
An economic futurist spoke of the looming, apocalyptic future for mankind and outlined the plan for humanity’s survival and enduring empathy during Monday night’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
Founder of the Foundation for Economic Trends Jeremy Rifkin pointed to the climbing unemployment rate in the United States, the dependence on finite fossil fuels for every facet of life and the threats of increases in global temperature as clear indicators of humanity’s imminent collapse.
“We are in the sunset of the great, short-lived energy revolutions in all of history. Sunsets take a long time. This is on your generation’s watch,” Rifkin said.
Rifkin said he predicts a 3 percent increase in the average temperature of the earth could bring about the end of mankind, because the weather would become more violent, and hurricanes and other weather patterns would become more intense. He said this increase is closer to being a reality than thought possible.
“Does anyone here think we can sustain our species?” Rifkin asked the audience.
No one in the audience answered.
Rifkin has worked in conjunction with the European Union to form a four-pillar plan that has already been implemented in some European countries. As part of the plan, he hopes to bring renewable fuels such as wind, solar and tidal to homes.
The plan renders every building its own power plant and uses hydrogen fuel cells to store the energy that it produces through the renewable resources.
The last part of the plan would use the same technology of the Internet to share not information but energy. The “intergrid,” as Rifkin called it, is connected by software similar to that of the Internet and would let everyone connected on the grid share power with each other.
“He talked about how the Obama administration isn’t up to speed on environmental policies,” said Max Love, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin.
Wikipedia was a prime example to show the “millennial” generation’s capacity to work together to achieve a powerful, collective, open source of information. He said this same attitude of sharing information on the Internet can be applied to the future of power.
Rifkin added the earth cannot be saved by technology alone, but also with a shift in consciousness. He blamed geopolitics and acting as though the earth was made up of disposable parts. Once man realizes his dependence on one another, he said, the species will conserve more.
“I grew up in a vegetarian family, and I wouldn’t mind cutting consumption. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to follow green trends,” UW junior David Nebel said.
Rifkin said he speaks of a near end to humanity not to entertain but to remind people of the severity of the issue. He placed the responsibility of a task no smaller than saving civilization as we know it in the hands of today’s youth.
“What your generation has to do is clear. You have to save the creatures on this world. Lay down the master plans. Don’t wait for the politicians, do it yourself. Get the job done. Change the human story,” Rifkin said.