The Choice Is Ours Page #10

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than you'd need to do the same thing.

So we're looking to combine

all clean renewable energy sources

that are available:

Wind

Solar Power

Geothermal Power

Hydro-electric, Tidal Power, and Wave Power...

We would need about 4 million large wind turbines

to power about 50% of the entire world

for all purposes.

You might say, "Well, that sounds like a lot!"

But keep in mind, during World War II,

the world produced about 800,000 aircraft

in the space of 5 - 6 years.

And the US produced about 330,000 aircraft

in 4-5 years.

That was decades ago.

Now, we have better technologies

and abilities to ramp up production.

So, it really comes down to will-power.

It's not a technological or economic blockade

to solving this problem.

It's really a social and political blockade.

CITIES IN A RESOURCE-BASED ECONOMY

(Narrator) The first city

would be a testing ground

for the implementation

and further development

of these social aims.

The first city would be a huge research center

making automated systems for the next city.

Making the first city better, as well.

It would be a place where

we would disseminate information,

we would have movie studios,

we'd be making gaming, computer animation,

a lot of different media

to get out to the public.

It would be like a university city.

We would have instructions as to

what sustainability really means for the future.

(Jacque) The cities of the future are circular,

not because I like circles;

it's because you only have to design

one segment of the system

and then reproduce it in pie-shaped sectors

and that would be the most economical way.

When you build 'Suburbia',

it's spread out.

Then you have to travel one way to the dentist,

the other way for shopping,

another way to the doctor...

This system is self-contained.

There's wind generators.

All of the rooftops are solar generating.

All of the garbage and waste is

recycled under the ground

underneath these roadways.

All of the roadways contain piping

running up and back,

and we use all of that hot water

to operate the air conditioning,

and the needs of the city.

Now, where the residential district is,

if you work in the medical center,

you can live here, if you choose to.

So this is, essentially,

a collection of variations in houses.

Your house will vary to suit your needs.

(Narrator) Fresco's designs are a showcase

for the harmonious coexistence

of nature and technology.

(Jacque) Now, some people don't like

living in individual houses.

They prefer living in apartments

cause there's a gymnasium,

drama group,

discussion groups,

recreation of all kinds...

So, the skyscraper in the future

will offer more of the amenities.

(Roxanne) This is your Recreational Belt.

There'd be art centers, music centers,

recreational areas...

(Jacque) These are bicycle paths.

There are tennis courts,

and these are golf courses.

But the golf courses contain a clubhouse

with all of the golf clubs,

so you don't have to bring

anything out to the golf course.

You'd stay there, play golf

and when you're through,

you leave the clubs there.

These are access buildings

where anyone can access books,

a violin, musical instruments...

Anything that they want

is free and available.

(Roxanne) These are your Research Centers.

Everything studied in these areas

is to improve your standard of living,

and everybody else there.

There would be no lawyers,

no bankers,

no ad agencies, no insurance people,

no sales people...

Without money,

you don't need any of those things.

So you could go right into

solving the problems that all of us have.

That's what we'd be working on.

Today, we're fighting over

people who have different values,

and we're fighting over scarce resources.

In the future, you won't have to do that.

You'd be working cooperatively

to improve the standard of living for everyone.

(Jacque) A lot of people think that

I want to give people things for nothing,

and that's going to spoil people.

The fact that you're born in America,

you had nothing to do with the airplane,

the telephone, the railways...

It's all here, and you're lucky,

cause you inherited that.

Just being born here.

That doesn't spoil you.

So there's really no basis for crime,

since anyone can access anything they need.

No one's going to hit you on your head

and take your wallet.

Because there's no money in it anymore.

The Monetary System has been surpassed.

(Erik) And when we have

that kind of abundance economy,

most of us will be able to spend most of our time

doing the things we enjoy doing.

The kinds of things you might have seen

the Athenians do during their golden age.

They had human slaves

to take care of their basic needs.

We can do it with robots.

- Amazing!

And what would you suggest the cooks

and housewives of the world do

with all that extra time?

(Jacque) There's an island called Isle of Man.

On that island, there's a stream down below

and the women wear a harness

and they go down and get two buckets of water

and climb up to their home up there

where they boil and cook food.

The women have to skin animals

and get the animal fat out

to operate their lamps.

And if someone said to the women

"Some day, you'll turn a gadget and water will flow

at whatever speed you want,

without you having to go down to the river.

And some day,

you'll press a button and the lights will go on

and you won't have to skin animal fat."

And the woman says "Yes, but what will women do?"

People will get engaged in how to live,

how to relate, to travel, scuba diving,

restoring the reefs and the oceans

that we damaged,

cleaning the ocean and the atmosphere.

So much we don't know.

And you can go back to school, free of charge.

And every city will be a university city

where you're updated on what's new.

PART IV:

(Narrator) We would re-examine everything.

From our social arrangements

and building processes

to our value system.

Let's explore how this

new social concept would work

within a Resource-Based Economy.

It's not just architecture;

It's a way of thinking.

UPDATED VALUES IN A

GLOBAL RESOURCE-BASED ECONOMY

(Jacque) We still have neural lag.

It's hard for us to step into the future

without dragging some of the past.

We won't make the history books of the future.

We are that ignorant.

Not in technology;

we're doing fine in computers and electronics.

But the human value system

is not moving fast enough.

I would say that people

would be much more productive,

much more humane...; much happier people.

That is the question.

Will people be happier with new technology?

No, not new technology alone,

but with a value system and new technology.

OPINION:

In many instances,

we ask people for their opinion.

Do you think man will ever get to the moon?

They may say "Maybe 10,000 years from now",

instead of saying "I don't know enough

about that to give you a sensible answer."

That's the way you talk.

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