I just ordered it from Amazon, but, while I patiently wait for the international pouch to cross the ecuator, I googled it up on the Web to find out that the online discussion on concept and context of the idea has probably outgrown the content printed in the book itself.

Dicussions, comments and ideas exchanged on the implications such as Linkedin and on Friedman´s site itself, where one can participate in the construction of some Chapters, show, not only the timeliness of this book, but the avidness of the online community to participate in generating solutions to prevent a Hot and unsustainable world.

I recommend these videos on Youtube of Friedman presenting his book, from which I extracted a brief and valuable summary.

In a World that is Hot, Flat and Crowded clean power is going to be the great global industry because in time, and it is going to be soon, the World is going to force everyone to pay the true cost of the energy they are using, the climate change they are causing, the biodiversity loss they are triggering, the petro-dictatorship they are supporting and the energy poverty they are sustaining.

These costs will either be imposed by mother nature, individual governments, by consumers, yours or someone else’s, or by your own kids that will not allow you anymore to charge their future on your visa card. Because the costs have all reached a stage of criticality were their impacts on the world can no longer be externalized, ignored or confined. And that is why in a world that is Hot, Flat and Crowded, clean power generation and the tools we need for greater energy and resource efficiency are going to be the next great global industry, they simply have to be, if we want our planet to remain habitable.

And therefore, the ability to build, deploy and export clean energy systems and technologies is going to become a currency of power in the energy climate era, not the only one but, right up there with computers microchips and weapon systems. These green technologies will become critical in determining a countries economic standing, environmental health, energy security and national security in the next 20 to thirty years.

Some see that now, others will see it soon. Eventually it will be obvious to all, I hope every country gets their sooner rather than later, but most of all I want to make sure that my country the United states of America is in the lead.

If America seizes the opportunity to solve these problems it will be a huge engine propelling our economy in the 21st century . TF