When Global Goes Local: how ubiquitous connectivity and peak oil will challenge economies of scale
We live in a society powered by fossil fuel. Almost everything we do consumes large amounts of non-renewable energy, because our cities, our industries and our lives are designed to do so. That’s bad news, because energy is becoming more scarce and therefore more expensive. At the same time, concerns about climate change are likely to cause the introduction of carbon taxes, pushing energy costs even higher.
But there’s good news, too: we can solve it. Not just through alternative energy sources and more efficient devices - they will play a big role, but they aren’t the whole solution. We need to change how we live, and go back to what some call the “urban village” - urban lifestyles that don’t involve travelling large distances. At the same time, we can even use this social upheaval as an opportunity to solve some of the problems that plague our modern cities:
- traffic noise
- social isolation
- ineffective transportation
- declining food quality
- throw-away culture
Over the next few days, I’ll be publishing a series of short posts exploring how communications technologies can change the way we travel, shop, work and socialise. I’ll show that in this process, we’ll not only save our planet, but also make our cities nicer and more exciting places to live.
