Book description
How to succeed in a resource limited world. Making predictions about
the future is a dangerous game, particularly when that future has never
looked more uncertain. Natural resources are dwindling and we are
wasting the resources we do have at an unparalleled rate. Climate change
threatens our way of life and digital technology is advancing at such a
rate as to leave many of us baffled. But far from being all "doom
and gloom", these signs point to the emergence of an exciting new
wave of innovation. Throughout modern history, the tide of innovation
and progress has ebbed and flowed but a clear pattern exists - five
waves of innovation, beginning with the Industrial Revolution, have each
transformed society, economies and industry. The fifth wave was
dominated by information and communications technology but its peak is
beginning to fade and a new, brighter star is emerging. The sixth wave
of innovation will be about resources - natural resources, human
resources and information. With the challenge of a planet running out of
essential supplies and a population staring down the barrel of Malthus'
dire predictions, the sixth wave will see humanity finally make the
break away from resource-dependence. Economic growth will no longer be
tied to resource consumption or waste production (such as carbon) and
industry will no longer think in terms of products but in terms of
services. Everything, from the smallest leaf and light switch to the
largest cities and online communities, will have a value that can be
measured, so nothing is ever wasted. Driving this will be a spectacular
boom in technologies ranging from clean technology to digital mapping to
online collaboration. Traditional physical and geographical boundaries
will mean nothing in a world where everything and everyone is online.
This book is for anyone who is interested in understanding how all of
the massive changes in the world fit together. In particular it is for
those of us who wish to understand and take advantage of the changes
that are occurring around us. The Sixth Wave is a business book, a
motivational book, a popular science title, a bold prediction and a
roadmap for the future all in one.
