We see this same type of crisis happening around the world. In what once was called “Christendom,” the Catholic Church has become concerned that Islam will eventually become the largest religion in Europe, as most Europeans themselves are now secularist. In America, despite the rise of Evangelical Fundamentalism (which is actually a symptom of the crisis) people are turning to Buddhism, Eastern philosophy, all sorts of “New Age” spirituality, multiplying schools of psychology, while at the same time, America’s “creative minority” (scientists, educators, artists, writers, etc.) is predominantly secularist. In China, while the Communist leadership now openly preaches Confucianism, Christianity is becoming a sub-culture, as a “crisis of belief” wracks the country. In sub-Sahara Africa, which historically has had its tribal gods and spiritualistic rituals, Christianity is exploding. In historically Catholic South America, Evangelical belief is spreading. Increasingly, people are becoming detached from their society’s founding orientation, and are searching for some new belief, some new point of reference in life.
Sep 16, 2010
The World is Facing a Mass Extinction Event - (Perth Now - September 3, 2010)
Findings, recently published in the international journal Science, showed a major extinction event was currently underway that had the potential to be more severe than any others in history. The last mass extinction was an estimated 65 million years ago when an asteroid smashed into Mexico and wiped out the dinosaurs. Macquarie University palaeobiologist Dr. John Alroy said a new mass extinction wouldn't be the result of a single horrific event such as an asteroid. Instead, it would be the result of a factors from introduced foreign species, run-offs from fertilisers and pesticides, pollution and deforestation, he said. Climate change and an accelerated growth in the worldwide population were also playing a part. But Alroy said the current situation was not yet as bad as the worst mass extinction 250 million years ago, known as Permian-Triassic extinction or The Great Dying
Sep 15, 2010
A new revolution in computing may make computers exponentially faster than today. It’s based on the strange behavior of matter at the quantum level. The basic unit of a quantum computer is a “qubit”—an electron spinning either clockwise or counter clockwise, representing a 0 or a 1. Because electrons can coexist in two places simultaneously, a single electron can carry two qubits, two electrons can produce four qubits, three electrons, eight, and 20 electrons could perform a million computations. The exponential growth raises the hope of infinite processing power. A quantum computer could easily complete in seconds a task that would take a silicon computer billions of years. The first research prototypes are now running at Harvard University, the National Security Agency, and the Federal Reserve. These revolutionary computers may be on the market in about ten years.
Biofuels made from algae could soon provide a substantial portion of our transportation fuel needs. That’s because algae have much higher productivity potential than crop-based biofuels. Algae is capable of producing 5,000 gallons of fuel per acre, which could meet perhaps 30%-60% of U.S. oil needs, a chief NASA scientist told a recent World Future Society meeting. Biomass could generate millions of gallons of additional liquid fuel annually by 2020.
Discover how companies in Denmark are making wind-powered charging stations for electric cars. Freshly charged batteries are exchanged for drained batteries in less time than it takes to fill a car with gas. Consumers pay for the service on monthly plans like mobile phone service.
Despite the popularity of the Roomba floor sweeper, the U.S. lags behind Japan in the development of robots for the home. The Japanese are hoping to have a robot in every home by 2015. Korea is following suit and has mandated a robot in every home by 2020.
Forecast #5:
Bioviolence Becomes a Greater Threat—In the next decade, biological technologies that were once at the frontiers of science will become available to anyone with minimal scientific training. Emerging biotechnologies, such as genomics and nanotechnology, will allow bacteria and viruses to be altered to increase their lethality or make them more resistant to antibiotics.
Forecast #3:
WiMAX Networks Will Soon Create Country-Wide Wireless Internet Access—Often described as “Wi-Fi on steroids,” WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) will cover entire countries with a vibrant, high-speed wireless communications network. Internet access and other data and video applications will be available anywhere with many applications for automobiles.
Forecast #2:
Water Becomes the New Oil—Water desalination may soon become one of the world’s largest industries. By 2040, at least 3.5 billion people will run short of water—almost 10 times as many as in 1995. The huge demand, plus new more efficient desalination technologies, will create enormous profit opportunities and bring new life to arid regions.
The Race for Genetic Enhancements Will Be What the Space Race Was in the 20th Century—Genetic therapies and biomedical enhancements will be a multibillion-dollar industry. New techniques will enable doctors to change your DNA to revitalize old or diseased organs, enhance your appearance, increase your athletic ability, or boost your intelligence.
Sep 14, 2010
The ability to sequence the entire genomes--the sequence of almost every letter of an individual's DNA--of parents and their children has for the first time allowed scientists to directly measure how fast our species is mutating. Preliminary studies are coming up with some surprising findings, including more variation than initially thought. A more accurate measure of the number of spontaneous genetic changes passed down from generation to generation will allow scientists to better estimate the timing of key events in our evolutionary history, as well as to evaluate whether some families are more likely to have children suffering from developmental disorders.
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