Internationally recognized economist Jeremy Rifkin will be featured at
6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, when the Peninsula College Foundation presents its American Conversations.
The event provides the opportunity to ask questions of the author of 17 best-selling books who is influential in shaping public policy in the United States and around the world.
American Conversations begins at 6 p.m. in the Pirate Union Building with a social hour, followed by dinner and a conversation with Rifkin. Cost is $125. All proceeds go to the Peninsula College Foundation, which supports student scholarships and other college programs.
Rifkin is president of the Foundation on Economic Trends. His books detail the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society and the environment and have been translated into more than 30 languages. They are used in hundreds of universities, corporations and government agencies around the world.
Talk show guest
Rifkin is a frequent guest on television programs including "Face the Nation," "The Lehrer News Hour," "20/20," "Larry King Live," "Today" and "Good Morning America." He recently was named by The National Journal as one of 150 people in the United States who have the most influence in shaping federal government policy.
According to Rifkin, the United States is on the cusp of a third industrial revolution, which he will explore in depth at the American Conversations event.
The ways the U.S. delivers energy, he says, have not yet caught up with the shift in thinking caused by the Internet. The new industrial revolution could provide a door that is open to a new post-fossil fuel era, enabling the nation to create an "energy internet." The U.S. has the science and technology to do it, he says, but they mean nothing unless there is a change in will.
Rifkin’s Foundation on Economic Trends, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., examines the economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts of new technologies introduced into the global economy. His sustainable development team advises governments and global corporations on the latest in cutting_edge technologies and best practices designed to address the twin challenges of climate change and energy security.
Advises Europeans
He advises the European Commission, the European Parliament and several EU heads of state including Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.
An economics graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Rifkin is a fellow at the Wharton School’s Executive Education Program, a post he has held since 1994. Rifkin also holds a degree in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
For more information, see www.pcfoundation.ctc.edu or call 417-6264.
