What kind of America would you like to see?

Many of you out there may have already read Hot, Flat & Crowded by Thomas Friedman, but, I am just now getting through it.  As I got ready to board the plane on my way back home before XMAS, I saw another article by Mr. Friedman called:  Time to Reboot America.  This article argued that the US needs an infrastructure overhaul and a Green building revolution.

Friedman tells a story in Time to Reboot America (he tells a similar story in Hot, Flat & Crowded) about landing at Kennedy Airport from Hong Kong and thinking that he was moving from a Jetsons world to a Flintstones world.  I’ve heard similar stories from friends & colleagues as they enter the US for the first time…expecting to see “high-tech” America, but instead being vastly underwhelmed by overcrowded, dysfunctional airports/train stations and crumbling roads.

Back to Hot, Flat & Crowded for a moment…Thomas Friedman ends the introduction to his latest book with a pretty basic question:  What kind of America would you like to see?  I thought I would just highlight a few of Mr. Friedman’s points for inspiration & food for thought as we prepare to watch the historic inauguration of Pres. Obama in a couple of days.

What kind of America would you like to see?

An America that is addicted to oil & fueling the worst autocracies in the world?  Or a Green America that is building scalable alternatives to oil thus freeing ourselves from the grip of countries whose values we oppose?

An America with more urban sprawl devouring more open lands or a Green America where cities start to grow up rather than out, where mass transit becomes the norm rather than mass traffic jams?

An America that is spotlighted as the last holdout at international environmental conferences, earning the world’s contempt, or a Green America that leads the way in preserving our environment and the species that inhabit it, earning the world’s respect?

An America where there is no big national goal, or a Green America that finds a way to grow sustainably without destroying its natural habitats.