FUTURISM > possible long thread

[Mackin USA]

Technological progress continues unabated. The astonishing rate of growth has fueled heated debates about implications on the future of labor and the nature of work. A decade ago, few would have predicted that job categories like iOS development, product management, and search engine marketing would exist today. A world of 3D printed food, virtually free electricity, and unlimited computing power is on the horizon.

http://futurism.com/technology-and-the-future-of-work/

[ergophobe]

>>virtually free electricity

As first promised in 1954 using nuclear energy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_cheap_to_meter

I wonder, what about virtually free drinkable water? More than electricity, this is the one in terribly short supply in the world and the one that would truly revolutionize the parts of the world that don't have it yet. And it is likely to be in much shorter supply in the developed world. If California doesn't figure out where to get water, it won't have any left to use up all that free electricity.

[ergophobe]

That said, and interesting site and a topic that I've started curating a bit myself. Thanks for posting...

[littleman]

I came across something that predicted that with the drop in solar cells and growing battery technology the cost of transporting electricity will be more than the cost of production in about twenty years.  It could be that this is like cold-fusion in that it is perpetually around the corner, but this does seem to be more based on real current trends.

Water: might be the crude oil of the future.

I could only imagine the unforeseen health impact of the world eating completely synthetic food given what we have gotten wrong about nutrition over the last 50 years.

[Mackin USA]

"WATER"

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-wars-of-the-future-that-will-be-fought-over-water.php

[ergophobe]

>> top-10-wars-of-the-future-that-will-be-fought-over-water.php

11. Colorado vs Arizona.
12. California vs Oregon and Washington

[Mackin USA]

Water stress is best understood as a precursor to conflict. While the environmental security community generally agrees that water disputes rarely leads to interstate violence, the same cannot be said of intrastate conflict.

The bottom line is that no one can take much comfort from a sober assessment of where we are headed. Expecting widespread and serious water challenges to be solved without conflict and disruption might be a comforting premise, but it should not and cannot be the end of the discussion. The Anthropocene awaits. To navigate it unscathed, we must be bold and imaginative.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/water-wars-the-next-great-driver-global-conflict-13842

AND

https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Special%20Report_ICA%20Global%20Water%20Security.pdf

[gm66]

Big moves going on in water supply control in the UK since it was privatised in the late 80's, now we have companies like Nestle screwing with the water table and making ridiculous profits selling it bottled.

Two things i think will solve the energy problem, cold fusion (replicated at over 200 labs around the world, just not replicable every time) and electric motors that get around Lenz's Law.

If we survive our self-destructive tendencies it could be an amazing future.

[ergophobe]

I am so much smarter because of the opportunity I've been given to hang out with you all... Thanks for the links and interesting stuff -- in this thread and in general (it often hits me, but for whatever reason, really hit me here all of the sudden - damn the people in this forum are smart and have an incredible range of knowledge! I'm glad to be able to lap it up!)