Interesting Carnival Ride (so far) at HUB’09
I was intrigued!
You see, the promo website the Windsor Essex Development Commission erected to publicize their HUB ‘09 International Multimodal Conference lauded Jeremy Rifkin as their keynote speaker.
Huh? Is this the same peak-oil theorist, post-carbon lecturer Jeremy Rifkin who has been igniting tire-fires for te last 25 years? Speaking to a 300-strong group of transortation industry representatives?
How could this be?
Yeah - I had to go to see for myself.
So, my ScaleDown Radio cohost Andrew Foot secured media passes to the conference for us and off we went.
We weren’t dissappointed.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that the conference organizers decided NOT to feed the media representatives, (the Toronto-hired photographer got fed, though, along with having his hotel room taken care of) Andrew and I had to leave the conference to find nourishment, which got us back to the Augustus room at Caesers Windsor late, just into Rifkin’s talk. I don’t think we missed much, though.
I won’t get into Rifkin’s talk much today, as we are going to be broadcasting most of it on Monday’s ScaleDown Radio show so you can hear it in it’s entirety then. The thing that I found most interesting was how the audience received Rifkin’s message. Here is an influencial speaker, who has worked for some pretty damned impressive organizations, warning truck drivers and airline executives about the coming calamity of peak-oil and pleading with them to position Windsor/Essex for a bright future by investing in a post-carbon, hydrogen-based future of home-grown distributed energy and logistics. The shaking heads, restless fidgiting and vacating seats told me that his message was not one they wanted to hear.
If this had been the year 1999 instead of 2009, I would have been a little less surprised. But today, when these “rabble rousers”, (as the Star’s Ellen Van Wageningen called him) have proven themselves to be quite accurate in their forcasts, it is illogical to just dismiss them as a lot of the participants did. The one city of Windsor political representative (the mayor and all other councillors were no-shows), ward 2 councillor Postma, seemed more interested in chatting with some of her county colleagues and rustling through the days agenda than taking in what Rifkin had to say. This means that the great advice the speaker had for the audience will probably not make it to the rest of council, let alone Windsor’s municipal agenda.
Which is a shame, as Rifkin was laying out precisely what Windsor and Essex county had to do to position itself for a very successful future with the Multimodal Hub they are actively trying to sell. My criticisms of our infrastructure investments to date has been that they are stuck in the rut of outmoded 20th century thinking and are doing nothing to position ourselves for the “third industrial revolution”.
I don’t know about you, but I would rather be on the cutting edge of the next economy than perfecting the old one.
So, Andrew and I are heading back today when the Hon. John Baird (Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities) will be giving a keynote address. Thankfully, the conference organizers have been giving us access to these speakers, so you will get to hear everything that they have to say on the radio show this Monday.
Stay tuned…
Tags: event, Jeremy Rifkin, MultiModal Hub, WEDC
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The Mayor will be there at lunch. Guaranteed.
Your certainty wouldn’t have anything to do with Minister Baird being in attendance, would it?
Not at all
Chris, did you really expect anything more? Windsor, to use a Biblical analogy, are like the Children of Isreal when Moses came down from Mount Sinai. They have their gold calves and idols to worship and have no need for a new way to do things. Unforunately, Windsor will have to be compelled to be humble in order to change, rather than just deciding to change because it is the “right thing to do.”
(Alas, this is just part of a bigger issue of “distraction economics”. It is along the idea that “As long as I have football on the big screen and beer in the fridge, I am golden!” Replace the bribes with any mass consumption item of the past 20 years. [Mine would be Dr. Pepper and Internet -- but who's keeping tabs
] What you get is society focused on consuming rather than existing, or, better stated, existing to consume rather than consuming to exist.)
PFA - I think we’re talking about society as a whole.
We’ve been conditioned to “consume.” Our whole economic system’s foundation is built upon consumption.
And as long as there is money to be made from consumers clammering to consume, little will change.
Slowly, as critical mass is attained, perceptions, beliefs and values will change. Production will respond to what the majority wants.
I’ll be honest about my own consumption habits - the only time they change is when it is absolutely necessary to do so.
Take for example an overweight person. Generally, most accept their weight until something happens - ie/ health issues, etc.
I don’t find the reaction of the audience too difficult to believe. We’re not there yet.
Unfortunately, the human condition seems to indicate a responsive reaction rather than proactive.
IE your comment exiting to consume rather than consuming to exist - i recommend reading Guy Debord, Society and the Spectacle. I believe you would find it quite interesting.
Here is the link to the online book (free!!!):
http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/debord/
Chris S, I 100% agree. Windsor is, unfortunately, like so many other sprawl cities who are now suffering. They are not unique.