Predictions for the next 40 years - Future Shock/Toffler Associates

[Sol_Itaire]

---

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – In the next 40 years, an unprecedented number of women will be in positions of power, Muslim immigration to the West will rise, and office workers will be unchained from their cubicles, a report released last week says.

South America will see sustained economic growth and the Middle East will become "a tangle of religions, sects and ethnicities," says the report by Toffler Associates, a consultancy set up by the author of the 1970s blockbuster "Future Shock."

Toffler Associates released its predictions for the next 40 years to mark the 40th anniversary of "Future Shock," in which author Alvin Toffler studied the 1970s to see what would happen in the future.

His prognosis 40 years ago was that technology and science would develop at such an accelerated pace that many people would be unable to process the enormous amounts of new information available and would disconnect from life.

Some of "Future Shock's" prognoses have come true, including that news would travel around the world instantly, that same-*** couples would wed and raise families, and that violence and environmental disasters would increase and have broad consequences -- like the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

So it might be worth paying heed to what Toffler Associates foresees for the next 40 years, including container ships getting larger to meet increasing demand for faster, cheaper delivery of goods, and the Suez and Panama Canals being "improved."

They envision more and more people growing their own food to reduce their dependence on large manufacturers and distributors, and the proliferation of high-speed Internet and low-cost video-conferencing freeing office workers from their cubicles and working from anywhere in the world.

Only a very small number of states will continue to behave as "rogue" nations, Toffler Associates says, naming North Korea and Iran.

"A true test for political leaders will be in how they handle relationships with these nations and to what extent they allow them to control geo-political agendas," the consultancy says.

China will position itself as a global economic power, allying with Brazil and India to influence currency use and with Venezuela and African nations to ensure its energy needs are met.

The United States, meanwhile, will depend on China for 17 rare earth metals that are essential to produce everything from weapons components to radars to wind turbines and hybrid cars.

The development of alternative energy forms will create "losers in a post-petroleum world" including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, several Gulf states, Russia and Venezuela, the report says.

Christianity will rise rapidly in the global South, while Muslims will migrate in increasing numbers to the West, where their presence will reshape public attitudes and government policies.

Climate change will fuel conflict as melting sea ice exposes mineral wealth and oil fields in the Arctic and as rising sea levels force large populations from their homes.

An aging population will cause spending on long-term care services for the elderly to nearly quadruple by 2050, and social security and Medicare, the US health insurance for the elderly, will cease to "exist as we know them," Toffler managing partner Deborah Westphal told AFP.

"We don't know what will replace them; we just know that we will be in a different type of society with different types of people and different needs," she said.

As for women, they will take on leadership positions around the globe at a never-before-seen rate, as countries realize "you can't be successful with just 50 percent of the population participating in decision-making," Westphal said.

And in the next 40 years, information-gathering will speed up even more as the world enters the Petabyte Age, Toffler Associates predicts.

Petabytes -- which are 10-to-the-15th-power bytes, or measures of computer files, hard disk space, and memory -- are used today only to measure the storage space of multiple hard drives or collections of data.

Between now and 2050, measuring data in petabytes will become the norm, and so will data saturation, Toffler Associates predicts.

[KlaytoN]

Wow! Hoping the best for humanity..

His prognosis 40 years ago was that technology and science would develop at such an accelerated pace that many people would be unable to process the enormous amounts of new information available and would disconnect from life. -This is what we are experiencing today. We have reached the point that an average educated individual is having a hard time coping or catching up this enormous information especially updates in science n technology. Not bad though..

They envision more and more people growing their own food to reduce their dependence on large manufacturers and distributors.. -This could be one of the solutions for climate change.

..and the proliferation of high-speed Internet and low-cost video-conferencing freeing office workers from their cubicles and working from anywhere in the world. -4G, HSDPA+, Supercell technology, new generation fiber optics and satellite technology. We're experiencing this in the BPO sector. A military UAV or drones flying missions in Afghanistan or Basilan but the virtual pilots are based in the US mainland.

China will position itself as a global economic power, allying with Brazil and India to influence currency use and with Venezuela and African nations to ensure its energy needs are met. -and the Philippines will be one of the key players in the global economy within the next 50 years. The same prediction made by top financial institution Goldman Sachs:

BRIC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Next Eleven - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emerging markets - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Climate change will fuel conflict as melting sea ice exposes mineral wealth and oil fields in the Arctic and as rising sea levels force large populations from their homes. -Based on recent studies, if the trend on the rise of global temperature will continue, then the Northern Ice Cap will disappear within the next 30 years. Mawala ang ice sa north pole including most of Siberia's ice sheath exposing its long hidden oil and mineral reserves. It is believed that Siberia's oil reserves is at par or greater than the entire middle east. Most island nations (Kiribati, Maldives, Marshall islands, etc..) will submerge due to rising sea levels in less than 100 years.

And in the next 40 years, information-gathering will speed up even more as the world enters the Petabyte Age, Toffler Associates predicts.
Between now and 2050, measuring data in petabytes will become the norm, and so will data saturation, Toffler Associates predicts. -Grabeh, i had my first PC when i was in high school way back in 1992. It was the 'latest' during that time having speed of 40mhz, 2mb memory ram and 130mb hard disk. In 2001, i had another PC with 733mhz, 128mb ram and 30gb hard disk. Right now we are dealing with terabytes.. hehe..

[windshock]

agoy sakita nas tuhod nato ani

[Tirong-say]

and the Philippines will be one of the key players in the global economy within the next 50 years.

Maayo unta ug accurate ang prediction, unya matinuod pud ni.

[PaYaSo]

1 things for sure is that 40 years from now ill become old.

[KASAAC]

^

same here.. matandang hukloban

[miyay]

The United States, meanwhile, will depend on China for 17 rare earth metals that are essential to produce everything from weapons components to radars to wind turbines and hybrid cars.

i think this is happening now. china exports 97% of the world's rare earth minerals consumption. there is a controversy now because china wants to lower exports of the minerals to US and EU. which maybe to show that they can also play tough.

[yiox]

wow nice article

[mc888]

nindot ni na thread,

nindot au mga books ni toffler

[crossramz]

much better article rather than reading end of the world threads..