In the near future, my predictions.

Huge forces shape our world. Recognizing those forces, and projecting how they will interact and reshape our world can be a fairly effective way of figuring out what is likely to happen in the near future.

The current state of our economy is the first thing on most peoples minds. Essentially, we have seen a revisit if the 1920ties. Corruption, deception, manipulation, and essentially fraudulent business practices have destroyed what should be, otherwise, and very robust world economy. Having gotten better at the game, they have succeeded in preventing the world economy from collapsing, 30ties great depression style, by vastly expanding the money supply, producing money out of pure speculative thin air, but the cure might be worst than the ailment. Most of the worlds money supply is currently based on phony numbers, and most of that wealth is held by the most wealthy. Sooner or later, the law of supply and demand will step in and make a correction.

The next major looming force is the looming depletion of the vast oil reserves of our planet. The easy to get, high grade crude is about gone. Sure, we will always have oil, but in the future most of it will be much lower quality, much more expensive to refine, and much more expensive to get. We have depleted all of the large easy to get reserves.

Lastly, the problem is climate change. Pretend what you want, our planet is getting warmer, and rate of global temperature rise is accelerating, and there is a very real possibility that we could see a tipping point where temperature rise could suddenly accelerate drastically. There is a slight chance that we could see a major world species die off in the next few decades or century, but there always seems to be the end of the world looming ahead of us. This slight chance maybe the most realistic possibility that we have faced. Most likely we will see predictable changes, ocean levels rising, a major reshaping of the world's climate, and considerable thinning of world species and population. This is a very likely scenario. Of course there is the possibility that temp increases will level off, nothing will become of these observed changes, and all will be fine, but this scenario is only slightly more likely than a major world die off. From what I see, climate change will become a major factor within the next few decades, possibly within this decade.

What I think is going to happen.

People in charge of the money supply are starting to face these realities. They aren't stupid, just too obsessed with wealth, and on the foolish side. They will make some efforts, already underway to rebuild a middle class to create more demand for goods and services. This will be too little too late.

The U.S. working class is currently in a major struggle, fighting to find common ground. Once the fighting is done, they will come together, and retake control of the U.S., and remind the elites once again not to tread on our liberties. We may have lost a few battle, but we will win the war, once again.

Depletion of the easy to get high grade oil supplies will be good for the working people of the world. The solutions to the problems this creates will be far more labor intensive. Necessity being the mother of invention, tech innovation and craftsmanship will flourish, and possibly bring us into a new age.

Our current infrastructure will have to undergo vast changes. Suburban sprawls are far too wasteful, built primarily to enrich the banking elites. Small cities and towns will be the wave of the future. Power generation, and most manufacturing will be done locally, and consumed locally. Things will be a lot less centralized. Smaller hybrid vehicles will become the norm. Maybe a new style of rail system will evolve to tie what cities remain, together.

There will be a major push of Middle Eastern immigrants to move into Europe. This will create massive struggles politically, and some very violent conflicts. Things may get very brutal.

Climate change remains the greatest variable. Increasing global temperatures will start to force major shifts in populations, great conflicts, and major realignment of cultural attitudes. Again, we may very well see some very brutal times in the not too distant future.

These are just opening comments. There is a great deal more to be said, but I have to get off the computer and do some basic life/living things.

I will avoid debating these realities. Say what you will, I have done my research, and and I am not exaggerating circumstances.

Who knows the future?

Nobody.

...oops, correction: at least not the commoners of the planet know the future.

reply to post by poet1b


I'm surprised nobody answered to this thread so far, such a good one. I just didn't because I had/have nothing good to add, but I am keeping a close eye. And the OP isn't "predicting the future", he's making strong guesses based on possibilities and what he thinks might be possible to come to pass in the future. If you throw yourself out of a bridge, I'll make a strong guess that you're possibly gonna die. I am not predicting your future, just guessing based on chances or simply speculating. What's wrong with that?

reply to post by paulorf86


there is nothing wrong with that, but I have noticed some really strange behavior, the more we move in time and the more I feel a real divide , there are things that I find absurd, even incohérante of everyday life, but some people find it normal...sometimes i think do i'm not being crazy...sometimes i feel like i had just arrive here in earth and i discover how this world work and I can not understand why people act like that, I think it's mostly fear it preferable for some to ignore it and worry about things without much interest.

reply to post by paulorf86


Exactly, we all predict the future on a daily basis, based on what we know, and our past experience of the way things fold out.

