The mid-term election was certainly a shining example of Democracy in all its imperfect beauty.  The will of the people was clearly apparent.  A President and his war were clearly rejected.  The American political conversation moved back to the middle.  The founding fathers vision of a government of checks and balances has been taken up by the electorate.  Change, discourse, consensus, compromise, bi-partisanship and a clear desire to chart a new course was the message of the electorate.

It feels like a door on a time and mind set has closed and a new one has opened.  The six years since the 2000 election has been a time of anger, fear, anxiety, and negativity in the United States.  The issues of the disputed 2000 presidential election, the stock market crash, 9/11, the rise of religious fundamentalism – and its strident ‘we are right and you are wrong’ arguments – governmental lies and deception, a war with Americans dying and no end in sight, and a knowledge that we are destroying our planet have all created a sense of despair and depression for a majority of Americans.  Many have expressed a sense of things spinning out of control, of America and the world having lost its way.

Since I am a futurist, people have, during the past year, asked me where we are going.  Inherent in the way they asked the question it was clear that they were in despair and looking for hope.  Read on.

I sense that this election closed a door …

Last week the British Government released the Stern Report on Global Warming. As those of you who read about it know, the report suggested that, without immediate and aggressive spending, global warming will reduce worldwide productivity on the scale of the Great Depression. The report, commissioned by the British government is the most comprehensive study to date of the economic impact of global warming. The quick summary is that failure to act could cost up to 20% of lost income worldwide on an annual basis. Aggressive and immediate action to solve the problem would cost 1% of gross global domestic product.

Global warming has now been framed economically. Do nothing and have economic consequences on the order of the Great Depression, one that would almost by definition be an open ended depression, or take immediate actions across the board at an estimated 1% additional cost. Not exactly a difficult decision to make, at least if you are looking at the situation with clarity. Of course there are still people, and prominent US politicians, who say that it is ‘too expensive’ to cut greenhouse gases. We should not let these ostrich like approaches to this huge issue hold us back any longer. The scientists have weighed in on the fact that there is global warming, and now the economic consequences of the danger have been presented in a powerful way.

Economics is obviously a primary driver in the countries of the world. Economics …

Since the oil embargo of 1974, there has always been news coverage of OPEC meetings.  Usually it is about raising prices or cutting production.  These stories are usually accompanied by pictures of smiling or laughing men.  Until recently these articles usually caused a negative reaction in me, as they represented the fact that a small group of countries, blessed with large petroleum reserves, were manipulating prices and controlling the energy policy – and foreign policy – of countries around the world, particularly the United States.

There were some recent articles about the last OPEC meeting with headlines stating that OPEC producers were cutting production to prop up prices.  This time I found myself cheering them on.  Yes, keep those prices up over $60 a barrel.  In fact, let them go higher.  Ever since oil went over $60 a barrel earlier this year there has been a profound reaction and change in the perception of energy.  As mentioned in an earlier post this week, this high price of oil has helped to trigger what seems to be a tipping point in the perception of energy and the need to both conserve our use of oil and to find alternative sources of energy.

I know this may be an unpopular viewpoint to some, but keeping the price of oil high seems to be one of the primary factors in solving the energy crisis.  Not only does it make us want to find ways to conserve, it also provides economic incentive to those that want …