KILIMANJARO MAY BE
SNOWLESS IN 20 YEARS
The
snows of Kilimanjaro may disappear within the next two decades or sooner,
predict researchers from Ohio State University and the National Science
Foundation (NSF)
The
researchers are worried not only by the rapid retreat of the ice fields atop
Kilimanjaro, but by the ice surface’s thinning. They now believe that the
volume of ice lost to thinning is equal to that lost by shrinkage, which is
occurring on all sides of the famed Tanzanian mountain.
"The loss of Mount
Kilimanjaro's ice cover has attracted worldwide attention because of its
impact on regional water resources," says David Verardo, director of the
NSF's Paleoclimate Program. "Like many glaciers in mid-to-low latitudes,
Kilimanjaro's may only be with us for a short time longer."
SOURCE:
National Science Foundation
FASHIONING A SOLUTION FOR FEMALE WORKERS
Designers of work
clothes need to keep female workers’ needs in mind, according to Jan Peters,
president of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) in Britain. Fashioning
better-fitting garments will not only keep workers safer, but also make the
careers requiring them more attractive.
“There are
over 65,000 women working in engineering, technology, and construction.
That's around 10% of the workforce,” says Peters. “But women are built
differently from men and find that work-wear is not satisfactory.
Inappropriate and ill-fitting clothing can put them off from pursuing
careers in these sectors.”
Safety clothing and
boots that are too big are also unsafe, so Britain’s female engineers are
urging women working in science, engineering, technological, and
construction industries to share their complaints with clothing
manufacturers.
In the future, female
construction workers won’t have to pack extra socks so their work boots will
fit. And perhaps the idea of wearing ill-fitting work clothes will no longer
keep young girls from pursuing careers in engineering, construction, and
other trades.
SOURCE:
Women’s Engineering Society
|
 DISCOVER
STRATEGIES AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURES!
Join a thousand
forward-thinking men and women from around the world at WorldFuture 2010:
Sustainable Futures, Strategies, and Technologies, to be held in Boston,
July 8-10, at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel.
You’ll hear inventors
Ray Kurzweil and Stephen Thaler, health futurists Kevin Fickenscher and Jay Herson, and media experts Michael Rogers, Lee Rainie, and Michael R. Nelson.
Also among recently confirmed speakers is education futurist Gary Marx,
president of the Center for Public Outreach.
Panel sessions,
workshops, and stimulating keynote presentations will focus on what we mean
by “sustainable futures,” what paths may lead us there, and what strategies
and technologies we may be able to use to create the futures we aspire to
achieve.
LEARN MORE:
RESERVE YOUR
HOTEL ROOM AT SPECIAL CONFERENCE RATE:
SAVE $200!
REGISTER FOR WorldFuture 2010 BY DECEMBER 31:
|
WOMEN REACH PARITY—AS
HIV/AIDS VICTIMS
Women now make up half
of the 33 million people around the world who are living with HIV/AIDS,
reports the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.
Young women in
sub-Saharan Africa are dying of AIDS at three times the rate of males, and
in the United States, young African American women are contracting HIV at
higher rates than all other groups, according to researchers Jacquelyn
Campbell and Nancy E. Glass.
One key factor in the
increased vulnerability of these women is intimate-partner violence, which
increases the risk of HIV transmission in rich and poor countries alike. “If
you’re being beaten up and raped, it’s hard to negotiate for condom use by
an HIV-infected partner,” Campbell observes.
SOURCE:
Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing
CLICK
OF THE MONTH: TRENDS IN JAPAN
http://web-japan.org/trends/
What’s cool in Japan
right now? Well, maybe “cool” is no longer the correct word. Warm, cute, and
cuddly things seem to be what’s captured the imaginations of Japanese
consumers.
In addition to fashion,
food, and travel articles, “Trends in Japan” features stories showing some
general directions in technology, the environment, and society. Recent items
include:
- A robot in the form of
a cute plush-toy baby seal provides comfort for the elderly. The therapeutic
robot, called Paro, includes a suite of sensors enabling it to respond to
touch and to simple spoken greetings.
- A team of three young
ladies were named “Ambassadors of Cuteness” to represent Japan’s vibrant pop
culture abroad, promoting a move away from traditional imagery and toward
that popularized by anime and manga art forms.
- A new online game
called “Ichige” (Location Games) for smart-phone users; winners earn virtual
currency based on how far they travel. The game has become popular among
young workers and students with long daily commutes.
- A mobile water
desalination unit called Courier Water to help alleviate growing water
shortages in developing countries. The system also promises to help in areas
struck by natural disasters.
NEWS
FOR THE FUTURIST COMMUNITY
*
THE BIOPOLITICS OF POPULAR CULTURE: The Institute for Ethics and Emerging
Technology is sponsoring a one-day seminar on December 4 to explore the
impacts of science fiction film, TV, and other popular media on shaping our
perception of new technologies and our images of the future. Among the
participants are futurist Jamais Cascio, author David Brin, science-fiction
critic Annalee Newitz, and filmmakers Richard Kroehling, Michael Masucci,
and Matthew Patrick. The seminar will be held at EON Reality in Irvine,
California.
