In this issue:
U.S. policy makers may have lofty goals for moving the United States toward wind and solar energy, but if they’re going to realize those ambitions, they’ll have to invest more in battery and superconducting technology. This is according to a newly issued report from the American Physical Society, entitled Integrating Renewable Electricity on the Grid. The report also calls for a national renewable electricity standard to help to unify the fragmented U.S. grid system — an important step in the wider adoption more wind and solar power.
Among the report’s other recommendations:
“We need to move faster to have storage ready to accommodate, for example, 20% of renewable electricity on the grid by 2020,” says George Crabtree of Argonne National Laboratory, who served on the report writing committee. “By devoting the necessary resources to the problem, I am confident that we can solve it.”
Source: American Physical Society: http://www.aps.org/about/pressreleases/integratingelec.cfm
Teenagers who send more than 120 text messages per school day are 84% more likely to have used illegal drugs, were almost twice as likely to have been in a physical fight, and were far more likely to have engaged in a variety of “risky behaviors” such as smoking and binge drinking, according to a new study from Case Western Reserve University.
“The startling results of this study suggest that, when left unchecked, texting and other widely popular methods of staying connected are associated with unhealthy behaviors among teenagers,” says Scott Frank, lead researcher on the study. “This may be a wake-up call for parents to open a dialogue with their kids about the extent of texting and social networking they are involved with and about what is happening in the rest of their lives.”
Frank admits that the data doesn’t indicate that social networking is a direct cause of risky behavior, only that there is a clear overlap. So while some sort of relationship exists, the nature of it remains murky.
The findings of the report were presented at the American Public Health Association’s November 2010 meeting in Denver.
Source: Case Western Reserve University, http://case.edu/think/breakingnews/hypertexting.html
The recently concluded United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico, may not have produced the breakthrough international agreement on carbon reduction that many were hoping for, but at least one good partnership has come out of the event.
The World Resources Institute (WRI) used the convention to put together a global network to track countries’ progress toward cutting emissions and supporting environmental efforts in developing countries. The Open Climate Network (OCN) will bring together independent research institutes around the world to “provide consistent and peer-reviewed information on major economies’ actions on climate change,” according to a WRI statement.
“Major economies have made high-level commitments to tackle climate change, but it has been difficult to access information about their progress that is consistent and trusted at the international level.… OCN fills this gap by tapping the world’s leading research institutes to develop a highly credible source of information about countries’ progress,” said Jennifer Morgan of WRI.
Researchers hope the network will improve upon the work of official agencies doing climate and carbon reporting. This may reduce disputes about different countries’ claims about carbon and climate change. Another goal of the network is to provide financial support to developing countries to preserve wild forests and vegetation (to absorb carbon).
To date, OCN partners include institutes and think tanks from Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Mexico, India, and Japan, among others. WRI hopes to add additional partners from the UK, Brazil, and South Africa soon.
Source: World Resources Institute, http://www.wri.org/press/2010/12/news-release-independent-global-network-launched-track-countries-climate-change-progre
Edward Cornish, the founder of the World Future Society, has announced that he will be transitioning to a new role at THE FUTURIST magazine as futurist-in-residence. Cornish first began work on THE FUTURIST in 1965, which he originally conceived as a newsletter for the Society.
“While I was pondering what to call my projected newsletter, Time magazine solved my problem by publishing an extraordinary essay entitled, ‘THE FUTURISTS: Looking Toward A.D. 2000’ (February 25, 1966). This essay focused on precisely the kind of people whose work fascinated me, such as Herman Kahn, Olaf Helmer, Buckminster Fuller, and Bertrand de Jouvenel,” Cornish recalls in his memoirs.
He continues, “By referring to them as ‘futurists’ Time had validated the term.… Strongly encouraged by this development, I began preparing a prototype newsletter called THE FUTURIST based on my collection of newspaper articles, books, reports, etc., related to the future.” THE FUTURIST magazine first appeared as a formal magazine in 1967.
Cornish’s memoirs, The Search for Foresight, describing the birth of the World Future Society are available for free online at http://www.wfs.org/content/search-for-foresight.
Cynthia Wagner, long-time managing editor, will take over as editor of THE FUTURIST magazine.
A selection of articles, special reports, and other future-focused material on our Web site that you might have missed. Members may sign in to read and comment. Not a member? Join now at http://www.wfs.org/renew.
THE FUTURIST — January-February 2011
“Job creation” starts with innovative thinking, so we invited some of the best futurist minds to envision where the ground may be most fertile for future opportunities.
THE FUTURIST — January-February 2011
Medical researchers are creating robots that can bioprint new tissue and organs directly into patients’ bodies while performing surgery — without assistance from doctors. Read more
THE FUTURIST — November-December 2010
Recent Forecasts from the World Future Society for the Decade Ahead
In the next 10 to 30 years, society will have to learn to deal with “peak everything” — an epoch of critical scarcities of a broad range of resources. Unexpected sources of expertise — such as physicists advising us about the economy — will guide us through hard times. And genetic tampering with crops will gain more acceptance if it solves critical environmental and resource problems, such as resistance to climate change and reducing the release of carbon into the atmosphere.
These are just a few of the forecasts in the latest edition of the World Future Society’s annual Outlook report, in which the editors have selected the most thought-provoking forecasts and ideas appearing in THE FUTURIST over the past year. These are not “predictions,” but rather glimpses of what may happen, warnings of potential problems that could be avoided, or prescriptions for better futures we may wish to begin working toward. Read more
THE FUTURIST — September-October 2010
Over the last 30 years, unique opportunities for high and persistent economic growth have blessed Asia, and policy makers grabbed them with both hands. Global growth was high, commodity prices were low, and a growing labor force turned China into the world’s top manufacturer. Meanwhile, there was not much pressure to heed environmental warnings. The policy challenge for Asia’s political leaders was primarily to manage economic growth. All of that is changing. This article draws from his forthcoming book, How Asia Can Shape the World, which he will discuss at WorldFuture 2011. Read more
THE FUTURIST — January-February 2011
Future learning will become both more social and more personal, says an educational technology expert. Read more
In The Comingled Code, Josh Lerner and Mark Schankerman describe the open-source phenomenon and the ways in which it will, or will not, benefit the different types of businesses, organizations, and government agencies that use it. Read more
THE FUTURIST — November-December 2010
There is not nearly enough quality choice, specialization, and personalization on television, argues technology forecaster John Smart. He says that access to tens of thousands of specialty channels, a variety of content-aggregation options, and collaborative filtering by peer and trusted expert rankings would better serve U.S. social needs. Such a system will enable all those who wish to do so to eliminate unpersonalized advertising. What we need, according to Smart, is two-way communication: person-to-person and many-to-many, not one-to-many. The iPad is the first step. Read more
Note: Smart presented on the future of television at a TedX event in Del Mar in June, 2010. Catch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6qaI_PJtdg.
Do you have an idea or gadget you would like to showcase at WorldFuture 2011? World Future Society conferences are great opportunities to meet with potential sponsors and network with fellow visionaries, scientists, engineers and designers from around the world. If you think you’ve created the Next Big Breakthrough, let us know at info@wfs.org