The next generation of infrastructure drives economic growth through purposeful design.
— Jim Carroll
The opportunity
Extract fresh water directly from ambient air, providing a decentralized and climate-resilient water source for communities facing water scarcity.
From “Decoding Tomorrow: 30 Megatrends - #9 Climate-Positive Technologies: “The next generation of infrastructure will drive economic growth through purposeful design.”” (July 2025)
Direct Air Capture: Chemical capture of CO2 from ambient air, followed by storage or utilization.
How about “Carbon-Negative Concrete?” These technologies transform concrete from an environmental liability into a tool for carbon sequestration through CO2 mineralization. Companies like CarbonCure inject captured CO2 into concrete mixes during production. The CO2 forms calcium carbonate minerals that become permanently embedded within the concrete, enhancing its strength. This offers economic value through the generation and sale of high-quality carbon credits, reduced cement usage due to enhanced strength, and the sale of carbon-negative aggregates, all contributing to circular economy benefits from waste concrete utilization.
From “WEF” (October 2012)
Jim Carroll was the featured keynote speaker for the Opening General Session at WEFTEC 2012, held October 1 at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. WEFTEC is the world’s largest annual water quality exhibition and conference, drawing thousands of water environment professionals from across the globe each year. Jim’s keynote — drawing from his book “The Future Belongs To Those Who Are Fast” — challenged the water sector to embrace innovation, change, and adaptability as the defining strategies for organizations aiming to lead. His message that “success will come to those who innovate, change and adapt” set a bold, forward-looking tone for one of the water industry’s most important annual gatherings.
From “Daily Inspiration: “Your sandcastle might never hold back the water, but that doesn’t stop you from building it!”” (July 2018)
“Your sandcastle might never hold back the water, but that doesn’t stop you from building it!” - Futurist Jim Carroll
A little bit of photo fun! That’s because I’m off to the beach for the day today! To a wonderful little place called Grand Bend - where I spent a lot of time between the age of 4 and 10. When you were building sandcastles, did you try to build one that held back the water - or were you trying to draw the water in? Different people have different goals with their sandcastle efforts. Years ago, I wrote a blog post, “10 Reasons why Innovation Thrives in the Building of Sandcastles.” Business Week found it one day - and ended up covering it when they named me as one of 4 leading global sources for innovation into insight concepts. Who would have thought?But sandcastles are a perfect storyline for innovative thinking. Read the post here: https://jimcarroll.com/2010/07/why-innovation-thrives-in-the-building-of-sandcastles-3/ Think about it. Hierarchy disappears. Creativity is implicit. If it doesn’t work the firs time, do it again. Experience doesn’t cloud insight. Everyone picks up the passion. Feedback is instant. Competition is easily scoped. No idea is too dumb. The reward is clear. It’s fun!And you are guaranteed a few failures along the way as some kid comes along and jumps on what you’ve built. Gotta go - I need some buckets and shovels!
Read the full pieces on jimcarroll.com:
Decoding Tomorrow: 30 Megatrends - #9 Climate-Positive Technologies: “The next generation of infrastructure will drive economic growth through purposeful design.”
WEF
Daily Inspiration: “Your sandcastle might never hold back the water, but that doesn’t stop you from building it!”