Weather (the elements)

Where will technology and big data take our future?

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Stratasys 3d printed shoes

Technology is slowly infiltrating every area of our human existence. I read Alistair Croll's Race Alongside the Machine today on re/code and it led me to a reflection on how we humans are being changed by the technology we develop and where this might lead in the future.

When I came up with the original idea for a future-focused site, I immediately created a short list I called "aspects of human existence." I've changed them to "elements of how we live" and use them as story tags, a taxonomy vocabulary in Drupal terms, in order to help users find content. After reading Croll's piece, I decided today's exercise would be to look at the (now much longer) list and see what I can come up with for where current trends and predictions will take us as we continue to combine humans, technology and big data.

Ideas for dealing with rising ocean levels

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Floating school plan for NigeriaUsually, lists of interesting pictures do little more than stoke the imagination. That's great, but it's so much better when you can see some interesting ideas that could actually solve real issues. An article on Discovery.com provides a dozen ideas for dealing with rising ocean levels and also creating energy (I assume because land-based energy sources will use too much important above-water property).

 

Avoiding the worst effects of radioactive fallout

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Graph showing damage zone based on tonnage of explosion.Annalee Newitz of IO9 interviewed Michael Dillon, an atmospheric scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. They focused on Dillon's research about how the government should respond in a disaster scenario where an airborne threat can continue to spread. If you're interested in future scenarios happening after a man-made calamity, this is a great source of information.

Interview on IO9

Dillon's study on Royal Society A

 

How economic warfare drives ecological destruction

Submitted by Daryl Weade on

Shanghai smogToo many future visionaries depict a future full of clean energy and cleaner air. It's as if our need for clean air makes us willing to ignore the development and natural resource costs associated with powering all of these high-energy devices we keep adding to our lives. I'm beginning to believe most of us have certain fears which keep us from crossing a line where everything crashes into a horrific vision where every breath has a painful consequence.

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