Soccer en Nueva York

Diversas personalidades acudieron al evento tales como reconocidos futbolistas, jugadores profesionales, ejecutivos de la industria y otros medios

Nueva York, NY – El martes 14 de Octubre, 2008, se festejó el lanzamiento en Norteamérica del videojuego FIFA 09 de EA SPORTS™, el cual se quedo disponible al publico en este final de esta semana. El evento se llevó acabo en las instalaciones del conocido restaurante Argentino, Novecento, en el área de SoHo en Nueva York, el cual fue caracterizado por su “alfombra verde” y dio inicio a una experiencia en donde el videojuego pasó de un mundo virtual, a un mundo real.

Wops...

Producido por la agencia Project 2050, el evento incorporó elementos del videojuego, los cuales hicieron que la experiencia fuera interactiva en todos los aspectos. “El objetivo fue crear un ambiente en donde el videojuego y la realidad se integraran dentro de un mismo lugar, para que así los invitados pudieran sentir la emoción y experiencia de FIFA 09”, comentó Raúl González, gerente de mercadotecnia para Project 2050.

El evento comenzó con la alfombra verde de pasto artificial, la cual cautivó la atención de los invitados y aquellos transeúntes del área, ya que asemejaba un pequeño campo de fútbol. A un lado, el equipo juvenil de exhibición de los New York Red Bulls, brindó un show en vivo de fútbol de calle imitando trucos y pases del videojuego. Ademas de esto, antes de entrar los invitados fueron retados a meter un gol utilizando uno de los kioscos con el videojuego, el cual estaba programado para hacer tiros de penal y hacer más fácil la participación de todos los invitados.

Fifa es pasión

Rubén Morales “Zerecero”, video-jugador profesional de FIFA y campeón y finalista de FIFA Interactive World Cup, participó junto a los invitados dándoles tips de cómo ser un mejor futbolista virtual.

Rubén junto a expertos de FIFA 09 de EA SPORTS™, hablaron acerca de las nuevas modalidades de esta entrega tales como: el pulido y refinado modo de juego, las nuevas tácticas de equipo personalizadas, las mejoras en la inteligencia del portero, y el nuevo servicio adidas Live Season que actualiza el rendimiento de los jugadores cada semana en el videojuego tal y como desempeñan estos mismos en la vida real. Después de recibir unas cuantas lecciones muchos de los invitados se animaron a participar en el torneo que marcó la inauguración del lanzamiento de FIFA 09 en Norteamérica.

ESPN en acción

El evento de dos horas y media concluyó con la final del torneo virtual. Los finalistas representaron a los equipos de Inglaterra y Argentina, mientras que uno de los comentaristas de ESPN, Roberto Abramowitz narraba en vivo el partido. Esto logró exaltar la pasión que acompaña al futbol, y motivó al publico a celebrar y hacerle barra a su jugador favorito. Luego de una batalla emocionante el ganador, David Martínez, escritor para la pagina web “TheOffSide”, se llevó como premio una consola de Nintendo Wii.

La noche culminó siendo todo un éxito, en donde futbolistas, ejecutivos y otros invitados se llevaron consigo una experiencia verdaderamente virtual-realista de FIFA 09.

Para que luego digan que en Estados Unidos no hay pasión por el Fútbol. Y sí, ya sabía yo que tendría algún artículo del Fifa 09 más. Pero hay que reconocer que este Fifa, este año, levanta pasiones.

Grossbritannien will bis zur Mitte des Jahrhunderts den Ausstoss von klimaschädlichen Treibhausgasen um 80 Prozent reduzieren. Dies kündigte der neu ernannte Energie- und Klimaschutz-Minister Ed Miliband am Donnerstag im Unterhaus in London an. Bisher hatte sich die britische Regierung auf eine Reduzierung von 60 Prozent bis zum Jahr 2050 verpflichtet. Miliband betonte, die Finanzkrise sei keine Entschuldigung, bei der Verpflichtung zum Klimaschutz «zurück zu rudern». Das neue Ziel schließt allerdings nicht Ausstösse im Flug- und Schiffsverkehr ein. Mit dem Versprechen reagierte Miliband auf eine Empfehlung des Ausschusses für den Klimawandel. Dieser hatte vergangene Woche vorgeschlagen, dass sich das Königreich basierend auf die Werte von 1990 auf eine Reduzierung von 80 Prozent aller Treibhausgase in allen Sektoren verpflichten soll. (Quelle: news.ch)

Understanding Carbon Credit For Emissions Reduction Programs

Basically the carbon credit for emissions reduction programs are a way to cap or limit the amount of carbon in the form of greenhouse gases that industries can produce. Carbon, in the form of greenhouse gases, is largely produced in the industrial nations of the world but has become more prevalent in many of the developing nations. Read More  Carbon Credit For Emissions Reduction

Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) predict by 2050 half of all amphibian species will become extinct. For the full article visit the Telegraph wesbite here.

As I yawn and strecth

I wake of to the fury

Of Mother nature

The fury that cant be calmed

With nuclear bombs.

No 123 agreement

No Large Hadron Colliders.

Once the fury is unleashed

It is impossible to calm it.

Ice turns to Fire

Water Turns to steam

Nothing is left untouched by the fury of Mother Nature.

How long did we think Mother Nature

Would have kept quite ?

As I close my eye on the right 

And then the eye on the other side 

Or as you might

The one on the left. 

Seconds later,

I Open my eyes,

And to my horror,

Much has changed,

It has rained.

There are streams of blood 

Flowing like the flood

People scatter as they chatter

They are almost as good as in a batter.

I close my eyes again, 

I cease to see the pain.

The world will end,

That is the news that 

Screeches right over my den.

But I, I stayed glued to the spot

In a spot.

The trains are full,

Everyone is escaping 

The dreadful war which shall never end.

But no one knows that 

They can’t escape the fury

The fury of Mother Earth …

On 12th of December 2005, one of the prominent Investment Bank, Goldman Sachs, released a report highlighting the subset of Emerging Markets with a high potential to become the Largest Economies in the World. This post is a detailed elaboration on that paper which can be found on: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/hkchina/insight/research/pdf/BRICs_3_12-1-05.pdf . The paper stated: 

“We also present a detailed study of the prospects for another set of developing countries, a group we call the N-11.the Next Eleven. Of them, only Mexico and perhaps Korea have the capacity to become as important globally as the BRICs, although many of them have compelling potential.“

 

 

Source: Page 3 of the Paper

It used the following as a measurement criteria:

“Macroeconomic stability: Inflation; government deficit; external debt

Macroeconomic conditions: Investment rates; openness of the economy

Technological capabilities: Penetration of PCs; phones; internet

Human capital: Education; life expectancy

Political conditions: Political stability; rule of law; corruption”

Source: Page 10 of the Paper

The countries it labelled as “Next 11″ were: Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey, Vietnam (Source: page 7 of the Paper).

The point is to highlight the developing countries which are likely to become “big players” in the world’s economy, in future. Naturally, those countries are experiencing  high level of growth in their GDP, and if they continue to do so, will

Currently (by 2007) Pakistan is ranked as 47th (by International Monetary Fund), 45th (by World Bank) and 47th (by CIA World Factbook) in the list of largest economies in the world. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal))

Needless to say that Pakistan is expected to spur on it’s economical growth — become economically larger than countries like Saudia Arabia, Australia, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Malaysia, Israel and so on — all of which are economically larger than Pakistan currently.

Naturally, countries which are huge in context of population and size will inevitably become substantially big economically. Consequently, Brazil, China, India and Russia will evidently become relatively huge even with a substantially low economical-growth rate, as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will increase substantially due to a large population. This is highlighted in the paper thus:

“In our initial report, we did exclude several other large

developing countries that have the potential to be much bigger economies in coming decades. We did not ignore South Africa.in fact we specifically showed how unlikely it would be that South Africa could reach the size of any of the BRICs despite its own potential. We excluded Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey and some of the Middle Eastern nations that could become quite large, though may not have true BRICs potential. The reasons for excluding other candidates in our earlier studies were either because they lacked the potential to become large and important players (in many cases because they are just too small) or because we thought that fulfilling the conditions was an unrealistic assumption.” 

 

Source: Page 4 of the Paper

According to the paper, Pakistan scored well in “Schooling”, “Rule of Law”, “Life Expectancy” and ”External Debt”. Furthermore it highlighted that Pakistan needs to work on “Inflation”, “Investment”, “Openess”, “Technological Capabilities”, “Political Stability” and “Corruption”. The full results can be viewed on pages 15-17 of the report.

In conclusion, the future of Pakistan’s economy looks stronger and is predicted to straighten strongly. From the current 47th ranking in the list of Largest Economies, it’s ranking is predicted to change to 18th and 20th by 2025 and 2050 respectively. It must however be noted that the predictions are subject to fallacies just like any prediction and may very well turn out to be woefully wrong — for any country — due to incorrect parameters and the inherent fallacies in the computational model. Furthermore, the conditions within such countries must ensure economical growth — the governmental and economical reforms must ensure the spur in economy’s growth for any country, whether be it China or Pakistan, in order for them to reach their potential.

Given the reasonably well governance, Pakistan’s Economy is predicted to prosper, outpacing the economies of many of the “developed countries” of our time — indeed reaching the listing of Largest 20 Economies in the World by 2025.

In future, I intend on examining the Richest Countries (as opposed to the Largest, which we have examined here), comparing economies of Pakistan and other countries in terms of of the past and future, and analysing the recent economical reforms that Pakistan’s government has brought forth.

Blog on Pakistan: blogonpakistan@ymail.com (http://blogonpakistan.wordpress.com)

History of the article:

• Published the first version on 21/September/2008

Paris Hilton, blogging, web 2.0, e copyright sono alcune delle cose che non ci saranno più nell’anno 2020, secondo le previsioni del Future Exploration Net.

Clicca per vedere l'immagine intera

Extinction Timeline

Japonya’da 70 yaşın üzerindekilerin sayısının, ilk kez rekor düzeye ulaşarak 20 milyonu aştığı bildirildi.

İçişleri ve İletişim Bakanlığının verilerine göre, 20 milyon 170 bin olan 70 yaşın üzerindekilerin sayısı, toplam nüfusun yüzde 15,8′ini oluşturuyor. Bu oran önce yıl yüzde 15,3 olarak saptanmıştı.

Dünyanın ikinci büyük ekonomisi olarak nitelenen Japonya’da, 65 yaşın üzerindekilerin sayısı da rekor kırdı ve 28 milyon 190 bine ulaşarak toplam nüfusun yüzde 22,1′ini oluşturdu.

Sağlık ve Refah Bakanlığı da geçen hafta, ülkede 100 yaşını aşanların sayısının son 6 yılda ikiye katlandığını ve 36 bine yaklaştığını açıklamıştı.

BM verilerine göre, Japonya’da yüz yaşını gören nüfusun sayısının 2050′ye kadar 1 milyonu bulması bekleniyor.

K13 in Velp toont een project van beeldend kunstenaar Hans Jungerius en dichter Han van der Vegt: Het is het jaar 2050 en als gevolg van een gestegen zeespiegel ligt de Veluwe aan zee en heeft het zich ontwikkeld tot de nieuwe randstad.

Han van der Vegt:

De toekomst toegewend

welkom in Veluwestad
waar de straten droog zijn, waar de huizen pal staan, waar uw leven zinvol is
waar de algenadem van verdronken geliefden ons op de ochtendnevel komt toegewaaid en ons laat raden naar oude verhalen
waar de kinderen, het rafelig merkteken van de vloedmeesters in hun blonde wang gekerfd, voetballen op stelten
waar je elke dag een nieuwe naam moet verzinnen omdat niemand de namen van gisteren  kent
waar we achter de dijken de torens van de westelijke steden scheef zien zakken van hun voze fundament, voegen uitgebeten, stenen hol gespoeld
het water is niet onze vijand

… lees verder

Fotos en maquetten van Hans Jungerius waarmee hij een somber modernistisch toekomstbeeld geeft van de Veluwe.

Richard Watson ve Ross Dawson’ın hazırladığı bitiş çizelgesine göre 2050 yılında hayatımızdan kalkacak yada uzaklaşacak olan şeyler ve tarihleri işte:

2012: Dual-Up internet erişimi

2013: Faks makinesi

2014: Kaybolmak

2016: Emeklilik, bilgisayar faresi

2020: Telif hakları

2022: İmla kuralları, Maldivler, bloglar( aman gerçekleşmesin )

2023: Çalışılmayan hafta sonları

2024: Masağstğ bilgisayar, AM radyo

2025: Parasız otobanlar

2026: Öğle yemeği, FM radyo, samimiyet, kırışıklıklar

2030: Anahtar, çocukluk dönemi, realite televizyonu

2033: Bozuk para

2034:Ucuz seyahat, Bangladeş

2035: Orta sınıf, petrol, spam, microsoft

2036: Petrolle çalışan araçlar, bağımlılık

2037: Buzullar, doğal yollarla çocuk sahibi olma

2038: Sükunet

2039: “Özür dilerim”, Avrupa Birliği

2040: Cüzdan, halka açık bedava yerler, karbon emisyonu, kağıt para, sağırlık

2042: Kravat

2044: Gelecek bilimciler

2049: Goggle, körlük

2050′den sonra: Estetik ameliyat, fiziksel acı, çirkinlik, ölüm

NOTES:

- An excellent video that explains the benefits of CCS technologies in capturing carbon dioxide emissions. Technology could become critical in the fight against climate change and global warming. CCS stands for Carbon Capture Sequestration.

- Energy security is also an important factor because of the abundant availability of coal. The EU believes that CCS technology should form part of the measures in reducing greenhouse gases and an integral part of receiving energy from the supply of coal. The European Union has set exacting targets for EU countries for both 2030 and 2050 in regards to the reducing of carbon emissions. CCS technologies could become an important instrument within the building of the proposed new clean-coal power station at Kingsnorth.

CRITICAL

An energy future that becomes reliant on coal does, however, have implications worth considering. For example, if ‘clean-coal’ power stations were to be built most of the coal would need to be transported from countries such as Australia and Latin America, creating vast amounts of carbon emissions during the shipping and transportation process.

Critically, even if coal technologies do increase the ratio of energy produced to CO2 released, some will still be released into the atmosphere. The cost of implementing clean coal technology is prohibitive and the length of time needed to develop technologies like pulverised coal or gasification to the point of substantial difference to the environment is far too long.

‘Clean coal technology’ has been argued to gradually nudge the efficiency of coal-fired plants upwards. But, pertinently, that could take anything up to 50-years to reach the efficiency levels required in benefiting from such technology.

If we continue on our current course, the environment will likely be damaged irreparably. Growing evidence suggests, though, that it would be better for our governments to invest money by improving renewable energy technologies such as wind or, solar power towers which have been proven to work in Madrid as well as within the new solar-powered plantations in China.

© Text: Mark Dowe, 2008

Listen to Noah Chandler’s new audio blog cast. He hit the streets and asked Oakland, CA residents their opinion about the Census Bureau’s new data that states there will no longer be a racial majority by 2050.

Click here - to go to the website to listen

Welcome to the August 21, 2008 edition of the Imagine 2050 audio blogcast. This week we take to the streets in Oakland, California where we do some more “on-the-street” style interviews. While this type of interviewing is tough, especially for those talking as here they are minding their own business, walking down the street and someone accosts them with tough questions. However, it’s not the perfect answer that we are after here. No, what we are after is to hear what people have to say in response to the demographic shifts of 2050. It is usually this exclamation that convinces people to jump in and contribute.

In regards to this month’s edition, it does run a little longer than I intended it to. But I think you will find the discussion engaging and I hope it inspires you to make your own comments here on the Imagine 2050 blog. Thanks to all for their continued feedback and support!

Imagine 2050 Blogcast - August 21, 2008

Some questions you might like to respond to:

• What does Richard mean when he says America has sold out and because we are now “owned” by other countries there are no longer any “Americans”?
• How do we more positively address the anti-immigrant sentiments that Richard puts out? How do we explain them?

RESPONDING to Rt Hon. Nick Clegg MP after an article written by Mr. Clegg appeared on the website of the Guardian Newspaper entitled, “My plan for a zero-carbon Britain” dated Thursday, 21^st August 2008:

Writing in response (amended):

A number of ‘nuclear’ power stations will be reaching the end of their usefulness and economic lives in the next few years as several sites are due to be decommissioned. The closures will leave a significant ‘energy gap’ which requires filled by other means. I endorse Mr. Clegg’s views in seeking further innovations and the use of new technologies in how future energy supplies might be harnessed. The difficulty, though, is finding a composite mix because of the relative nature of the ’intermittent argument’, i.e. wind power cannot be generated when the wind does not blow or energy from tidal waves might be below desired levels if the tides are weak.

Mr. Clegg’s arguments presented in his article, here, reconcile with the requirements of the EU in that members are required in cutting back on their carbon emissions drastically by 2050. However, those targets do not just assume that future energy supplies be derived purely from renewable sources, but does encourage, more widely, technological developments within the energy sector. It is right that the government focusses on this area by insisting, for example, that revenues earned from the sale of surplus carbon credits are invested for new renewable technologies. This might also be a way in how less developed countries might be helped.

Part of the ‘mix’ will, invariably, have to come from clean-coal. The proposals in building the new clean-coal power station at Kingsnorth does have credibility because, not only is coal in abundant supply but carbon capturing mechanisms (CCS) - the apparatus used in sequestering carbon - should be a vital element in removing what would otherwise amount to voluminous levels of carbon dioxide being emitted to the atmosphere. Whilst technology is expensive, the economies of scale that would likely accrue from generating energy from clean coal power stations would be substantial. CCS seeks to remove carbon dioxide by pumping it directly underground.

For many people, driving energy from nuclear power isn’t a viable option at all. In Scotland, for instance, there remains public and parliamentary sceptism over the dangers and risks associated with anything nuclear. The line between nuclear energy and nuclear weapons is a paper thin one; spent fuel-rods, for instance, could be acquired in the building of a nuclear arsenal. Scotland, however, is different to England in terms of how it will receive its future energy supplies considering that the nation here has 25% of the total renewable energy supplies of the EU at her disposal. Worth mentioning, though, is the incredibly successful tidal barrage scheme within the Pentland Firth, in the North of Scotland, providing now much more energy for more communities than had first been envisaged.

Many thanks,

© Mark Dowe 2008: all rights protected

- the writer campaigns on behalf of WWF (Scotland)

Extra, extra, read all about it! ” White People No longer A Majority by 2042.”  When I first read this article, written in the Washington Post, I was ecstatic! I swear If I wasn’t surrounded by fifty white co-workers I would’ve jumped out of my chair to do the ‘white mans’ version of the cabbage patch. Instead I waved at Susan, smiled at Bobby (Caucasion co-workers) for the first time in years, aka shared work history. I didn’t feel like the ‘ONLY BLACK’ on my floor anymore. I was looking ahead to better days. A day when I would be working along side people that looked like me. I wouldn’t be forced to assimilate ’the white american way’ anymore. Good bye Kenny Loggins, Hello Smokey. I had the urge to change the radio station in the office, but of course I had to snap back into semi reality. My white co-workers would’ve shitted mayonaise sandwiches, had I become bold enough to interrupt their easy listen mode. Wait! it’s still 2008. I cant jump for joy just yet. Not when we still have more white people doing the hiring and firing in corporate America!

I sing along with Kenny, Bobby and Susan.  I watch my white co- workers moving around like misfortunate  worker bees. Ahh, less white people in America, kinda sounds like music to my ears. Sing on Kenny logins, sing on.  ( I wonder what the world would look like by 2042-2050?)

10 Things I’m sure would change: 

1. George Clooney would never make ‘Peoples top 25 most beautiful’ list ever again.

2. I could actually watch t.v . ( I wouldn’t be engulfed by mundane, back to back episodes of Sienfeld.) 

3. The History channel would make more sense, and perhapes become more accurate. ( In regards to Egypt-African history) 

4. Hot dogs would become an illegal food substance .

5. Blue Eyed Soul would never be mentioned again.

6. The 4th of July would look more like party time at the French Quarters, in New Orleans. ( Mardi- Gras) 

7. Elvis Who? ( Chuck Berry would be considered the king of Rock-n Roll)

8. Shark attacks would decrease ( say goodbye to bungy jumping too folks!)

9. Racism would cool off an additional 40 percent.

10. I could have black neighbors for a change, outside of the ghetto!

Ok, but wait. There’s always a flip side to everything. If white’s aren’t going to be the majority by 2040, then who will be?  Well here’s what the numbers are saying.

“By 2050, whites will make up 46 percent of the population and blacks will make up 15 percent, a relatively small increase from today. Hispanics, who make up about 15 percent of the population today, will account for 30 percent in 2050, according to the new projections.

Asians, which make up about 5 percent of the population, are projected to increase to 9 percent by 2050.“

It’s a damn shame, black people numbers aren’t jumping! Then again we are the most racist peers amongst each other. No breeding allowed in ‘black mental town.’ Infact if we removed the birracial children from the numbers, I’m sure we would see a decrease in birth rates ‘In da hood’ as well. Uh, oh!

On that note…

It  appears to me, that the next negro generations will have to get use to Barbacoa and Frejoles!  1. Barbacoa is made from cow heads that are typically steamed rather than smoked.

OH DAYUM JEEENA!!! Or is it more like ”White people we’re coming to join ya honey,” as Fred Sanford would probably say, back in the days.

So much for my ‘life with less white people in it.  Back to work my black ass goes!

-2thesun-

Wednesday (August 13, 2008), the Census Bureau confirmed that by 2042 - 8 years earlier than previously thought - the United States will no longer have a racial majority, that white Americans will no longer be the majority.

Here’s the new data calculated for 2050:

Whites - 46%

Blacks - 15%

Hispanics - 30%

Asians - 9%

I have a new poll about the new data and I’m curious what you think!

Don’t worry, it’s completely anonymous, so no one will know your answer.

To vote, click here! (look to the right of the screen on the site!)

It’s on imagine2050!

So the Census Bureau  released a new study yesterday stating that by 2042 - 8 years earlier than previously calculated - that there will no longer be a racial majority in the United States. That by 2042, whites will no longer be the racial majority.

Interesting….

While I have no beef with their study, I do have an issue with folks blaming immigrants for all of America’s problems. It’s no like the economy will magically recover and air pollution will go away if we close down the borders.

But that’s exactly what Washington think-tanks, like the Center for Immigration Studies, wants you to think. They’re like the bully in your 5th grade class that likes to pick out the nerdest and weakest kid in the room and beat him or her up because his parents fight everyday or he’s just a spoiled brat. Center for Immigration Studies is like that spoiled kid that starts screaming on the top of their lungs when they’re no longer the center of attention.

AND….the Center for Immigration Studies likes to hang out with white nationalists - the new modern day white supremacists that have to hide their real agendas in a post-civil rights era.

Check out the full story at IMAGINE 2050

The Political Center Is Not Where It Seems

I have an addiction and I going to tell you what it is.

I’m addicted to CNN (Cable News Network). I love CNN and watch it constantly.Something has always fascinated me about 24-hour news coverage. When CNN started its second news channel nearly a decade ago I was elated because I could flip between channels with my remote control and really get continuous news, but I digress. When CNN first started they marketed the channel to news junkies like me by focusing on the “sports minute,” the “weather minute, and my personal favorite the “fashion minute.”

The “fashion minute” would cover fashion shows from all around the world. I had a love and hate relationship with the “fashion minute.” I would love to sit in front of the television watching all of the latest fashions coming down the runway and say to myself, “I hate that, no one is ever going to wear that.”

I mean come on. No one wears 23 inch heels, gold embroidered into their clothing and hats that are 70 feet in diameter. Well at least not anyone I know. I suspect that if you have ever seen fashions shows on television that you probably agree with me. I would proudly announce to my long suffering roommates that fashion designs were “too out there!” and “too extreme!”

However, as I continued my love and hate relationship with CNN’s “fashion minute” I began to notice something incredible happening. The fashions I saw coming down the runway were influencing the styles of clothes being sold in clothing stores each season.

Of course the clothes being sold were not as extreme as the designs coming down the runway but the influence was definitely there. I remember watching 70s fashions appearing on the runways in the late 80s and telling my friends that “the fashion industry has gone way too far this time, I mean the 70s were enough for everyone!” Of course by the time the mid-90s came around 70s clothing designs were back in full force including the bell bottom. The best rated comedy on television was That 70s Show. Even Wal-Mart couldn’t help but join the chorus by running commercials with a big yellow smiley face slashing prices.

To read the full article, check out IMAGINE 2050!

By 2050, minorities will be the majority in America, and the number of residents older than 65 will more than double, according to projections released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau looks at 2000 results and assumptions about future childbearing, mortality rates and migration. Minorities, classified as those of any race other than non-Hispanic, single-race whites, currently constitute about a third of the U.S. population, according to Census figures. But by 2042, they are projected to become the majority, making up more than half the population. By 2050, 54 percent of the population will be minorities.

Minority children are projected to reach that milestone even sooner. By 2023, the bureau said, more than half of all children will be minorities. “Part of it is a higher fertility rate for some of the minority groups, Hispanics in particular,” said Dave Waddington, chief of the Census Bureau’s population projection branch, which issued the report. “Those groups also tend to be more of the childbearing age. Non-Hispanic white people tend to be a little bit older.”

The projections are based on Census 2000 results and assumptions about future childbearing, mortality rates and net international migration, the bureau said. The group predicted to post the most dramatic gain is the Hispanic population. It is projected to nearly triple, from 46.7 million to 132.8 million, from 2008 through 2050, the bureau said. Its share of the total U.S. population is expected to double from 15 to 30 percent. “Thus, one in three U.S. residents would be Hispanic,” the Census Bureau said in a news release. The African-American population is projected to increase from 41.1 million to 65.7 million by 2050, going from 14 percent of the U.S. population to 15 percent. The Asian-American population is expected to increase from 15.5 million to 40.6 million, or from 5.1 percent to 9.2 percent of the population. Among the remaining races, the bureau said, American Indians and Alaska natives are projected to increase from 3.9 million to 8.6 million, going from 1.6 percent to 2 percent of the U.S. population. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders are expected to more than double, increasing from 1.1 to 2.6 million. In addition, the number of U.S. residents identifying themselves as being of two or more races is projected to more than triple, increasing to 16.2 million from its current 5.2 million, the Census Bureau said.

Meanwhile, the non-Hispanic white population is not expected to post dramatic gains in the same period. By 2050, whites are expected to number 203.3 million, slightly increased from the 2008 number of 199.8 million. Whites will comprise 46 percent of the U.S. population by 2050, down from the current level of 66 percent, the bureau said, as the group is projected to lose population in the 2030s and 2040s. By 2030, all baby boomers will be age 65 and older — comprising nearly 20 percent of U.S. residents, or one in five Americans, the bureau said. By 2050, the 65-and-older age group will increase to 88.5 million, more than doubling its current number of 38.7 million. Meanwhile, the number of those age 85 and older is expected to more than triple, from 5.4 million in 2008 to 19 million by 2050. Non-Hispanic whites make up most of the baby boomers, Waddington said. “They’re in a higher mortality rate … nonminority groups tend to be older and dying off faster” instead of reproducing at the rate projected for minorities.

Obviously, the projections will have “very strong policy implications,” he said — medical care for an increasingly elderly population, for instance, educational needs for increasing numbers of minority children and economic effects for the labor force. “Who’s going to do the jobs that are characteristically held right now by certain types of people?” Waddington said. “All those things are subject to change. “The United States is projected to reach the 400 million population milestone in 2039, according to bureau projections. By 2050, the population is expected to be 439 million. Of those, 235.7 million are expected to be minorities.

As U.S. cities and towns have increasingly become more diverse, Census officials knew the day of a majority minority would come, Waddington said. And “the aging one is sort of simple,” he added. “That’s demography 101.”

Other highlights from the report released Thursday:

• By 2050, 62 percent of the nation’s children will be minorities, up from 44 percent today. Of those, 39 percent are projected to be Hispanic, up from 22 percent in 2008, and 38 percent are projected to be white, down from 56 percent in 2008

• The percentage of the U.S. population between the ages of 18 and 64 — the “working age” population — is projected to decrease to 57 percent in 2050 from 63 percent in 2008.

• The working-age population will become more than 50 percent minority in 2039, and by 2050 will constitute 55 percent of the population.

• By 2050, the working-age population will be more than 30 percent Hispanic, up from 15 percent in 2008; 15 percent African-American, up from 13 percent in 2008; and 9.6 percent Asian, up from 5.3 percent in 2008.

3ra Guerra Mundial

Desde tiempos remotos el ser humano ha creado conflictos y guerras para tener el control sobre recursos que ambiciosamente quiere poseer. Las concecuencias de esto es solo millones y millones de gente muerta, invalidos, desaparecidos, estancamiento demográfico y pobreza. Y como único factor de beneficio tenemos el desarrollo tecnológico. Actualmente se teme por la creación de una tercer guerra mundial en donde los protagonistas no dudaran en utilizar armas nucleares y otras armas de destrucción masivas, lo que es de suponer, sería un camino rapido para la destrucción definitiva de la vida en el planeta tierra (estamos matando lentamente).

Los países bélicos enfocan su esfuerzo en crear nuevas formas de ataque que les permita someter a cualquier país independientemente en el ambiente que esten. La gran importancia de las Tecnologias de la Información que pueden ser accesadas a traves de Internet han llevado a que se genere un nuevo entorno para lo que será la 3ra guerra mundial: “Cyber Guerra“.

La invasión física militar hacia países debiles es la causa principal del origen de las guerras mundiales, sin embargo, ahora con la facilidad de acceso a internet y a super computadoras personales, el inicio de la 3ra Guerra mundial se esta dando por el espionaje en el ciberespacio, el mundo sera para quien tenga la capacidad de controlar el tráfico en internet, tenga la capacidad de restringir el acceso a toda la población de un país, un continente, a todo el mundo, es entonces en donde surgira un caos total, bancos, tiendas, sistemas de medición metereólogicos, la televisión, cualquier sistema dependiente del ciberespacio internet sera inutilizable. Es en este momento que las grandes potencias mundiales destinaran la mayor parte de sus recursos para poder restablecer el acceso a la red de redes. Alguna vez has imaginado que será del mundo sin internet ?

Como protagonista principal al impulso a la 3r guerra mundial esta China, que actualmente es uno de los paises con mayor crecimiento económico y presencia diplomática, los cuales le han permitido invertir considerablemente en desarollo de tecnologías enfocadas al espionaje y ciber ataques  hacia otros paises. De seguir asi, se estima que para el año 2050 China tendrá la capacidad de interrumpir completamente los medios de comunicación de cualqueir país enemigo. De los paises mas afectados sobre ciber ataques esta Estados Unidos, India, Bélgica, Alemania y Reino Unido. Aunque la mayoría de estos ataques provienen de China, ningun país ha querido reclamar estas agreciones y formalizar el inicio de la guerra, aun asi cuando las grandes potencias tienen el conocimiento que China posee una inmensa infraestructura disponible para la cyber guerra (y que ya esta poniendo en práctica). En base a esta amenaza 140 paises ya estan trabajando en ciber armas que despues de los proximos 5 años se mirará quien de ellos ocupa la supremacia virtual.

Sera capaz China de controlar el flujo de la comunicación virtual?

La ciber guerra sera la forma de guerra en el futuro?

Estamos listos para vivir sin internet?

Los ingenieros de software/hardware seran los nuevos soldados en batalla?

—————

En la fila de reclutamiento militar desde defensetech

The northern coast region plans to become a national comprehensive economic hub by 2025 and gain global prestige by 2050 in its master plan approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on July 10.
“The region should have all of its potential fully tapped to play an important role in the national socio-economic development, especially in the national maritime economic strategy,” the PM’s decision said.

The PM also urged for intensive investment in large scale regional infrastructure in the interest of economic development and environmental protection as well as for the harmony of economic development and national defence so as to secure sustainable development for the entire region.

“By 2050, the region would become an important economic hub on national and international scales while playing a role as a centre of culture, history, education and human resource development as well as a major tourist site,” the decision said.

The northern coast region covers the Hai Phong port city and the four provinces of Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh with a total area of over 12,000 sq.km.

The regional population is expected to reach between 8.3 and 8.6 million by 2015 and 8.7-9 million by 2025.
Under national planning, the region will have a modern comprehensive traffic system covering roads, railway, waterways and air.

The Haiphong port will be upgraded for ships ranging from 30,000 DWT-80,000 DWT to cast anchor. A new Hai Ha seaport will be built for heavy industrial and energy purposes while the Cam Pha coal seaport and the Hon Net seaport in Quang Ninh province will be upgraded to serve the mining industry.

Quang Ninh will see its Hon Gai seaport go international and a new airport constructed in Van Don district. The Cat Bi airport in Hai Phong will also be raised to international-flight standard and placed on stand-by for flights that cannot be serviced by Hanoi-based Noi Bai international airport.

The northern coast region will build a system of wholesale shopping centres in Hai Phong, Quang Ninh and Ninh Binh to distribute commodities for the entire region.

High-quality, healthcare centres will also be built in Hai Phong and Nam Dinh in order to reduce pressure on the leading national hospitals in Hanoi.

The region is slated to build three centres of education in Hai Phong, Nam Dinh and Quang Ninh and expand the network of universities and medium-level colleges from the current 20 up to 35.-

Source: The International Herald Tribune | by Sheryl Gay Stolberg

Calling climate change “one of the great global challenges of our time,” the world’s richest nations and emerging powers joined together Wednesday for the first time to commit themselves to pursue long-range cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions, but were split on how to achieve that goal.

The declaration grew out of an unprecedented meeting that brought together 16 nations and the European Union - a group dubbed the “major economies” - around the issue of global warning. The 16 are the Group of 8 industrialized nations: the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Italy, Britain and Russia; the Group of 5 emerging economies: China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa; and three other major trading nations: Australia, South Korea and Indonesia.

The session, organized by President George W. Bush, took place here on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido, where leaders of the Group of 8 wrapped up three days of meetings on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, leaders of the Group of 8 pledged to “move toward a carbon-free society” by cutting emissions of heat-trapping gases in half by 2050. But Group of 5 poorer countries refused to sign onto that goal. They are holding out until rich nations like the United States take more aggressive steps to cut pollution over the next decade.

That fissure prevented the 16 countries from “reaching any meaningful understanding” in the special Wednesday session, said one expert, Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists. But an environmental campaigner, Phillip Clapp of the Pew Environmental Group, said the declaration helped set the stage for the next American president to grapple with climate change when the United Nations conducts negotiations on a binding treaty in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009.

“It is good that the developing countries have embraced the principal of a global target that they will participate in,” Clapp said. “It would have been better if the United States and the other G-8 countries would have been willing to step up to the plate and make a strong commitment about what they would do over the next 10 years. “

Bush claimed success.

“In order to address climate change, all major economies must be at the table,” he said before flying back to Washington. “And that’s what took place today.”

But the meetings did not produce a long-term emissions goal accepted by all the countries, rich and emerging, which was the goal the Bush administration had sought since announcing the “major economies” effort last year.

For Bush, who is trying to salvage his legacy on climate change late in his administration after years of international pressure to take a more aggressive stance, the back-to-back declarations were still an important step. Bush has long insisted that any international treaty include developing nations like China and India.

“This is an enormous movement for a man who questioned the science on global warming, who was opposed to international treaties and who was opposed to international targets,” said Clapp, a frequent critic of the president’s policies. “Here he is leading the way trying to get a global target. He’s gotten the developing countries to acknowledge there should be a global goal.”

Although the meeting put the United States on record for the first time as embracing a specific long-term goal, environmentalists complained that the declaration by the G-8 did not go far enough.

” Major economies meeting turns into major embarrassment meeting for G8,” the WWF, formerly the World Wildlife Fund, said in a statement.

Together, the countries that issued the declaration are responsible for more than 80 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists have said are warming the planet. But there is a dispute between rich and poor nations over how to set targets, and who should bear the brunt of the responsibility.

There is also a dispute over the starting point for the Group of 8 plan to halve emissions by 2050. There was no mention of a baseline in the group’s declaration.

Many scientists say cutting emissions in half by 2050 is not enough to combat climate change, and that it would take an 80 percent drop from 2008 levels to limit chances of runaway warming and centuries of rising sea levels. Developing countries agree.

Under a proposal put forth by China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil, developed nations would cut emissions between 25 and 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. David Doniger, an expert on climate change at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, predicted the two sides could come together, but probably not until a new president is in the White House.

To read the article in its entirety, please click here.

To read the G8 statement on energy security and climate change, please click here.

For more about the G8 Summit in Japan, click here.

Having promised strong leadership and urgent action on curbing emissions at last year’s G8, yesterday’s statement gives us an unusual opportunity to measure the pace of international change. The G8 decisions are an annual precis of the worst climate culprits’ progress in facing up to the task.

2007:
In setting a global goal for emissions reductions in the process we have agreed today involving all major emitters, we will consider seriously the decisions made by the European Union, Canada and Japan which include at least a halving of global emissions by 2050. - full statement (pdf)

2008:
“We seek to share with all parties to the UNFCCC the vision of, and together with them to consider and adopt in the UNFCCC negotiations, the goal of achieving at least 50% reduction of global emissions by 2050, recognising that this global challenge can only be met by a global response, in particular, by the contributions from all major economies, consistent with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.” - full statement

So after a year of ’seriously considering’, the men in suits who rule the world have moved to ’sharing the vision’, with a bit more time to ‘consider’, and more crucially, ‘adopt’ the goal of halving emissions by 2050.

There’s no denying that’s progress, particularly now the US are on board (godspeed November and the back of Bush), but I’d hesitate to declare it strong, decisive or urgent. Even if that goes through, adopting a goal is a far cry from actually legislating cuts in emissions. Still, it’s better than climate change falling off the agenda altogether. Let’s just hope world temperatures move at an even slower pace than our political processes.

Some personal remarks

Today it gets a bit personal and subjective, sorry for that. Ok, it is quite inevitable that on the occasion of G8 some “selected” men come together, men which have met the selection criteria of a political system, as it is today in the early 21st century, sometimes a strange fabric of political, of media and economic power. Great opportunity to see the elected leaders Bush, Berlusconi and Sarkozy at one place and analyzing their different “semiotics of power”. When I watch the scene, their “tv faces”, their postures then there seems to be some contrast to the severity of the situation ahead (maybe I am somehow biased as a futurist and analyst).

All just looks like a “business as usual” thing – and this is a bit shocking.

The communiqué says: “We seek to share with all parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change….the goal of achieving at least 50 per cent reduction of global emissions by 2050.”

… On mid-term targets, it says: “We acknowledge our leadership role and each of us will implement ambitious economy-wide mid-term goals in order to achieve absolute emissions reductions and, where applicable, first stop the growth of emissions as soon as possible.”

The latter phrase appears to be an accommodation to the US position, which is that it will stabilise emissions by 2020 before cutting them after that.

Peter Grant, international director of Tearfund, an advocy group, said: “Concrete commitments on climate change are the acid test of success at this summit. The G8 are crawling forward on emissions cuts at a time when giant leaps and bounds are needed.” FT.com / In depth - G8 leaders reach deal on climate change

And then the inevitable “symbol production” for the always hungry media society – seven men and one woman are planting those little trees (of hope – and we need a lot of hope with these type of politicians). And in this moment they look even less like the leaders I could have the confidence to solve the coming global super crisis.

(Image source: Screenshot FT.com / In depth - G8 leaders reach deal on climate change)