Juggling Dynamite

Danielle was a guest with Jim Goddard on Talk Digital Network, talking about recent developments in the world economy and markets.  You can listen to an audio clip of the segment here.

In addition to sunlight that hits the earth’s surface every hour with 430 quintillion joules of energy–enough to power the world for a year, new analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA) finds that if windfarms are built across all useable sites which are no further than 60km (37 miles) off the coast, and where coastal waters are no deeper than 60 metres, they can generate 36,000 terawatt-hours of renewable electricity a year, enough to easily meet the current global demand for electricity of 23,000 terawatt-hours. See:  Offshore windfarms ‘can provide more electricity than the world needs’ Supplies from turbines will prove to be the next great energy revolution, IEA predicts.

Economical battery storage was the missing link to back up intermittent power sources, but technological advancements and battery costs that have fallen 80% over the past decade, mean storage is no longer an impediment to a fully renewable power grid.

This is an inspiring, sobering story of grit in the face of adversity, and is available for rent now on iTunes.

MAIDEN is the story of how Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook in charter boats, became the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World in 1989.  Here is a direct video link.

Many people seek to ignore or discount tectonic shifts happening under the global economy because they are afraid and/or resistant to change, or just not interested in big-picture topics.

That is one’s prerogative.  But the world is shifting nonetheless and the motivation is economic, not altruistic.  Those with a business and financial sense cannot help but acknowledge the overwhelming case for smaller, smarter, faster, cheaper, cleaner products and systems in a world of nearly 8 billion people and counting.

No era remains static.  There have been massive economic paradigm shifts throughout  human history.  We are in the next one now.

Wharton Professor, global economic advisor and author of 20 books, Jeremy Rifkin explains the modern world’s third industrial revolution well in the talk below.  No one is saying this is easy, or without cost and the need for massive investment, but it is happening.

For those who reject or prefer to skip the environment case for the transition, you can go straight to the economic case by advancing the clip to start at 12:45 on the play bar.

Note that the content here is far from fringe:  Ford Motors sponsored the premiere of the presentation at the Tribeca Film Festival and other venues last year.

A Third Industrial Revolution is unfolding with the convergence of three pivotal technologies: an ultra-fast 5G communication internet, a renewable energy internet, and a driverless mobility internet, all connected to the Internet of Things embedded across society and the environment.

This 21st century smart digital infrastructure is giving rise to a radical new sharing economy that is transforming the way we manage, power and move economic life. But with climate change now ravaging the planet, it needs to happen fast. Change of this magnitude requires political will and a profound ideological shift. Here is a direct video link.