Tom Friedman speaks to a crowd at Millett Hall.
In an appearance Sept. 17, author and New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman proclaimed that “Green is the new red, white, and blue” and made his case for how and why America should lead a revolution in energy technology.
Friedman spoke to a large crowd at Millett Hall Wednesday, Sept. 17 as this year’s Jack R. Anderson Distinguished Lecturer, presented by Miami’s Farmer School of Business. He referred frequently to his newly published book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why we need a green revolution and how it can renew America.
To explain the premise of his book, Friedman cited projections for climate change (hot), increasing consumption of resources by burgeoning middle classes in developing countries (flat), and exponential worldwide population growth (crowded). He listed five energy-related issues he sees as the world’s most urgent and outlined the need for U.S. policymakers to “shape the market” to give energy innovations a chance to succeed. This effort, he said, will also help America “get its groove back” as a leader in innovation willing to take on big challenges.
A green revolution will not be easy, he said, and it will mean radical change. He likened a purposeful move toward new energy technology (ET) to the information technology revolution of a decade ago. “The mantra of the IT revolution was ‘change or die,’” Friedman explained. “Many of those early IT companies are no more. A revolution in which nobody gets hurt is not a revolution; it’s a party.”
To the question “Is there time to solve these problems?” Friedman answers, “We have exactly enough time—starting now.”
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