Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

From high-energy to high-information society

By Peter McMahon - posted Wednesday, 16 May 2007


To meet the global crisis caused by our prodigal use of fossil fuels we need to change the basic character of our now global society. Specifically, we need to move from a society with very high energy use to one that requires much less, and the way to make this change while losing little or no real prosperity and security is to optimise information use.

Global warming is caused by too much pollution from our use of fossil fuels. The other major problem, the fast decline of oil and gas reserves, is also due to this particular socio-economic strategy. Technological development may eventually generate entirely new energy sources, such as hydrogen fuel cells or the long-heralded nuclear fusion reactor. But in the shorter term and as a matter of priority there are two basic responses that make sense: one is to conserve energy; the other is use the least harmful energy sources more efficiently.

The reason why we live in a high-energy society is because we use lots of energy, and we use it inefficiently. For example, the basic material conditions of our society that shape our cities, the use and design of mass transportation systems, were determined in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At his time the dominant energy technology was steam, with the internal combustion engine coming up fast.

Advertisement

These were both relatively inefficient technologies. The available materials and designs were still comparatively primitive, but as the first reliable high energy sources, they were a huge leap in providing energy. We accepted the inefficiencies and the pollution, not to mention the accidents, as the cost of the great advantages provided by steam engines for factories, steam trains, steam ships, cars, trucks, buses, tractors, planes, helicopters, and all the rest.

These energy technologies drove the rise of mass industrial society which created the wealth and security we take for granted. Suddenly, the average westerner had more energy to command than a medieval king.

At the same time steam was being developed into a useful technology the first real information technology appeared on the scene in the form of telegraphy. This was the real start of the Information Revolution as technologies dedicated to information generation, storage, processing and communication proliferated. Telegraphy was followed by telephony, calculating machines, radio, TV, computers, satellites and fibre optic, the Internet, cell phones, and all the rest.

The new information technologies were critical in the development of the newish energy technologies. Telegraphy made rail safe and efficient, while radio did the same for steamships and then aircraft; computers and telecommunications became essential for managing all transport systems on land, sea and air, and in space. These technologies were behind the rise of mass air travel and the management of ever greater volumes of automobile traffic.

They also had an impact on which transport technologies rose and declined. They encouraged the use of high energy technologies, like cars and planes, while some of the more energy efficient technologies, like shipping and rail, declined.

The impact of information on modern society has been effected through two main developments: the rise of experimental science and the development of new technology. Increasingly it has been science that has provided the new technological breakthroughs, especially since science has been routinised in the form of corporate R&D programs.

Advertisement

The rise of modern science and sustained technological innovation both reflect the growing impact of information. Science is basically a system for generating information about the world through experiment and the development of theory. Technology is essentially the materialisation of information, natural materials transformed by research and organised work.

This emphasis on R&D and new products has transformed business and the world economy over the last half century. Whole new industries have arisen, all sectors have been affected, and only those firms able to manage the innovation cycle have prospered.

The focus on innovation has created new technologies, like the Internet and Ipod, but also transformed older industries. For example, extra light but tough materials are revolutionising the design of bicycles, cars, aircraft, trains and boats so they are more fuel efficient and safe. The growing use of electronics in these vehicles is another aspect of the Information Revolution.

Of course, even these technologies have their environmental down-side: the new information technologies use electricity, and obsolete platforms and batteries are among the most toxic forms of waste. Making the technologies themselves greener should be an ongoing concern.

But the other way we need to use information is much simpler, and this is where we all come in. In the end, radical change can only come about because we all do things differently. To achieve this, we need good advice and viable examples.

And so we need to promote information exchanges between individuals, groups, data bases and institutions. In particular, the practicalities of new ways of doing things are crucial - a new theory or even new technology is useless if it can’t be made to work in specific conditions. The best answer to this is to swap experience. So, for instance, we can tell each other about local soil and climate, so this plant will thrive and that won’t. Or we might find that the best experience lies elsewhere, maybe overseas. In both cases, Google and the Internet will provide the critical links.

This building of a new social infrastructure will require some sponsorship by government. Initial funding and expertise is necessary to get things off the ground. Once such networks are in place, business will likely join in and keep the momentum going. This has been the pattern for the development of information technology up till now.

The new high-information use world will be in its own way as high tech as before, but technology will increasingly be the result of a more extensive and inclusive social process, as opposed to being dominated by the big institutions like government, the corporate sector and the military. As more people use the information technologies more effectively, they will generate demand for new products that better meet their needs.

We will still use a certain amount of energy, but it will be better distributed and used much more efficiently. Because of this renewable and small-scale energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass and so on, will be more appropriate.

The high-information society is both high technology and highly social, more about networks and less about hierarchies, a fertile mix of the best of the old and new. The high-energy society was a stage we had to go through, but now it is time to move on. With the emergence of the global environmental-resource crisis, we have the clear incentive to do so.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

10 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Dr Peter McMahon has worked in a number of jobs including in politics at local, state and federal level. He has also taught Australian studies, politics and political economy at university level, and until recently he taught sustainable development at Murdoch University. He has been published in various newspapers, journals and magazines in Australia and has written a short history of economic development and sustainability in Western Australia. His book Global Control: Information Technology and Globalisation was published in the UK in 2002. He is now an independent researcher and writer on issues related to global change.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Peter McMahon

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Peter McMahon
Article Tools
Comment 10 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy