Is There Anybody Out There?
Is there life elsewhere in the universe? The answer to this most fundamental question is either yes, meaning we are part of a cosmos dotted with other lifeforms and perhaps even other civilisations, or no, in which case we are unique, special and alone. What would it mean to us as species to answer that...
Global Energy Projections for 2040
According to the world’ largest publicly traded company, ExxonMobil, meeting energy demands in 2040 won’t be all that different from today. Well that’s not entirely true, because as you will read below, we’re going to be getting a whole lot more efficient at managing the energy we use. The full report, which you can find...
The Virtues of Vertical Farming
“Vertical farming is a proposed agricultural technique involving large-scale agriculture in urban high-rises or “farmscrapers”. Using recycled resources and greenhouse methods such as hydroponics, these buildings would produce fruit, vegetables, edible mushrooms and algae year-round…” [Source] A few weeks ago at a local supermarket I picked up a beautifully bright red-orange tomato and marveled at...
Ark: The Back-up Plan
First posted on the UT by ‘Russian Ark’ by Nicolas Sampson. As climate change increases and the predictability of weather pattens declines, how will will cope with the increasingly extreme meteorological conditions? If a Wallâ‹…E, hyper-commercialized starliner is unrealistic in our lifetimes, then perhaps the Russian-made ‘Ark’ is. All images via Remi Studio. The ‘Ark’...
Welcome to Future City
With the global urban population proliferating at a rate of knots every year, perhaps even absorbing 60% of humanity by the end of this decade, it has become one of the most pivotal questions that mankind has to ask itself: Can the cities of Planet Earth support us all? Although an approximation, land accounts for...
