Sustainable Development Timeline

The First Industrial Revolution was spurred and marked by the transition to new manufacturing processes using water and steam, powered by coal. James Watt's improved steam engine technology helped to power the Industrial Revolution. Before steam power, most factories and mills were powered by water, wind, horse, or man. Steam power allowed for factories to be located anywhere. It also provided reliable power and could be used to power large machines. Demands for Watt's engine came quickly from paper mills, flour mills, cotton mills, iron mills, distilleries, canals, and waterworks. The labor force, including children, transition from agricultural work to work in factories. Steam power bolstered the ability to manufacture goods in substantially larger quantities, and industrialized the textile industry. Steam derived from coal dramatically increased atmospheric pollution and caused many health hazards in Britain during the period. Coal was the main source of fuel for most factories. Households in Britain used it in their fireplaces. Britain emitted dark clouds of smoke that were more than 50 times higher than before the revolution  Steam was also instrumental in the development and use of the locomotive which would eventually revolutionize transportation in the United States and Europe. Trains would play a critical role particularly in the United States by opening up western frontiers. 

Breakthrough Innovations: 

• James Watt modifies and improves the steam engine.
• James Hargreaves invents the "Spinning Jenny."
• Edmund Cartwright invents the Power-loom.
• Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin.
• Innovation in the smelting process of iron increases mining demand for extracting ore, and pollution associated with steel production. 
• Richard Trevithick builds the first train. 

Representative Reads: Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens; The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx

The third industrial revolution traces back to the late 1960's and The US Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (APARNET) which developed many of the protocols used for internet communications today. This era is defined by the rise of electronics, from personal computers to new technologies that enable automation of industrial processes. In Industry 3.0, we automate processes using logic processors and information technology. These processes often operate largely without human interference, but there is still a human aspect behind it. Although automated systems were in place, they still relied on human input and intervention. Advancements in telecommunications led the way for widespread globalization, which in turn enabled industries to offshore production to low-cost economies and radicalize business models worldwide. Industry 4.0 takes it to the next level by utilizing vast quantities of data on the production floor.

Breakthrough Innovations:

• US Department of Defense develops APARNET.
• Ethernet is invented, the first system for the transmission of information between computer systems.
• The first Internet Service Provided (ISP) is created using a commercial version of APARNET known as Telenet.
• Ethernet is standardized. 
• The Domain Name System (DNS) establishes .edu, .gov, .com, .org, .net system for naming websites. 
• HTML language developed which introduces the World Wide Web to the public; the first "web page" is created.
• The White House and United Nations go online. 
• Amazon, Craigslist and eBay go live. 
• The Google search engine is born.
• The IPSO Alliance is established to promote the use of Internet Protocol (IP) in networks of ‘smart objects’ and to enable the Internet of Things. 
• Blockchain and the first cryptocurrency ever invented are introduced to the world through Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper Bitcoin: A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System. 

Representative Read: The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman