Imagine this!
Your home is totally self-sufficient for all its energy needs! – No more power bills!
Buildings in the future will not only be designed for living and working in, they will incorporate mini-power stations, producing and storing clean, renewable energy, through solar and wind power.
This is the vision of renowned Economic and Social Theorist Jeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends, Adviser to the European Union and the U.S Government as well as author of 19 bestselling books including his latest – The Third Industrial Revolution: How lateral power is transforming energy, the economy and the world.
I was privileged to hear Jeremy Rifkin speak in Luxembourg as the keynote speaker at the 65th International Real Estate Federation World Congress, (FIABCI), attracting more than 1,000 real estate industry leaders from around the globe. Australia was well represented as many of us were there to also witness the induction of Australia’s own Robyn Waters as FIABCI’s new World President.
The congress theme was “Building Humanity” and Rifkin’s presentation showcased how new internet technologies combined with renewable energies will revolutionise our global economic system, the workforce and society, specifically focussing on the key role real estate will play in this transformation.
Rifkin explained how great economic revolutions in history occur when new communication technologies converge with new energy systems.
The first Industrial Revolution happened with the introduction of steam-powered technology transforming printing and improving communication.
The second was the oil-powered combustion engine converging with electrical communication.
According to Rifkin the massive convergence of internet technology, (as an instantaneous global communication tool), and renewable energies, is giving rise to a Third Industrial Revolution.
In the coming era hundreds of millions of people will produce their own green energy in their homes, offices and factories.
Our industrial civilization is at a crossroad. Oil and the other fossil fuels that make up our industrial way of life are sunsetting. Rifkin believes that by 2050 there will be no more need for fossil fuels or nuclear power, thanks to a green electricity network.
Article by Paul Kounnas. Reposted with permission from the author.