Energy & an Ethical Life

I really like connecting disparate ideas. What it means is that I possess an over-developed sense of spatial relations, that which seems random, is actually connected, at least in my mind. I can't take credit for that idea, I'm actually paraphrasing it from a conversation on the TV show Criminal Minds, but this proves an example of the concept I attempt to illustrate- a popular mainstream television show provided the jumping off point for one of my blog ruminations, a blog that centers on urban planning, not pop culture's interpretations of forensics. Basically, it boils down to my love of six degrees of separation, I guess.

But I have been thinking a lot about energy and transportation, two big hot-button issues right now. And as it seems as though America may be succeeded by another formerly (only) developing nation, like China, or India, this also means that these countries will experience a higher quality of life. A higher quality of life involves such things in life, that we may take for granted that were originally seen as a luxury and soon will be commonplace for the rising nations, such as light bulbs, cable TV, the Internet, etc., All of these technology and electric-based items will consequently require energy to power them and may also result in pollution due to the power sources. The question is, can the Earth handle that?

This concept is developed more fully by Thomas Friedman, in his latest work, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America.

I have enjoyed reading Mr. Friedman's previous work, the World is Flat: a Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, which expounds on the idea of globalization, as set out by his prior work, the Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization. But I have not yet read the Lexus and the Olive Tree. Many of the pronouncements Mr. Friedman makes about America and its shifting position amid the world powers, in the World is Flat, are unfolding before our eyes, and while it is interesting to be educated on why this is happening, it doesn't lessen the economic blow. [a disclaimer: I read the 2005 edition of aforementioned work, not the revised 2006 edition nor the World is Flat 3.0, the 2007 edition. The fact that such a work warrants 3 new editions in so many years speaks volumes, no pun intended, of what an influential work this is and also how much can change in global politics and economics in a year.]

Mr. Fareed Zakaria, a correspondent for Newsweek magazine, has also written an engaging book called, the Post-American World. I would like to mention that Mr. Zakaria's work for Newsweek has proven most informative, both insightful and incisive. Mr. Friedman is also a journalist by trade, but I have not read any of his work outside of those in book form.

I have not read either Mr. Zakaria's nor Mr. Friedman's books, but they both are absolutely fascinating in terms of their theses.

An interview was composed between Mr. Zakaria and Mr. Friedman, which is available through amazon.com and hopefully, the enclosed link. It is available in both video and transcript form.

Both authors expound on the fact that Americans have had a rarefied position for the past several hundred years, but that is quickly changing. For example, to paraphrase from Mr. Friedman and Mr. Zakaria's conversation, soon, almost everyone in China will be able to flip on a light with the flick of a switch, just like we do soon. But they will also need coal-powered factories to generate such energy. Coal contributes to pollution, which isn't good. But who's to say that the Chinese aren't deserving of indoor electricity like the majority of Americans experience? It's a slippery slope on which to base one's arguments, but consequences, be they good or bad, will occur.

Again, I would like to state that with challenge brings opportunity and a lot of exciting and good changes, for everybody on the planet, are in the works. This won't happen overnight, but it will happen.