DETAILS AND REGISTRATION:
*
PATHWAYS TO A NEW FUTURE: An “intense, hands-on” workshop led by Don Beck
and John Petersen will explore large-scale change and map the pathways to a
future new world. Be prepared to “tackle some of the biggest questions
related to transitioning to a new world.” The workshop, “Designing the
Architecture of a Global Transition,” will be held December 11 and 12 at The
Country Inn in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.
DETAILS:
* DIRTY ROTTEN
STRATEGIES, a new book by Ian I. Mitroff and Abraham Silvers, shows you how
to avoid solving the wrong problems and to detect when others, either
organizations or individuals, may be leading you astray. Former U.S.
Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich describes the book as “a
lucid and thoughtful account of why we fail to be adequately lucid and
thoughtful—and what we can do about it."
ORDER:
WHAT'S HOT @WFS.ORG
* 2020 VISIONARIES: The
January-February 2010 issue of THE FUTURIST launches a special series of
articles on “2020 Visionaries,” offering profiles and interviews of some of
the world’s cutting-edge thinkers in a wide range of influential fields.
First up are education and health care. The issue will be mailed to WFS
members on November 30.
JOIN or RENEW now to be sure you’ll receive your copy!
* PRIVACY VS.
PERFECTIBILITY: The latest video on the WFS YouTube channel is an excerpt
from
bioethicist Arthur L. Caplan’s presentation at WorldFuture 2009. In this
clip, Caplan explains that eliminating the right to privacy carried in Roe
v. Wade could potentially allow government to mandate the use "designer
baby" technologies.
WATCH:
FUTURIST OF THE YEAR
AWARDS: The World Future Society is now accepting nominations for
outstanding futurist of the year. The Society is seeking candidates at both
the professional and “young futurist” levels, whose work in the past year
has advanced the understanding of foresight principles and techniques or
demonstrated the successful application of foresight.
The deadline for
nominations is December 31. Professional Members of the World Future Society
will then be invited to vote on selected nominees, and a total of five
finalists in each category will be submitted to the board of directors. The
awards will be presented at WorldFuture 2010, the Society’s annual meeting
in Boston.
For details or to submit a nomination, visit Futurist of the Year Awards
_____________________________________________________________
Feedback
1.18.2009
At first it seemed terrific that the online newsletter
was designed to reach a younger, broader audience. Although I missed Future
Survery, I thought the widely accessible content and a lighter tone were
strategic means to draw new readers. But the latest issue plummets to an
unacceptably low level.
The mocking "humor" of the so called Fashion Solution
article cannot be justified on any grounds. The real story here is that
women workers are standing up for themselves! They are insisting on work
clothes that fit, not "fashionable" work clothes. Instead your writer adds a
middle school twist: men's work clothes don't fit
women-- snicker, snicker; 13 year old boys may find
this amusing, but not your audience. Worse is the repeated idea that more
fashionable garments will attract more women (feather brains that they are)
to the working professions. As if.
The story about HIV/AIDS now affecting equal numbers
of men and women was even more appalling. "Achieving parity" indeed. What
was your staff thinking?
Ideas for positive change pop up every day-- just
follow the work of architect Eugene Tsui. Finland is full of promising IT
ideas. Jane Jacobs' ideas are coming alive at last in neighborhoods
everywhere.
The Ray Hurzweill-Bill Joy debates re the utopian and
distopian potential of IT is always amusing and often intriguing. Surely you
can find more worthy topics, and refrain from giving them a
Neanderthal-- OK, 1950's-- twist.
Sincerely,
Robin Standish
1.18.2009
I always look forward
to a broad balance of topics with ideas and options on how to make them
actionable.
Because I depend on
your excellence, I have to say, this issue seemed below par, and light
on “actionable”**.
I know the topics had
validity, and the horrible outcomes also break my heart, but, if I were
a Grinch, I could (overstatement for sake of illustration) say “Another
Empty Global Warming Complaint” with no actionable path; then not One,
but Two items on women being victims and complaining (Oh Pleazzzze –
enough!!!) Don’t women select their own clothes??? Come on… Anything
can be dramatized and anyone can be demonized. (Hey, men have complaints
too – if they ever had a chance to get a word in…)
Please don’t become
“just a political grinding mechanism”.
Now - Low-cost,
portable water desalination (or purification) – we can save many lives
there! (Trends
in Japan)
Best Regards,
George
1.18.2009
JAPANESE ROBOT IS CUTE BUT OLD
"PARO" is history to roboticists. Heck, the late 1998
"My Real Baby" by Hasbro was more impressive, but, lacked the federal
funding Japan awards any robotics.
John E. Fidler
johnfidler1 'at' hotmail.com
____________________
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