10 PREDICTIONS FOR 2112

The other day the BBC website magazine carried an interesting article about John Elfreth Watkins, an American civil engineer, who made predictions in the year 1900 about what the world would be like in the year 2000, and how those predictions had turned out.

You can read the article here.

This is a gift to bloggers and columnists. What predictions can I see see coming true by the year 2112? Below are 10 things I genuinely think will have happened and/or be in place in 100 years time.

Chances are I won't be around to celebrate my success or commiserate with my failure to foresee the future. maybe someone, somewhere will find this and see how I did.

Here goes:

1. A single world currency

Yes, yes, a shared currency across Europe has proved to be very problematic over recent years and that has only been in existence for just over a decade, but, I foresee an increasingly global approach to fiscal policy and, consequently, a shared currency.

2. Colonisation of Mars

In 100 years I don't see this being a major colonisation, but I predict a colony to be established in an Eden Project-type bubble on the surface of Mars. It will be the start of the colonisation of other planets and moons in the solar system that will stretch on over coming centuries.

3. Farming of the world's oceans

As the world's population continues to grow, governments will need to find ways of producing more and more food. I suspect that red meat will become gradually less popular, probably due to health reasons, and the world will turn to the oceans and seas to produce a far greater quantity of food than ever before through large scale management and farming of the oceans. I wouldn't be surprised to see vegetarianism and pescetarianism becoming the norm.

4. Socialism

I'm not sure how many more times capitalism can continue to Be allowed to fail without a different system being adopted. As nations gradually work closer and closer and continental and world governments become more and more important, I suspect that the people will want a better system of government - socialism, at the very least, and, possibly, a Marxist communism.

5. Nuclear Power to expand

Yes, we have nuclear power now. It produces a sizeable chunk of our power but, following the Fukishima reactor problems in Japan, many countries are turning their back on nuclear power. At some point during the next century, the oil (and gas, and coal) will start to run out and alternatives will need to be found to replace the energy sources we've relied on for many a year. A newer, safer and greener nuclear power is, many argue, the only way ahead that will produce the quantity of energy that we demand. Nuclear powered cars, nuclear powered trains, etc. I've always been anti-nuclear but I can see this happening nonetheless.

6. Average life expectancy to rise to 150

Average life xoectancy varies even within the UK and, of course, in the Third World is much lower than in the developed world. I think my children can expect to live to about 85/90 but, with advances in medicine and healthier lifestyles, I see this rising dramatically. This, of course, will cause major problems for all governments.

7. Information technologies to be implanted into humans

Ways for bionicly accessing the Internet, or its eventual replacement, or using Augmented Reality-type technologies to be implanted in our brains so that information could be screened on the inside of our corneas. We would also be able to record video through our own eyes that we could instantly broadcast to other people.

8. Cars to run on grids with no driver control

The reason we have speed limits and accidents, etc. is because of human error and inadequancies to make judgements under pressure and at speed. Cars will be connected by a grid that will not onky control them, but enable them to drive much faster and never collide.

9. A cure for cancer

Many, many illnesses that we have today, fom cancer to the common cold will be cured. The end of cancer will make a significant difference to life expectancy, quality of life and mean that governments won't have to spend so much on health budgets.

10. Undersea cities

I think the seas and oceans have a lot of changes (see the point 3 above) and to help with overcrowding issues I can foresee major undersea cities in which people will live, work and shop!

So, what do you think? What do you predict? Do you agree with my predictions, or do they not go far enough?