Energy management (energy creation)

Futurepath: Energy

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Energy mosaicFrom ultra-modern Manhattan penthouses to cell phones and radios in sub-Saharan homes, from private jets zipping over the oceans to motor scooters in southeast Asia - we require energy to power our lives. At this point, only protected Amazon tribes and the few humans who have chosen to live off the energy grid do not use any of the world's energy supplies.

Overall, we humans use in excess of 500 exajoules of energy per year. The energy we produce is derived by a variety of sources such as nuclear; fossil fuels, including coal, crude, and gas; and renewables such as wind, hydro, and solar. These fuels are broken into two main types of use, the first is locomotion via fuel burning engines and the second is the creation of electricity, which is then used as a source of power for motors, lights, appliances, and the gadgets we use (to name a few).

Soft Apocalypse

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Soft Apocalypse book coverAs atmospheric carbon rises towards 450 units per million and the pitch of climatologists reach higher levels of alarm, Soft Apocalypse offers a worst-case scenario of what a slow collapse of society might look like from the inside. Where McIntosh's Bridesicle/Love Minus 80 revolved around a misuse of life-saving technology, Soft Apocalypse is an avalanche of Hell unleashed on our planet. It is futurehorror without a Freddy or Michael, where the bad guys numbered in billions around the globe. Many of them bad guys who live among us today, but who haven't been forced to show their true natures as long as the distractions of civilization keep them in check.

This story could easily be the world outside as everything unraveled in Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Watching the slow collapse of society through Jasper's narrative, we see humanity returning to its fierce roots as the veneer of civilization is slowly stripped away. Soft Apocalypse is a message you live through as you read it.

Futurepath: Energy

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Energy mosaicFrom ultra-modern Manhattan penthouses to cell phones and radios in sub-Saharan homes, from private jets zipping over the oceans to motor scooters in southeast Asia - we require energy to power our lives. At this point, only protected Amazon tribes and the few humans who have chosen to live off the energy grid do not use any of the world's energy supplies.

Overall, we humans use in excess of 500 exajoules of energy per year. The energy we produce is derived by a variety of sources such as nuclear; fossil fuels, including coal, crude, and gas; and renewables such as wind, hydro, and solar. These fuels are broken into two main types of use, the first is locomotion via fuel burning engines and the second is the creation of electricity, which is then used as a source of power for motors, lights, appliances, and the gadgets we use (to name a few).

The Hyperloop is down...speculative fiction by Crave's Eric Mack

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Eric Mack, from CNET's Crave, wrote a two piece story using today's news to speculate on what the futre might look like a decade or two from now. Worth a few minutes read to see what he thinks about a few things. Especially with humor like this:

With all my high-speed transport options out of commission for the day, I should be posting my own angry EEG GIF showing my brainwaves mashed up with some vintage footage from an old Dwayne Johnston flick, back before he was elected, before his groundbreaking presidency united the American and Canadian states (largely to allow for American drone fleets to better protect Arctic borders from polar pirates) and led to the annexation of Mexico, back when -- for some reason -- everyone simply called him "The Rock."

Part 1: The Hyperloop is down and I'm late for work
and part 2: Smart wig on and lightsaber packed, I visit the future.

Enjoy.

Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Book coverIn Abundance, Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler present trends taking us towards a better future - one in which individual needs are met on a global scale. Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a foundation, they explore technology will find ways to improve efficiency by fostering cooperation, providing access to clean water, producing enough food for a planet of nine billion, and even enabling equality as limitations dissipate.

Many projections offer a future half empty. Here, we get a lesson on how our biases enable close tracking of negative trends, whether serious, global issues or personal issues threatening a comfortable ideal we would not wish to give up. Yet, data show the world is improving. As an example, Bill Gates' annual letter from this past January presents how effective support of poor economies is stabilizing population, improving health, and helping develop economies capable of supporting human rights and freedom.

The point of Abundance is that we can both thrive as a race, free of draconian measures to tame our needs, and solve our problems going forward, using new methods and technologies to empower humanity. Why settle for half empty or half full, when the future can be filled to the brim?

Radical Abundance: How a Revolution in Nanotechnology Will Change Civilization

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Book coverEric Drexler introduced the world to nanotechnology in his first book, Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology. In his newest book, Radical Abundance, Drexler presents a range of information, informing the reader of the process of nanoscale manufacturing, current efforts and research (and hurdles), and the benefits to science, society, and the planet once we achieve the reality of nanoscale fabrication.

Drexler presents APM (atomically-precise manufacturing) as the next revolution, the first three being agriculture, industrial, and information. This revolution will be powered once we control "the molecular machinery of life (using) proteins that can fit together to form motors, sensors, structural frameworks, and catalytic devices..." By using natural systems to construct from the atomic level towards larger and more complex products, we can manufacture efficiently, using common chemical substances in place of minerals and metals acquired through ecologically damaging mining, and to create materials we cannot visualize today.

In Drexler's future, APM solves many of the societal issues that create poverty, ecological disasters, and conflict. It's an important work that gives us a future to look forward to when so many visions are broken and dystopian.

The Martian

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

The Martian book coverA Martian storm forces Mark Watney's crew to end their mission just a few days into their 31 days on Mars. Separated from his crew, Watney is left behind to find ways to survive with slim hope of a rescue. An engaging novel from page one, The Martian provides detailed engineering and scientific realities as Watney, a botanist and engineer, overcomes a range of issues in his quest to survive as the lone occupant of the planet.

I'll make no bones about it, The Martian is the best novel I've read in years. Weir picks up right at the beginning of Watney's realization his crew has abandoned him, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. In addition to Watney's perspective, he includes the workings and politics of NASA, and presents a world where all of Earth is rooting for one of our own stranded alone. Weaving it all together offers the reader a roller coaster full of science and engineering that will teach as much as it entertains.

On course to collapse or a future of abundance?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Deserted farmNews this week from a NASA sponsored study on the possibility of civilization collapse and how it might happen. The study was led by applied mathematician Safa Motesharrei and looked at five factors leading to historical collapses of past civilizations such as the Roman empire: population, climate, water, agriculture, and energy.

2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow's Kids

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

2030 book coverSo much energy goes into the future, both preparing for it and finding ways to retail it, but there aren't many good resources for the kids who will inherit it. 2030: A Day in the Life of Tomorrow's Kids is just that - a resource to help today's kids understand a bit of what their future might hold.

It's a nice resource and at only 30 pages long, it manages to cover a wide range of material, including clothing, communications, living space, careers, our populations, housing developments, transportation, recreation and education. The final page includes a nice list of books, reports and websites the reader can access for additional information.

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