Climate Change and the O Levels of Madness - Essay Example

Assignment Hot, Flat and Crowded “A place where birds dont fly is a place where people dont mix, ideas dont get sparked, friendships dont get forged, stereotypes dont get broken, collaboration doesnt happen, trust doesnt get built, and freedom doesnt ring.” Thomas L. Friedman, ‘Hot, Flat and Crowded.’ Global warming is becoming a grave social issue in today’s day and age because of the threat that it poses to all of existence; the climate around the world is getting warmer, seas and oceans and drying up and a large amount of marine as well as land life is dying. To add to the problem, the world is only progressing and moving ahead, i.e., technology and the growth of industries are required in order to come up with solutions to counter this issue of climate change. However, the introduction of such sources of energy requires some amount of sacrifice on part of the environment because technology does after all take a toll on the atmospheric surroundings. Furthermore, population growth is pressing on the Earth’s minerals and resources, making the land scarce and over populated – thus the name of Thomas L. Friedman’s popular ‘Hot, Flat and Crowded.’ People all over the world are engaged in playing ‘green politics’ these days and this is extremely compatible with the big business and entrepreneurial scene because the need for clean and green energy in order to save the environment calls for newer enterprises and business ventures where people are able to apply their minds and scientific temper and come up with ideas of how to make the world a better and greener place, while destroying it at the same time. The global environmental crisis has hit America to a great extent as discussed within the scope of this book. The main aspects that are affecting the country are global warming, growing population and the rapid growth of the business sectors. According to the author, 2050 is the year when climate change, if not done something about, will make a really lasting negative impact on the world. The Earth will reach a position then from where it will not be able to turn back time and save itself. Friedman writes that the focus of America needs to shift from concentrating on making money in the field of IT or information technology to ET or renewable environment technologies. There is a lot of scope for the growth of companies and business enterprises in this field and more and more people need to engage in work in these areas in order to save the Earth from collapsing because of extreme temperatures. Al Gore’s Oscar winning documentary, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ talks about climate change as well and how America is going to be one of the first countries to witness the worst when the same happens; Friedman takes influence from there and continues to provide solution for how this problem needs to be countered because of the way that man is treating the outside world around him. The main reason why Friedman has touched upon this topic of exploiting business opportunities and addressing climate change at the same time is because of his reader base; the author is aware of business class executives and CEOs of companies reading his work and therefore, he has found it imperative to write about an issue that will be heard by such strong shoulders of the world who will be in a position to do something about the same. He writes, “If their (people in poor, fragile states) basic freedoms and basic needs - food, housing, education, and employment - are not met, they could be easily attracted to violence, civil unrest and extremism.”(pg 29) The world is undergoing fierce competition for the purpose of making use of scarce resources; every individual wants and has a demand for commodities that he may or may not be in a position to purchase. Thus, basic human needs need to be achieved by every individual at least for the purpose of surviving and Friedman has touched upon the same by elaborating on the key issues of energy demand and supply. He has warned his audience about the adverse effects of climate change and population growth and how the same will take a toll on the development of the American economy if something is not done about soon enough. In order to frame and sell his arguments, he has tried to touch upon topics of petro-politics, energy poverty and the loss of biodiversity among other aspects that need to be addressed in today’s Energy Climate Era (E.C.E). Thus, he has tried to state certain challenges that need to be taken up, which may be taken up by the powerful people reading his book, because of their position and ability to try and do something about the problems. As per general economics, it becomes imperative to understand that the power of the world lies in a few hands. People still live according to Karl Marx’s class structure where power is the aspect that clearly draws the line between the haves and the have-nots of society. Thus, only the powerful and rich have power in their hands to be able to do something about the social issues that we are faced with today. They have the ability to run factories and industries, employ the poor and develop the economy in the process. Furthermore, their ideas need to be in accordance with the energy and climate requirements in order to give back to society and do some good to the planet. Friedman writes on page 69, ‘Innovation around sustainable energy and resource productivity is our only way out of this problem (of the need for a more sustainable growth model).’ He talks about the ‘cradle to cradle’ concept that has been put forth by McDonough and Braungart where the two talk about putting forward designs for the purpose of recovering and reutilizing product components as biological or technical nutrients. However, the question is that many authors have the ability to talk about changing the climate and turning it into a business opportunity that would provide an incentive for people all around the world with an opportunity to grab, but how many actually grab it? Friedman’s work is not something exclusive; many authors and directors have written books and worked on documentaries, like Al Gore and Bill McKibben, but the difference lies in the audience that they appeal to. Friedman’s work as discussed earlier is much talked about among the business classes. But he may only see results if people from that powerful section of society get up and try and make some sense out his text and research in a practical manner. A number of technologically adept companies like Apple and Wipro have made a large number of significant changes in the way they have been responding to climate change. In other fields as well, efforts have been taken in order to make the world a better place by giving back to society through the way of corporate social responsibility which mostly includes taking care of the environment. Is Friedman’s association of asking people to come up with solutions fair? In a way, it is, because the world is ruled by a number of dictators in terms of these entrepreneurs, according to him. They are the ones that formulate the country’s foreign policies and have the power to make changes. On page 116, the author mentions that, ‘the only important holes left in the science of climate change are whether it will be "serious or catastrophic" and whether we will reach that point sooner rather than later.’ The book is broken up into various arguments with respect to Friedman’s views and assessments and whether or not they will be acceptable to the world at large today. in theory, writing is easy, however, the real test to the author’s thought process and writing skills will only be put to use when the same works out in practicality and the world looks at itself as a better place in the next twenty five or so years. On page 141, Friedman has described life as, ‘We may be the first generation in human history that literally has to act like Noah - to save the last pairs of a wide range of species.’ It thus becomes imperative to answer his question; is leaving the world to become a better place ‘tomorrow’ more than enough? The answer lies in not only saving biodiversity but also addressing the qualms of humanity at the same time. He has written down 205 ways by which people can save the planet in today’s modern day and age where systematic solutions have been provided for the purpose of solving climate and energy problems, the main way which is to make IT and ET meet. In conclusion, Friedman’s book has answered a number of questions with regard to climate change and the over populated levels of madness that the world is witnessing at large today. in the final premise of his book, he has addressed countries like China and America and has written about how they could be solving half the world’s issues with regard to climate change, technology in terms of ‘green’ and over population since these are the countries that are adding to half the world’s climate change issues. His book has been written in a narrative as well as a matter of fact tone and he hopes to achieve an reader base which will listen to the problems and solutions that have been put forth, and act on and implement the same for the better of tomorrow; just so that the world, in twenty five years, is not as hot, flat or crowded. References Freeland, J. (2008, October 3). Eco-nomics. NY Times (New York City), Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/books/review/Freedland-t.html?pagewanted=all Friedman, T. L. (2008). Hot, Flat and Crowded. Graff, G. M. (2008). "In Hot, Flat, and Crowded, Thomas Friedman Calls for a Green Energy Revolution". Wired Magazine. Easterbrook, G. (2008). "Its Time To Turn Down the Heat". Slate Magazine. Taibbi, M. (2009). Flat N All That. New York Press. Read More