Friedman talks about sustainability at IU Auditorium for fall Themester

Thomas Friedman said he believes America needs to push forward with technology and innovation but with the environment on the mind.

The New York Times columnist and best-selling author spoke Thursday at the IU Auditorium to a packed crowd, to discuss the concepts in his book — ranging from the green revolution to his overall idea that “price matters” when it comes to the energy technology revolution.

The talk was part of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Themester 2010 “sustain•ability: Thriving on a Small Planet,” as well as the School of Journalism’s fall Speaker Series.

We boiled down Friedman’s talk in case you missed it.

Sustainability

“When historians look back at this time, they will see that the economy and mother nature has hit a wall because we are growing in an unsustainable fashion. This is our warning heart attack.”

Friedman said the baby boomer generation ate through resources “like grasshoppers,” and he suggested that it is now time to be the re-generation that relies on sustainable values to model our lifestyle decisions.

The market and mother nature are autistic in that they feel no emotion, he said. It is hard to mess with these powerful forces that govern most aspects of life, and therefore, sustainable tactics must be used, he said.

Global warming

“I’m like Dick Cheney. Cheney said that if there is a 1 percent chance that Saddam Hussein had nuclear weapons, then that justified preventative action. This is just like the environment. If there is uncertainty, there is reason to act to prevent a catastrophic event with insurance.”

Global warming is an uncertain event, he said. However, this is not reason to ignore the situation at hand and claim it does not exist.

Instead, Friedman said he believes global warming is a real problem.

The earth’s temperature has risen 1 degree Fahrenheit since the Industrial Revolution, Friedman said. While this might seem like little to be concerned about, small changes can have large effects on the environment.

These changes prompt odd weather habits, a concept Friedman called “global-weirding,” in which warm weather is warmer or the snow is thicker than usual.

Energy innovators

“This South African car ad featured the slogan ‘German engineering, Swiss innovation, American nothing.’ If these people think this is the best way to advertise cars, it pisses me off. American engineering and innovation is second to none.”

The best way to solve the environmental crisis, the author said, is for the U.S. to be innovative and find a solution so that future children can inherit a sustainable environment.

Just as American companies, such as Google and Apple, transformed the information technology revolution, Friedman said there would be nothing bigger than if America provides solutions to the environmental technology revolution.

Price matters

“In order to get people to switch to sustainable ways of life, the energy revolution must provide ‘green’ functions that people previously enjoyed for the same price as before.”

During his speech, Friedman provided a real-life example. He tried to convince IU’s student government to pay $300 more for solar powered lights in the auditorium, but he said it would not be likely to happen because the building has old, less expensive lighting.

Unless government can provide sustainable options at similar prices, change will not occur, he said.