I just came across this talk by Shai Agassi while I was checking out the Presentation Zen website. The talk is primarily about how in order to create great change (whether it be evolutionary or revolutionary) people must let go of what’s no longer working and commit to a plan that promises a great sacrifice of the status quo.
Shai speaks primarily about the implementation of electric cars en masse, but he uses a short story at the end of his talk that I found very interesting. This short story involves the how in the 18th century the British government found itself at the crossroads of morality and economy in trying to decide if the abolishment of slavery would hinder the economy.
We are currently in the same predicament as a society in trying to resolve how our current economic reality (i.e. a nearly complete dependency on petroleum products) compares with what is morally right for us and the planet. Even if we fail to act, this predicament will be resolved for us – oil is a finite product that when extracted and used for our daily lives causes harm to our natural surroundings. The first step for solving this dilemma is being conscious of how we define what is right and what is wrong, and allow ourselves to be guided by what we consider to be right.
Blue Architecture 