Post by vajramukti on Jun 16, 2008 21:15:13 GMT -5
According to Jeremy Rifkin, the keynote speaker at the conference I just returned from, this is how we will be known by future people.
Pre-history, Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age. We are in the twilight of the Oil Age.
Interesting note...the first industrial revolution was preceded by a leap on communication technology, the printing press, which brought about the ability for mass communication (or what was considered mass communication at that time). The 2nd industrial revolution was preceded by a leap in communication technology...the linotype machines, or typewriters, basically bringing the printing press to individuals.
Here at the twilight of the Oil Age and and 2nd Industrial Revolution, look at the GIANT leap forward in communication that we have undergone in the last 10-15 years.
Internet, cell phones, iPhone, youtube, myspace, etc. Global communication available to individuals 24 hours a day.
Will it be a 3rd Industrial Revolution? Or an Energy Revolution? I personally foresee an Energy Revolution very quickly followed by a 3rd Industrial Revolution. Probable enough overlap in the two as to be unnoticed. But I think that my son's grandchildren will be able to take affordable vacations into outerspace, and I don't think that petro-chemical energy products are going to get us there.
But, the debate must end. It is not an either/or proposition, this oil thing. We need to drill here, and drill now to reduce our dependency of foreign oil, while simultaneously aggressively pursuing alternatives that actually work.
Solar and hydro are do-able. The problem lies in our ability to store it. We simply can't store solar efficiently enough yet to power automobiles in a way that would let them do the things we need them to do. But once we work out the storage, and a way to compress the power into more efficient energy, the sky is no longer the limit, it is the avenue.
Imagine being able to transmit energy. Wirelessly. Imagine solar panels on Venus transmitting the energy to Earth. Imagine solar panels on Mars collecting energy from our Sun and Jupiter simultaneously, and transmitting to Earth. Imagine solar waste being sent back to the Sun to be recycled, as it already is.
Hydrogen fuel cells putting out steam as their waste, which can be collected as clean water and returned directly to the ecosystem.
We can get there. But we can't afford to simply abandon oil while we get there. Oil is not evil. It got us this far. But we ain't done yet.
Pre-history, Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age. We are in the twilight of the Oil Age.
Interesting note...the first industrial revolution was preceded by a leap on communication technology, the printing press, which brought about the ability for mass communication (or what was considered mass communication at that time). The 2nd industrial revolution was preceded by a leap in communication technology...the linotype machines, or typewriters, basically bringing the printing press to individuals.
Here at the twilight of the Oil Age and and 2nd Industrial Revolution, look at the GIANT leap forward in communication that we have undergone in the last 10-15 years.
Internet, cell phones, iPhone, youtube, myspace, etc. Global communication available to individuals 24 hours a day.
Will it be a 3rd Industrial Revolution? Or an Energy Revolution? I personally foresee an Energy Revolution very quickly followed by a 3rd Industrial Revolution. Probable enough overlap in the two as to be unnoticed. But I think that my son's grandchildren will be able to take affordable vacations into outerspace, and I don't think that petro-chemical energy products are going to get us there.
But, the debate must end. It is not an either/or proposition, this oil thing. We need to drill here, and drill now to reduce our dependency of foreign oil, while simultaneously aggressively pursuing alternatives that actually work.
Solar and hydro are do-able. The problem lies in our ability to store it. We simply can't store solar efficiently enough yet to power automobiles in a way that would let them do the things we need them to do. But once we work out the storage, and a way to compress the power into more efficient energy, the sky is no longer the limit, it is the avenue.
Imagine being able to transmit energy. Wirelessly. Imagine solar panels on Venus transmitting the energy to Earth. Imagine solar panels on Mars collecting energy from our Sun and Jupiter simultaneously, and transmitting to Earth. Imagine solar waste being sent back to the Sun to be recycled, as it already is.
Hydrogen fuel cells putting out steam as their waste, which can be collected as clean water and returned directly to the ecosystem.
We can get there. But we can't afford to simply abandon oil while we get there. Oil is not evil. It got us this far. But we ain't done yet.
Those who wish to join may introduce themselves here.
