The article I read, “IBM Starts to Build Greener, ‘Smarter’, Planet in Iowa” focused on using information technology in small cities of 200,000 or less residents. The plan, known as the “Smarter City Initiative”, calls to “build a smarter planet”. IBM’s goal is to create a replicable model that will merge social, economic, and environmental principles by using IBM technologies in small communities. In the city of Dubuque, Iowa, IBM has plans to replace 22,000 water meters in homes and small businesses with a new technology, known as the “unmeasured flow reducer”, that deals with measuring water consumption. They are, also, looking into modernizing the nation’s electricity grid. This way, people will be aware of how much water and electricity they are using to better increase their managing skills. A recent study by IBM found that a $30 billion investment in this plan would create $1 million jobs in the U.S.
I believe IBM’s initiative will be a giant leap forward in fixing the economy. First, by monitoring the water and energy consumption in households and small businesses, people will be able to change their habits and waste less. Essentially, this will lead to smaller bills. In today’s economy, every penny counts. By cutting down on our consumption here and there within our homes and businesses, these new systems can help us benefit financially. Also, households and business will immediately know if there are any problems. For example, as the article states, if an owner has a leak in their faucet, he or she will know. Secondly, an increase in jobs will help decrease the growing unemployment rate of recent years. The plan will add 1,000 more jobs in the city of Dubuque alone. Also, by changing our consumption habits, the new technology will lead to a “greener” way of living. We will waste less and conserve more. As I recall from the clip we watched in class, “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman, “going green” is the key way to globalize and propel the U.S. to be an economic leader in the 21st century.
The “Smarter City Initiative” should eventually exist in cities across the nation, since it can only benefit the country as a whole. As the article states, a substantial amount of U.S. citizens, 40 percent, live in small cities. By implementing these information systems into our everyday lives, we can live more systematically. Therefore, it will be easy to track where our money is going, while helping not only our wallets, but also the environment. In addition, these systems will integrate social, economic, and environmental aspects of small cities, creating a more connected community. I believe IBM’s approach will help us decrease the gap in communication between citizens and government by giving the people more input. The project has already been tested in cities all around the world where one or two of these systems have been put into play. These include a traffic management system in London and an electricity management-grid in Amsterdam. Now, IBM plans to merge all those technology systems into one city, beginning with Dubuque, which I believe will be a success.
I find this article very interesting and agree that by beginning to integrate one small city at a time is a feasible way of eventually converting our entire nation to this new way of "Smarter Living". Modernizing the nation's electricity grid and allowing people to see approximately or exactly how much energy they are using could potentially cause people to lower their consumption-because they would realize how much they use. Allowing people to track their own usage could also be useful if an electric or water company were to offer incentives for homes of businesses that use below a certain level. People/companies would be able to curb their usage and track their improvement-which would result in savings as well as a healthier life. I believe IBM's initiative has the potential to go nation-wide. The only issue is whether or not other small cities would be willing to invest $30 billion into an identical program.
ReplyDeleteThe “Smarter City Initiative” seems to benefit small towns in so many ways that it seems inevitable that it will grow to be present in all towns across the United States. I personally think people do not follow green options in life if isn't cost effective, or have an immediate effect. But this initiative gives them a cost incentive, along with the green incentive to save energy, water, ect. Americans also like systems or initiatives that create more jobs, so this initiative will appeal to them. Yet I do think that the cost will have a great effect on whether or not a town will implement it. If small towns don't have many shops or means of income, this initiative will be unattainable.
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