Future Predictions for 2017-2045

It is estimated that the doubling time of medical knowledge in 1950 was 50 years; in 1980, 7 years; and in 2010, 3.5 years. In 2020 it is projected to be 0.2 years—just 73 days. Computer power is doubling every 18 months, so massive increases in scope and scale. Once nanotechnology and nano circuitry, stem cells, and genetic engineering, come …

James Forsyth – 2017: Europe’s year of rage

After the tumult of 2016, Europe could do with a year of calm. It won’t get one. Elections are to be held in four of the six founder members of the European project, and populist Eurosceptic forces are on the march in each one. There will be at least one regime change: François Hollande has accepted that he is too …

PATRICK COCKBURN – Why Politicians Are to Blame for Most Terrorist Attacks

European political leaders are making the same mistake in reacting to the massacre at the Christmas fair in Berlin, in which 12 died, as they did during previous terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. There is an over-concentration on the failings of the security services in not identifying and neutralising the Tunisian petty criminal, Anis Amri, as the threat he turned …

Mountain glaciers are showing some of the strongest responses to climate change

Mountain glaciers have long been a favorite poster child of climate change. The near-global retreat of glaciers of the last century provides some of the most iconic imagery for communicating the reality of human-driven climate change. But the scientific basis for their retreat has been less clear. Glaciers respond slowly to any climate changes, they are susceptible to year-to-year variations …

JULIE FIDLER – Women’s Cancer Deaths Expected To Climb 60% By 2030

The population of Denmark is roughly 5.5 million people, and that’s how many women are expected to die worldwide from cancer by 2030 – a 60% increase from 3.5 million deaths in 2012. The sobering projection comes from a new report by the American Cancer Society (ACS) that was presented at the World Cancer Congress in Paris on November 1. …

Lorraine Chow – Finland Set to Become First Country in the World to Ban Coal

This is all part of Finland’s ambitious target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050. “Giving up coal is the only way to reach international climate goals,” Rehn added. According to The Independent, the “Energy and Climate Strategy for 2030 and Beyond” is the country’s plan to phase out coal within 14 years. Finland aims …

Deirdre Fulton – Climate Change and the Coming ‘Humanitarian Crisis of Epic Proportions’

Climate change—and resultant natural disasters, droughts, and sea level rise—”could lead to a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions,” senior military figures told the Guardian on Thursday. Specifically, the experts echoed a recent warning from the United Nations that without radical action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, “we will grieve over the avoidable human tragedy,” as the number of global climate …

Chris Hedges – Waiting for the Barbarians

We await the crisis. It could be economic. It could be a terrorist attack within the United States. It could be widespread devastation caused by global warming. It could be nationwide unrest as the death spiral of the American empire intensifies. It could be another defeat in our endless and futile wars. The crisis is coming. And when it arrives …

Obama’s Environmental Legacy: How Much Can Trump Undo?

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to scrap U.S. involvement in the Paris climate accords, undo President Obama’s signature piece of domestic environmental legislation — the Clean Power Plan — and eviscerate the Environmental Protection Agency. These moves would effectively decimate what Obama considers one of his greatest achievements — his efforts to slow global warming. But are Trump’s threats just …

San Diego to become largest U.S. city to run entirely on renewable energy

San Diego is renowned for its great beaches, stellar food, and conscious populace, but it will soon be recognized for something even greater… According to Climate Action Programme, the Californian city is moving forward with an ambitious plan to run on 100% renewable energy by 2035. Throughout this process, San Diego residents hope to decrease their collective greenhouse gas emissions …