7 Top Futurists Make Some Pretty Surprising Predictions About What The Next Decade Will Bring

[Freelancer]

57. There's no digging our way out with a virtual shovel

We have 10 billion people coming to dinner in less than 20 years. It seems to me that Republicans think a lot about who should get a seat at a finite table and who should get the boot, while Democrats are for building an ever bigger table.

To that end, we don't need virtual reality suites, or 3d printed hats as much as we need massive, transportable floating desalinization and waste treatment plants. We need thorium power generators that can fit inside a semi trailer in order to bring decentralized power to remote locations. We need sustained aquaculture capable of releasing several fry into the sea for every fish taken for our plates -- preferably on floating island cities supporting millions of inhabitants. Lastly and mostly (and perhaps most controversially) we need weather modification. The idea that humanity should control so much of the Earth's surface in order to sustain itself, but simply accept being at the mercy of the weather systems moving above it is inconceivable. The development of weather control -- at the very least severe storm abatement technology -- has got to be more of a research priority.

Of course, a couple of hours in a holodeck would be nice too -- especially after a long day trying to save the world.