I chanced upon this wonderful video “the third industrial revolution” by Jeremy Rifkin from Vice last week and boy it has been on my mind ever since. The video is quite long, about 2 hour so it’s like watching a movie really. The content is insightful, the narrative is compelling and it motivates us to act. Then I purchased the book by the same author to read more about it. While the overarching narrative is the same as the video, the book goes a lot deeper into each topic with relevant data points, company names and projects.
It opened my mind about macro trends and conversations that would impact us human race. Now I understand more about climate change, what we are experiencing at the moment i.e. the end of the second industrial revolution and what we could do to contribute to the third. This has many implications into which industries we should focus on in the long term, how we live our life on a day to day basis or even as specific as sectors for investment.
You could go one step further and read some of the blueprints that TIR consulting are providing to Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam and The Hague, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg etc…
Enjoy!
Chandler
Back in the 1980’s,you couldn’t pick up a newspaper or magazine without reading about Rifkin attacking Biotechnology.He filed a ton of
lawsuits against it.His main complaint was that scientists were rushing to use this technology without first having a formal discussion and debate on it’s safety and impact on society and the enviorment.He raised concerns and issues and warned of unforeseen
consequences.But now,with his Third Industrial Revolution,Rifkin’s doing the exact opposite.He’s getting people all anxious and excited to make the switch to renewable energy.The problem here is that Rifkin’s not raising concerns and issues with Renewable energy like he
did with Biotechnology.He’s not questioning the cost,safety and reliability of hydrogen and battery storage and the toxic chemicals and
materials that are used in the manufacturing of solar panels.Not to mention the impact solar panels and wind generators will have on
society and the enviorment.