"The more you reach for the past, the more the future escapes you." - Futurist Jim Carroll
It's July 4, and so I am pausing my Megatrends series for the day to give a shoutout to all my American friends..
In that context, it's an 'interesting' time to be a futurist. I find myself, as do many others, in the odd situation of outlining the massive opportunities of tomorrow to a nation and people who seem all too eager to dismiss those opportunities. It's not just 'interesting' - it's just downright weird at times.
At least I've come up with an evocative image that fits the theme - I was going to use this one, but that seems to align too much with the dismal attitude that many people find themselves caught with today. I've written my thoughts on where things are going here and here, but continue to try to steer away from such things.
As a Canadian, the vast majority of my work over the last 20 years has been throughout the US. I thought I would just spend a moment to catch the idea in today's quote by looking back at some of my keynotes through the years. I truly wonder, at times, what has happened. My thinking is that the result of much of this is that many of the organizations I found myself spending time with now find themselves sliding back instead of moving forward. The more that happens, the tougher it becomes to reverse the direction.
- The United Soybean Board had me in to talk to the top 500 soybean farmers in the US in 2015. They wanted me to focus on what they knew to be the massive market opportunity continuing to emerge in China. Oops.
- The National Rural Electrical Cooperative booked me multiple times to focus on the dramatic changes occurring with solar, wind, batteries, and microgrid technologies. They're now amid massive funding cutbacks, deployment cancellations, and investment decline
- The National Association of Landscape Professionals had me in for a talk on the future trends impacting their industry. They didn't want too much of a focus on workforce issues. They've recently put out a memo about what to do when immigration officials show up on a job or worksite
- The Western Growers Association represents most of the western agricultural community in California, Nevada, and Arizona, and had me in for a talk on the future of farming. They too didn't want to mention the workforce issue. Some of their migrant labor is now being chased through the fields.
These are only a few of the specific clients who now find themselves
NLikumerous state-level manufacturing associations and had me in for deep-dive keynotes on how to bring manufacturing in the country into the 21st century - things like robotics, 3d printing, rapid prototyping, advanced digital design skills. They held state-level events to promote the acceleration of the industry they represent into the future. They've now seen most of their funding cut, and many might be shutting down, and manufacturing companies will begin to lose insight into the key innovations and trends they should be chasing.
Countless healthcare associations - probably in the low hundreds -have had me open or close their annual conferences. Most of these talks have focused on the awesome opportunities that come with longevity, brain science, cancer care, managing and preventing lifestyle diseases, and other advances to deal with chronic conditions. Many now find themselves struggling with funding issues, an attack on the science they represent, and the reality in which they operate. Longevity and health? Getting worse.
Multiple construction companies and associations?. They, too, are suddenly faced with massive labor issues, staff not showing up for work, and workplace turmoil. Then there is the energy sector - companies like Siemens Energy, Itron, DTN Energy, and others find the future of their distributed energy opportunity, which I just wrote about in the last two years, under siege.
Like I said, it's an interesting time to be talking about the future when so many seem to be eager to avoid going there.
I'll leave it at that. July 4. I'll just place this interesting little clip here.
Can you hear it — that loud roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing at us.
The Chinese simply can’t believe their luck: that at the dawn of the electricity-guzzling era of artificial intelligence, the U.S. president and his party have decided to engage in one of the greatest acts of strategic self-harm imaginable. They have passed a giant bill that, among other craziness, deliberately undermines America’s ability to generate electricity through renewables — solar, battery and wind power in particular.
And why? Because they view those as “liberal” energy sources, even though today they are the quickest and cheapest ways to boost our electricity grid to meet the explosion of demand from A.I. data centers.
It is exactly the opposite of what China is doing. Indeed, Beijing may have to make July 4 its own national holiday going forward: American Electricity Dependence Day.
You cannot make this up: Even Saudi Arabia is doubling down on solar power to meet the needs of the A.I. data centers it wants to recruit from the West, while Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” actually does just the opposite. It quickly phases out tax credits enjoyed by utility-scale solar and wind — as well as electric vehicle tax credits. This virtually guarantees that China will own the future of solar energy, wind power and electric cars and trucks, as well as autonomous vehicles.
How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again
NYTimes.com, Thursday, 03 July 2025
July 4th.
An interesting day indeed.
Futurist Jim Carroll provides insight to people and organizations who prefer to choose tomorrow over yesterday.