The next 100 years: What can we expect?
Greetings, intrepid readers! I am very please to present to you the first in a series of science articles from my dear friend and colleague, Simon Hanslow. Simon is currently completing his second degree and is well on his way to becoming an authority on everything on, within and around Earth, with the notable exception of us pesky human beings. Simon has chosen to begin his contributions to Wonderbread with a somewhat ambitious take on what the next century may hold for the planet and those who inhabit it.
-Morgan
The next generation of modern society will be affected in serious ways by the much debated “climate crisis” that may soon arise on this planet. What would be the ramifications, if any, of said disasters for the modern culture? For instance an example used by Al Gore in his 2006 movie “An Inconvenient Truth” describes a situation wherein the refugees arising from displacement globally could eventually number in the hundreds of millions (in many disaster scenarios, this number can climb to even a billion). In such a situation, would the traditional values of the societal zeitgeist survive? To present an alarmist view of the situation: what of the simple fact that if you look around right now, every single thing on your desk, table etc., comes either directly or indirectly from oil. Imagine a world without plastic, imagine a world where the simple luxuries we take for granted like abundant food and diverse entertainment are not present, where the shoes you wear belonged to your father because it’s difficult to make new ones where the comforts of western civilization become a hindrance rather than a boon. The outcomes of the next 100 years are no more or less extreme, complex or terrifying then the previous century, the difference is that that experience rarely carries and we must learn anew how to adapt to changing conditions in an unstable future.
