RURAL AREAS AS TERRORIST TARGETS?
Large urban areas are not the only regions that should worry about
terrorism risks. Future terrorist attacks may also occur in rural areas, a U.S. Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) report concludes.
"The agricultural heartland is just as likely to be attacked as
skyscrapers on the eastern seaboard," says Carl Parks of the Property Casualty
Insurers Association of America. "No matter where an attack happens, the cost in
human life and economic damages could be as devastating, even more so, than the 9/11
attacks."
Among the most plausible or devastating attacks identified by DHS:
• Blowing up chlorine tanks.
• Spreading disease in airports, sports venues, and train stations.
• Infecting livestock with diseases.
• Detonating a nuclear device in a major city.
• Releasing nerve gas in an office building.
• Bombing a sports arena.
SOURCE: Property Casualty Insurers Association of America,
http://www.pciaa.net
CHINA'S CAR BOOM
China’s automotive industry will soon become the world’s third
largest. Vehicle sales in China have surged 166% in the past five years, according to an
automotive industry report, and vehicle output has surpassed France, South Korea, Spain,
and Canada in four years.
"If its recent growth rate continues, China would pass Germany and
become the world’s third-largest vehicle producer in the next few years," says
Kathleen Schmatz, president and CEO of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association
(AAIA).
AAIA reports that automotive products in high demand in China include
tires, antitheft devices, environmental protection technologies, engine-related parts such
as fuel injection systems and inlet pipes, and chassis parts like shock absorbers and
antilock-brake systems.
"Since China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001, many
obstacles to U.S. aftermarket companies have been eliminated, including trading rights
restrictions and tariffs," says Schmatz. "As a result, U.S. auto parts exports
to China have more than doubled. With the recent openings of the distribution channels,
there is tremendous opportunity for foreign companies to shape China’s
aftermarket."
SOURCE: Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association,
http://www.aftermarket.org/Information/Press_Releases/nr031005.asp
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The preliminary program is now available and will give you a chance to
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*************************************************
OBESITY MAY SHORTEN U.S. LIFE EXPECTANCY
Life expectancy in the United States may shorten by two to five years by
the middle of the century, say University of Illinois at Chicago researchers.
The dramatic rise in obesity is the primary catalyst--obesity currently
reduces life expectancy by approximately four to nine months. The rapid rise in obesity in
U.S. children and teenagers in the past 30 years will have life-shortening effects in the
future. Researchers speculate that it could be enough to offset any improvements in
longevity from anticipated advances in biomedical technology.
They also believe that the life-shortening effect of obesity could rise
so rapidly in the United States that it may eventually exceed the current life-shortening
effects of cancer or heart disease.
These findings are contrary to what some scientists predict about human
life expectancy, which assumes that past increases will continue indefinitely. Most
forecasts of life expectancy are based on historical trends, but UIC professor S. Jay
Olshansky and his fellow researchers conclude that such estimates fail to consider the
obesity epidemic.
"One of the consequences of our prediction is that Social Security
does not appear to be in nearly as bad a shape as we think," says Olshansky.
"The obese may be inadvertently ‘saving’ Social Security, but the obese
themselves and the health-care system that cares for them will pay a very heavy price in
terms of higher death rates and escalating health-care costs."
SOURCE: University
of Illinois at Chicago, http://www.uic.edu/sph/news/news_79.html
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FUTURE TIMES ONLINE
Get the latest chapter news and networking links from the World Future
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************************************
CLICK
OF THE MONTH: QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE FUTURE
http://www.aacc.cc.md.us/future/qandaarchives.cfm
The Institute for the Future at Anne Arundel Community College in
Maryland has created a one-stop-shopping page for asking professional futurists specific
questions about the future. Topics already covered include children, schools and higher
education, communications technologies, global trends, and how to give a successful talk
about the future.
NEWS FROM WFS PARTNERS AND THE FUTURES COMMUNITY
- "THE FUTURES OF EUROPEANS IN THE GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE
SOCIETY" CONFERENCE: Discuss the unique challenges of the Knowledge Society
with speakers such as Philppe Busquin (Former European Commissioner on Research), Michel
Godet (National Conservatory for Arts and Industries), Josephine Green (Philips Design),
and others on April 13 and 14, 2005, in Louvaine-la-Neuve (near Brussels).
DETAILS: http://www.wallonie-en-ligne.net/2005_EuMPI/index.htm
- FUTURES, GENDER & FEMINISM, CALL FOR PAPERS: A
special issue of FUTURES will be devoted to feminism and gender issues. The editors are
inviting papers that look broadly at issues raised at the intersection of women's/gender
studies and futures studies. FUTURES is an international, refereed, multidisciplinary
journal concerned with medium and long-term futures of cultures and societies, science and
technology, economics, and politics, environment and the planet, and individuals and
humanity. Those interested in contributing papers are asked to send an abstract to Ivana
Milojevic, mailto:ivanam@uq.edu.au or mailto:ivanam0407@yahoo.com.
