A new article in the Wilson Quarterly covers the most recent data available for predicting future trends of the population. However, they make some points that counter what some preconceived notions.
“While it starts with the typical information about the fluctuations in population for 2050, what the average number of children a woman bears, etc., it moves on to more contrarian views. Because of this bastardization of knowledge, three deeply misleading assumptions about demographic trends have become lodged in the public mind. The first is that mass migration into Europe, legal and illegal, combined with an eroding native population base, is transforming the ethnic, cultural, and religious identity of the continent. The second assumption, which is related to the first, is that Europe’s native population is in steady and serious decline from a falling birthrate, and that the aging population will place intolerable demands on governments to maintain public pension and health systems. The third is that population growth in the developing world will continue at a high rate. Allowing for the uncertainty of all population projections, the most recent data indicate that all of these assumptions are highly questionable and that they are not a reliable basis for serious policy decisions”
This is just a taste, as it moves into quite interesting areas such as the future of sub-saharan Africa, the world’s most popular name, and dramatic demographic shifts in the middle east. That is not the least of it though. All major regions are covered in this report and it seems change is afoot (as always).
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=wq.essay&essay_id=519403
It comes as no surprise that this is the where we are headed. Personal computers will constantly become smaller and people will constantly want more technology to be more transportable and more accessible. As phones move deeper into the personal computer realm, the whole indutry will have to shift, as software will now be designed specifically for these devices and won’t even be usable on laptops, let alone desktops. The movement obviously has its benefits, from costs as well as more accessibility for all, as there is vast potential for connecting the developing nations in this way.
I once heard that within 300 years, there would really only be 3 languages, Spanish, Chinese, and English. While I think Arabic is missing from this list, I do think we are headed towards this situation. A recent article in the Economist has revealed some truth to this theory though.
Their graph shows that there has already been significant loss of languages over the last 100 years, and there is more on its way.
As progress continues to homoginize humanity, one begins to wonder where the destruction of diversity will stop.
Filed under: Social
Bringing together Fair Trade and Carbon Trading, ClimatePath has improved the arena of carbon trading by setting an ethical standard to all trades. Working within countries such as Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey, the company is trying to ensure the credibility gap currently present within the carbon market is cleared away. This is done by providing project profiles filling customers in with the information they would need to feel more confident in the ethical aspects of their trades.
“Profiles are provided of the offsets, which are verified through a third party, such as the Gold Standard, Green-e, Plan Vivo and Voluntary Carbon Standard. Rochlin hopes that certification, coupled with the profiles, will offer a level of transparency that ease concerns of potential buyers.
“There is a credibility gap,” he said. “People don’t see where the money is going and they don’t see offsets as effective.””
http://www.climatebiz.com/news/2009/03/03/fair-trade-principles-meet-carbon-offsets
In a monumental climate change movement this week, young adults from around the US are banning together to sit in on the coal-fired power plant that powers the Capitol building in Washington. PowerShift is a global youth climate movement put on by Energy Action Coalition, an organisation that works to raise awareness about climate change with younger generations. They are bringing together young adults from every state for a 3-day workshop on how to stage a proper campaign against climate change.
“The organisers, the Energy Action Coalition, have already mobilised 340,000 young people to vote on climate change during last year’s presidential election – so this is by no means a group of enthusiastic idealists to be patronised. This is a highly skilled, highly organised movement of young people who will not let vested economic interests destroy what the future holds for them.”
This stands to be a momentous occasion as the kids finally start to speak up and fight for their future.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/feb/20/coal-protest-power-shift
Filed under: Social
With the collapse of the investment banking industry, people are unsure where to turn with their money now (if they have any left!). So they are turning to the web, the answer to all 21st century problems.
In this case, Wikinvest is allowing people to put their faith in complete strangers to know where to invest their money. Seems rife with possible issues. As mentioned, “Though people are growing increasingly comfortable with user-generated Web content, stock information is particularly risky. With no single arbiter of accuracy, the wiki model could make it easier for manipulators to spread misleading information to try to move stocks.” However, the creators realize this concern and believe they have added content to help prevent trust issues.
“To try to prevent that, Wikinvest, like other wiki sites, requires contributions to be factual and to cite evidence, and it depends on users to quickly remove those that are not. It ranks contributors based on how frequently they write and how often their changes are undone by others. It covers companies only with a market value of at least $100 million because they are more actively traded and less susceptible to price manipulation.”
Will people use it? I guess the question really is about whether they will trust this over their bankers. There couldn’t be a better time for a system like this.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/technology/start-ups/09wiki.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss
As web 2.0 becomes more intimate with every aspect of our lives, we can expect our experience with it to become ever more important. What was once the pastime of kids with too much time on their hands, Computer RPGs and Virtual world lives are now invading the job hunt. Second life has already crossed the virtual threshold by actually having an exchange rate between Linden dollars (Second Life currency) and real world currency. Now it seems that experience in games like WoW gives you “Leadership” and “Strong Communication Skills.”
Science fiction has long supplied the vision of a technocratic world. It seems that as technology pervades even further into our human existence, there is a change now that is all to remniscent of 1984. Children’s Dictionaries are now being cleaned of their outdated, natural world, and mystical words and replaced by those of a more cyber variety. Much of this doen to the chagrin of the christian religion, who has seen a slow removal of their classic words as people embrace the vocab of the 21st century.
Filed under: Social
New media doesn’t really play fair with old media.
The prediction is that the old media stahlwarts, i.e. The New York Times, The Guardian,The Washington Post, will make the transition to 100% digitalin the future.
“But what if the old media dies much more quickly? What if a hurricane comes along and obliterates the dunes entirely? Specifically, what if TheNew York Times goes out of business—like, this May?”
With older media seeing harder times than expected and journalism becoming a hobby for anyone with an internet connection, this could be old media’s final days.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200901/new-york-times
