us a competitive advantage in two ways - lower costs for us in relationship to the energy-guzzling competition and also drive purchases from us of this new technology. Economic growth is good, right?
So, how do I apply what I've learned to my life? Well, I wouldn't run out and start a solar panel business in South Africa just yet - but maybe we should be exploring ways to bring power to non-electrified rural western africa that are not dependent on the current energy grid and use clean technology. For instance, maybe a water purification system that uses solar power and generates internet connectivity on the side is a viable business model after all? It satisfies the demand for clean water, power and connectivity while bypassing the costly infrastructure investments of coal-fired energy and reducing the environmental impact of the humans needing the technology. If we wait for the "dirty fuel" energy grid to get there, we will be waiting decades. Africa leaped over land-lines, adopting cell phones, so there is precedent for this type of thing.
What most encouraged me about reading this book was to begin to think win-win with regard to the environment. I am not on-board with global warming, but I am way into green solutions that create a win for the people using them. And I am challenged to see how I can be part of this movement / green industrial revolution even in my small area of influence. Read this book and be challenged in your thinking too. Who knows, maybe you'll be one of those guys in your garage that we'll talk about in 20 years because you are filthy rich from a green technology application. Stranger things have happened.
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