Last week, my PC decided to give up the ghost on me. What does this have to do with the future I hear you ask? Well, as a back-up, my flat-mate dug out his iMac (circa 1999), and it got me thinking. The design, software and functionality of it seemed ancient when compared to modern Macbooks, yet there has only been 13 years in between the two. What then would the world be like in 100 years of further technological advancement, human expansion and, inevitably, depleting resources? How would buildings look, what would we be eating, how would we get around, and would we still be here?
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| Image courtesy: Telegraph.co.uk |
In 100 years, the earth will be a very different and probably unrecognizable place. With the Russians suggesting that human immortality is only 45 years away, the human population exploding at an unmanageable rate, and the livability of vast areas of our planet decreasing by the year, Earth is in dire need of some radical change!
But how would humanity transport itself between these futuristic metropolises? Flying cars? Monorails carrying passengers at high speeds across swollen oceans? The Moller Skycar is certainly a possibility but there surely is no practical use for personal transport in a world of billions that is ever expanding? Some, such as American firm Unimodal Transport Solutions see the future in monorail mass transport projects such as their ‘Skytran’ concept. Unlike timetabled public transport systems that we have today, users could call a personal pod and be transported at high speeds above the crowded city streets in comfort!
While many people nowadays would shy away from a diet of algae, insects, and meat formed in a lab, many suggest that this is the only way that humanity will be able to sustain such a burgeoning population, putting aside suggestions that hybrid seeds and chemical fertilizers will be enough to sustain our already chronically hungry world! One project also sees ‘Desert greening’ as the solution! In the Sahel, Sahara Forest Project, The combining different technologies has been labeled the Great Green Wall of Africa, and would be 15km wide, 7775 Km long, and stretch from Senegal in the West to Dijibouti in the East. This would be enough to sustain the gigantic continent far into the future, while at the same time restricting the unstoppable spread of the Sahara south.
Yet, as History tries to tell us if we would just listen, Humanity will more than likely severely reduce its numbers in the coming century. With the worlds economy and lifestyle and the superpowers power relying on fossil fuels that are quickly and inevitably running out, it is more than likely that Humanity will complete the necessary cut backs in its expansion anyway.
So if Humanity can pool its considerable resources together in the cause of human sustainability, the future is looking bright. With new and exciting technology, combined with a shift in human thinking towards the radical, ecofriendly and sustainable, the world appears to be taking the path to a bright and exciting future. Its just a shame that we won’t be around to see it (unless the Russians are correct).
About the author:
My name is Alex Ward and I am from brighton, Uk, but am based in Berlin at the moment. I work part time on www.cashmere-blanket.co.uk and am a futurology hobbiest. I also write for a number of music, art, and lifestyle blogs from my base here in Berlin.
