WFS-Current Forecasts

A magazine of forecasts, trends, and ideas about the future.
July-August 2004, Vol. 38, No. 4

Current Forecasts

Special to Web visitors, here are a few of the editors' favorite forecasts from the current issue of THE FUTURIST:

Ambient intelligence could lead to automatic law enforcement, as authorities download laws into our computer-enhanced stuff. (Marcel Bullinga, "Intelligent Government: Invisible, Automatic, and Everywhere")

Coal may become the fuel of choice for jets. Coal's stability in high temperatures could make it ideal for military aircraft. (Tomorrow in Brief)

Hip-hop music is undergoing a values shift: The latest Hip-Hop Forum prohibited vulgar language during its rap competition. (Optimistic Outlooks)

More than a million species will be lost to climate change in the next 50 years, warn scholars at University of Leeds. The only possible solution, they believe, is a drastic reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions. (World Trends & Forecasts, Environment)

A computer-generated "virtual womb" will reduce premature births. The virtual womb will enable scientists to test treatments and drugs without risk to patients. (World Trends & Forecasts, Technology)

Fully one-third of the world's population will be online within a decade. Universal connectivity, or the "death of distance," means we will be truly living in a "global village" by 2010. (David Pearce Snyder, "Five Meta-Trends Changing the World")

To order the print edition of the July-August 2004 issue of THE FUTURIST ($4.95 plus $3 postage and handling) or to become a member of the World Future Society ($45 per year).

Send comments about our web pages to: webmaster@wfs.org
COPYRIGHTŠ 2004 WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Tel. 301-656-8274. E-mail info@wfs.org. Web site http://www.wfs.org.