The impact of Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, the importance it has, and how we can help.

1. Industry, Innovation, and
Infrastructure
Build resilient infrastructure
promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
By Benn Rutledge

2. Why does it resonate with me?
I chose this goal because grabbed my attention the most. I believe that changing infrastructure
could have the greatest impact of all 17 goals. To have change it needs to start somewhere, and that
place is most likely industry. All the other issues like poverty, hunger, and climate change can be
changed with infrastructure. Hunger and poverty could be reduced by providing more jobs from
industries. Climate change can be slowed, stopped, and reversed by industries and innovation.
Industries can reduce emissions or become a zero-emission facility. With innovation, pollution can
be taken out of the air, water, and earth. Energy can be produced more efficiently, and industries
can transition to renewable energy sources. Better infrastructure means better education, jobs,
and economic growth. The one area I would say Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure does not
have that much effect would be equality. Although, as the industry and infrastructure supported
equality in education and jobs, it would certainly become better. Changes in the infrastructure
would have huge impacts everywhere they have an effect.
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3. How can my interest be applied locally?
There are many large companies in Washington.
Amazon, Costco, Starbucks, Boeing, to name a
few. If these industries changed the way they
operated, and their energy sources and usage,
the impact could be massive. These new
technologies will require innovation and skilled
workers which mean increase of education and
workforce.
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4. Where can I personally make the greatest contribution?
To have the greatest contribution to Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure I would spread
knowledge. I would share the importance of these are their impact of everything else. A lot of
solutions seem like a band aid over a bigger problem. This approach isn’t always a bad thing.
Sometimes a band aid is the best and only thing to do. However, for the long term, a more
substantial action needs to happen. I want to show people how to find the real root of a problem
and figure out what can and needs to be done. Therefore, I think Industry, Innovation, and
Infrastructure is an important piece for all these issues.
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5. Social media
Is there a feature of social media that can be uniquely applied to this goal?
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Social media is the most powerful way to share anything. Is it instant and anyone with a
connection to see it and a device to see it can be the recipiences of what you post. I think
sharing information and facts Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure is important. The sharing
of not only what they are doing wrong, but more importantly what they can do to change and do
right. Negative media gets more attention and while it’s easy to bash a company for doing
wrong, no progress is made my doing that. There are circumstances where calling out and
saying ‘this is not right it needs to stop’ should be done. To make progress towards a goal
constructive positive things needs to be said. Even constructive negative comments are useful
if they are objective and not just “they suck”. For social media, a unique thing that can be done is
share facts and data about Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure and the good they can do.