I find it surprising, post a bunch of BS, claiming to be from the future, or connected to god, and you get numerous hits and flags, talk about the basic of how we all make prediction on future outcomes, and everyone ignores the thread. Most of my threads get better responses than this.

reply to post by pitchdragon


My opinion, is that modern technology, and this artificial environment we have created for ourselves, vastly expands the gap between actions and consequences, what is said and what is done.

I think in the not too distant future, this large gap that has developed between actions and consequences with shrink tremendously, and many people will find their professional skills have quickly become obsolete, due to major changes forcing people to start once again dealing with real world consequences.

The first thing to hit will be rising gas prices.

Modern tech for for tapping oil reserves has allowed aging oil wells to maintain production while they decline on reserves, but this means that when the end comes, it will come much faster. Which means gas prices will start to rise, quickly, and they will keep on rising. Oil companies stopped publishing sweet light crude production in 2008 when we reached peak oil, if anything, they have worked behind the scenes to discredit anyone who points out the reality of peak oil. They will continue to play this game of deception until the very end.

This means gas prices will start to increase without any warning, and they will continue to increase, doubling, tripling, quadrupling, and completely shut down the world economy. Smart people will get to the country as quickly as possible. The suburban sprawls will become places of extreme desperation.

This is when we will all be tested the most.

You are forgetting precious metals- mainly rare earths. China has most of them and they are needed for our electronics like cellphones, Ipods and GPS.

Here is a point I don't see anyone considering.

The Arabs have been the major suppliers of oil for the last thirty plus years. The are in business with people like the Bush family who helped finance Hitler.

Our banking system seems to be controlled mainly by people of Jewish persuasion.

It seems that these two groups would be in ideological opposition, except for their mutual love of money. Gotta wonder whats going on in the back ground between these two groups. How is that going to play out as these major forces exert their influence on the world?

reply to post by CB328


I suspect Ipads will become a lot less important when people become much more wrapped up in the struggle for survival once again.

I will add, suburbia is such a prison, that playing video games is about the only thing young people have to do. The whole scheme of suburban planners is to coral people.

I don't like even trying to see the near future, it is in constant flux and so is subject to change every second that goes by. I do like looking at the bigger picture, it helps to see the now in a better perspective.

what I think will happen in the long term is:

A town somewhere will get its collective ass in gear and become self sufficient. They will make their own power, supply their own water, and produce their own food. They will even manufacture their own goods.

This system of self sufficiency will see the rise of small, banks. Each town would have its own small bank that all in the town would use. The high interest rates and fees would be almost nonexistent. Loans would be smaller and more plentiful. Micro credit will rebuild the middle class and create the future permanent middle class.

I think war will become illegal internationally. You wouldn't have to worry if you are a small country being threatened by a large one. The rest of the entire world would be at war against the aggressor nation invading yours.

There will be human colonies on other planets and moons in our solar system. We will achieve a global system of transportation unlike anything Hollywood has ever dreamed. I see intercontinental travel on supersonic anti-gravity trains. I see space travel more like taking a flight to Hawaii now. Long but possible.

I see corporatism being made illegal. International business will be under the all seeing eye of oversight and accountability to a global institution funded and operated by the worlds citizenry.

I see a global constitution all nations will draft and adopt. A standard for many things will be established. Justice to be one of them. It will be difficult for profiteers to fool both sides when both sides are in constant communication on many levels.

