Government Technology

Digital Access Can Solve Energy, Environmental And Transportation Challenges


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March 20, 2008 By

I am an old guy. Well, not really old, but getting older. At 57, I'm middle-aged and entering the final third of my life; the runway ahead is getting shorter. I'm a member of the baby boom generation that's in the queue to retire, and will soon claim the bounty of Social Security and Medicare entitlements.

I am old enough, too, to see that we stand at a unique moment in the history of not only the United States, but the world as well. It has nothing to do with who will win the presidential election later this year. It has everything to do with the fact that we face challenges more daunting than any I have seen in my lifetime. I sense it is a bit like 1960 once more in America: There is a big decade coming.

Transformation is in the air. I can smell it. 

The next decade will be driven by a range of factors, and we will witness significant shifts in how we conduct our affairs as individuals and institutions.  One of those shifts will involve the deliberate rise of digital communities as a strategic choice and public policy necessity. Before explaining, let me highlight several factors that will fuel this shift.

 
Global Warming
In 2007, in a sober assessment of the Earth's health, scientists on the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that global warming is "unequivocal," and that human activity is the main cause. The IPCC found that carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases from automobiles, coal-fired power plants and manufacturing emissions have been the main causes of warming since 1950. Many on the panel predicted a doubling of greenhouse gases by the middle of this century unless there's a rapid movement away from these sources of pollution.


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