Biting off far more than I can possibly chew
I got some coaching from a professional business coach yesterday and, as a result of her coaching, I was finally able to codify what it is that I want to do…
And it scares the hell outta me!
Basically, I have decided to assist 3rd world countries with rapid modernization of their power and transportation infrastructures.
WHAT?!?
Well, the majority of the population of the world lives in subsistence-based economies. But with globalization, they are rapidly modernizing, building, buying cars, and just generally working like hell to achieve a First World kind of success.
The only problem is that the First World’s model is broken. Our environmental crisis is a clear indication that the methods we used to modernize will simply not scale to support the rest of the world.
Better solutions are available now (alternative power, mass-transit systems, etc) but the vested interests, stagnant bureaucratic governments, and apathetic/selfish electorates are unwilling or unable to take broad action and replace archaic technologies with newer ones.
However, the Third World does not have the long-standing infrastructure that the First World countries have. And assisting them in building coal-fired power plants, for example, is utterly moronic, to put it bluntly.
My goal is to drive a worldwide push to mass produce cutting edge power and transport systems and install them throughout the Third World, to help them leapfrog the bad decisions we in the First World made in the past when we thought resources were infinite.
Basically, we have reinvented the wheel. For example, solar, wind, tidal, geothermal power solutions are viable and in place today. The only reason they are not more prevalent in the First World countries is due to our being locked-in to archaic technologies.
So why allow the Third World to build their new infrastructures on our proven-faulty technologies?
A Better Wheel is my concept. We know what is better than fossil fuels, and three cars in every driveway, and air conditioners in every window. We have the proven methods and technologies. We have better wheels. They just don’t fit on our vehicles because we are stubborn and stingy.
The idea of A Better Wheel is to rapidly ramp up global mass production of alternative energy systems, and install them into the Third World before they commit fully to our wrong-headed solutions. (Like coal-based power.)
Mass production will reduce costs, and therefore retail prices will drop, too.
Heavy polluters like the USA and China can be incentivized to underwrite the installation of these “green” power solutions as a way to relax the pressure on them to do the same.
Getting local people trained on the installation and maintenance of these systems will also provide jobs, technical expertise, and autonomy from greedy foreign corporate interests.
In the end, you wind up with Third World countries leading the way in alternative energy and transportation solutions. This should spur local innovation and provide technical education and jobs for the local populace, as well.
Imagine the day when you bring in a solar power expert from Ghana to assist in moving your business away from unsustainable power sources.
Imagine the day when nations are no longer beholden to corporate interests, because their essential power sources are infinite (sun, wind, tidal, etc).
Imagine the day when people look to places like Central America and Africa for technical innovation.
Imagine the pressure on the First World countries to modernize their archaic infrastructures when everyone in the Third World already has these systems in place.
A Better Wheel is how I plan to make these imaginary concepts a reality.
I had better get to work!
