One reason I wanted to focus on the future in this issue is that, despite all the negativity surrounding the media and everything we read, there are so many things we need to continue to be hopeful about. In our May edition of The Blurb Blog, we thought about hope and the possibilities for the future in general. But specifically, there are some ideas to convey that tell us we should be hopeful about the future. Not simply in light of the fact that Americans are generally “Cockeyed Optimists’ for the planet, but because the data & evidence points to the fact that people are, as Anne Frank wrote, basically good and we want to do the right thing!
We want to have brighter futures for our kids and we want to live hopeful and productive lives. We know the problems. And at times, I do get exasperated with all media sources who constantly go over the same five or ten problems we hear about ad nauseum. We know the problems! How about a ‘Solutions-Based’ Hour of Media and News to let us know what the smart people are doing to fix the problems!?...That would be a show I’d like to watch!
Here are some ideas that came from the Futurist magazine in 6 Degrees Flipboard…Hope they give you some food for thought as you go about your summer vacations and routines! Here’s to the Future!
· The Clean Energy Revolution!
· The Cities of the Future
· Global Poverty keeps falling! (*From 1990 to 2019= fell from 38% to 9%)
· Self-Driving Cars within 10 years
· Global Life Expectancy continues to increase…
· Brain implants for medical needs….& Augmentation?
· Robotics & 3D Printing will become commonplace
· Japan is building a “Space Elevator!”
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and lollypops. There are wars that also are predicted, and continued use of nuclear weapons as well as the fact China is projected as one of the largest, if not the largest economy to surpass the US. And China is, of course, not a thriving democracy! So there are setbacks and challenges on the horizon. And yet, we keep moving forward with steady progress as a whole on planet Earth….
There are so many ways that the clean energy revolution will change our lives for the better in the future…Not simply by reducing costs for current energy needs. But also reducing carbon emissions and our carbon footprint on the planet helps us to reach the goals we will achieve in the not-too-distant future.
Some of the ideas that have been gaining traction are wind farms and solar panels. But also, the use of batteries and even finding some materials that are synthetic recreations for rare-earth minerals needed in producing batteries and electrical equipment will be major breakthroughs in our energy consumption.
Global Poverty Rates keep Falling!
Why is that a huge deal? Apart from the fact that it is the humane thing, the right thing to do to combat and alleviate global poverty rates, it is also one reason we can make progress as a civilization when ‘all boats are rising.’
There is an emphasis on natural surroundings in a “Bio-City’ of the Future. Imagined to power the city using clean energy sources…
Cities need to be reimagined to not only allow for green spaces and a more natural and organic way of life, but also to preserve resources and to utilize scientific methods of conservation and farming in order to preserve a better quality of life for everyone
Robotics & 3D Printing
We always were led to believe that robots were some futuristic tool that could only be imagined in a science-fiction movie or some distant scenario. But robotics has become a business, and many workers of the future will be robots performing the type of services that lower-wage workers are currently-and reluctantly at times-doing now!
Some of the 3-D Printing tools are now capable of printing not just cute little objects or toys, but medical implants, and one day perhaps even body parts! And affordable housing, one of our huge global problems, may also see the rise of 3-D printed homes that greatly reduce the cost of labor and materials in building shelter.
All of these are concepts and models and some have achieved huge breakthroughs and success in recent years. However, they are still ideas and projects that exist, for the most part, in ‘the future.’ All of us see vague visions and some have quaint and antiquated notions of what constitutes our future. But if we manage to live another ten years, we will realize that the future is here and it is coming soon to a neighborhood or town near you!
See you in the near future!
Have a wonderful Fourth of July everyone….
The 6 Degrees Writer
Next month, the Blurb Blog will look at some of those things that go “Under the Radar’ in our lives. Why? Because as we go into what is known as ‘the silly season’ with politics and elections set to swamp all other news, we need to find out about all the other stories & topics we haven’t heard enough about!