augustus 2016

Technological innovation is more rapid and broad-based than in any previous industrial revolution, much of it linked to the entrepreneurial dynamism of its denizens. Rapid advances in technology and the liberalization of public policy have shaped a world in which large companies face increasing performance pressure amidst sinking return on assets, intense competition, and changing workforce dynamics. Individuals are taking advantage of lowered barriers to market entry and commercialization to become creators in their own right. As a result, a new economic landscape is beginning to emerge in which a relatively few large, concentrated players will provide infrastructure, platforms, and…

Be guided by and inspired….. A lesson that can be learned from biomimicry-motivated invention can inspire confidence, given the public’s general impression that nature has proven to be creative in terms of crafting sustainable organisms and systems. Moreover, the innate appeal of nature, which has developed highly efficient and stable processes to not only control systems, but also perform tasks such as build new objects or store energy, enhances a positive perception of the otherwise cold, inanimate world of engineering.

In an era of emerging transformational technologies that promise to have disruptive economic and strategic impacts—from 3D printing and robotics to biotech—renewable energy is rarely at the top of futurist lists. But maybe it should be. Continuing long-term trends point to a steady decline in prices and parallel increases in efficiency by 2035. Technology, policy, and finance are the three traditional under­pinnings of the energy sector. Policy and capital markets are gen­erally not very agile in responding to the evolution of technology, and technology tends not to be very agile in the byzantine world of policy. While each leg of…

We are getting used to hearing that ‘we live in a world of cities’. How to make city living sustainable is one of the key challenges of our times. The United Nations set a stand-alone goal on cities within the Sustainable Development Goals, stating to ‘make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’. As exemplified by this goal, it is becoming common for concepts such as sustainability and resilience to be used synergistically, or interchangeably. In order for cities to become more sustainable they must change the linear to a circular self-regulating sustainable relationship with the biosphere.