The Great Transition

The Great Transition has begun. We stand at the threshold of a marvelous new era, the content of which is being prepared as you read this in the imaginations of a new generation of entrepreneurs and scientific explorers who recognize the possible within the realm of the unknown.

Tom Friedman touched on it in his NYT’s column (3/15/09, “The Next Really Cool Thing”). Ready or not, that great new "cool thing" is coming. Indeed, it may already be here; we just don’t see it and couldn’t comprehend its potential if we did. I’m talking about the laser-powered fusion energy project being developed at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, located about 50 miles east of San Francisco.

The NIF facility has the potential of enabling generators of electricity to deliver power that has “all the reliability of coal, without the carbon dioxide, all the cleanliness of wind and solar, without having to worry about the sun not shining or the wind not blowing, and all the scale of nuclear, without all the waste." They are close to success…and if they succeed, this could be that gee-whiz moment that becomes a game changer for our economy and indeed, for the economy of the world.

And what about the potential of nanotechnology? Some are predicting carbon nanotubes will replace silicon-based chips in our computers by 2015, providing an exponential increase in speed and storage capacity.

And anyone who doesn’t believe the cars we drive will change – are changing – hasn’t looked under the hood lately. About the only thing that hasn’t changed on your car in the past ten years is the fact that four tires still touch the ground. My neighbor’s new car is so smart it unlocks the driver’s door as he approaches and tunes the radio to his favorite station before he buckles up. The car you and I drive is about to change again -- big time.

The founders of Google, the Internet’s most widely accepted search engine, recently made a sizeable investment in the development of the Plug-in-Hybrid Electric Vehicle. Google’s leadership, with no shortage of imagination, plans to stay on the cutting edge of all technological progress. Google, by the way, didn’t exist prior to 1998. Don’t try to tell them what is possible and what is not. Watch what they do and you’ll have some idea of where America is heading for the short term and, indeed, for the long term.

These are tough times, economically, but some very great days are ahead for America. President Obama and his team are making bets on lasting change through their daring stimulus and budget proposals. Daring greatly is not for the faint hearted, so for those who don’t have the stomach for standing in the front ranks, I say, “stand back, and let our leader, lead.”