-----------------

As far as the near future, I see a war eventually being made out of sheer determination by those interested in it. There is no deterrent for them since they have already made up their minds that in order to exist, they must make war. These are the dinosaurs that will try and go out with a bang. After the dust settles we will rise up and simply begin again. What remnants of these dinosaurs are left will try and leach onto the emerging society, but will ultimately be wiped out completely. Like a thousand times before.

The war will be obsessively sought after with any opponent at any cost so as to implement a plan set forth long ago by men with less vision than even the next generation after them. The plan consists of surgically eliminating a large block of the world's population, or other such unprecedented event that will prompt a call for central leadership of the world. It will fail. Too many will die and the earth will be brought to the near extinction of the human race. The resentment and retribution afterward will be worse than anything you could find in the bible on Gods most vengeful day.

The war will be tame compared to what is expected, but then suddenly, a nuke somewhere or a biological weapon somewhere will be used, and that will set of more than they expected. Their own survival will be threatened. They will lament and cry like a thousand times before. Then we will rise out of the ashes and build the world we were meant to. This could all take 50 years or a day to start. Our children´s children will see the end of the story. I formally apologize to them. We weren't all dinosaurs back now. We are you, just a little more archaic and retarded.

So there really isn't a near future. The future is far and close. Always in constant flux, but constant to a coarse we set. How much time it takes for what must be to be is up to us. We sometimes need to go through the motions. So if not Iran, Japan, who ever. If not the Middle East, then south America. It's all in the works. We just have to last to see it through.

sorry this was so long and half was about the far future, but you really got me going and it was fun.

reply to post by casenately

A town somewhere will get its collective ass in gear and become self sufficient. They will make their own power, supply their own water, and produce their own food. They will even manufacture their own goods.

I see this as being the wave of the future. Lots of towns will start becoming independent. They will generate their own power with wind mills, and river and stream driven mills. We have have to start using far, far less energy.

Hopefully credit unions, and not banks, are the wave of the future.

Sadly, I see the potential for wide spread wars looming in the very near future. There are going to be a lot of desperate people as the oil runs out and gas prices go through the ceiling.

Is this the beginning of the end of cheap oil?

www.cnbc.com...

The OPEC heavyweight saw production decline by 237,000 barrels per day (bpd) from three-decade highs of 10.047 million bpd in November, the JODI data showed on Sunday.

The draw-down was sharper for the actual amount exported, declining by 440,000 bpd, or 5.6 percent, to come in at 7.364 million bpd, the data also showed. The level would still be similar to exports after a steep ramp-up last June.

It might be an election ploy, but I doubt it.

the real wild card in the near future is Islam. will they use their petro power to force Europe to convert? wouldn't be surprised. things in that part of the world could really get hopping (not that they aren't now) if/when Al Mahdi shows up (he's expected).
I'm not convinced global warming is real but certainly plenty of people think it is, which colors actions.
this idea of community power plants etc is intriguing; I don't know enough about utilities to know if that's feasible. I've never seen a plant that wasn't humongous.
this community thing sounds good but has been tried many times before. it only works if everyone is the same mindset, or some Authority can coerce cooperation. small groups can work but with numbers comes that tipping point when people lose motivation ('why should I bust my butt all day for old Mrs. Goober's welfare?').
do we see food as a future issue? I've heard a ton of stuff last few years about shortages.

one more wildcard; Yellowstone / New Madrid / San Andreas / Cascadia. how would a major major disaster affect the USA's foreign policy, as well as it's power to project? if we're spending all our time/resources digging out of quake will we turn our back on Israel, encouraging Iran etc to overrun them? would nukes result?

stay tuned kids, details at eleven...

reply to post by poet1b


no I think that market is as subject to the whims of its owners as the diamond market, or banking.

I see an alternative energy being made in left field. Some god forsaken country somewhere will become a titan over night by creating, discovering a new source of energy. Kind of like how a nomadic desert people found that their ancestral land has huge deposits of oil and became god men in less than a generation......lol...

reply to post by works4dhs


Essentially, all the Muslim states are welfare states, who depend entirely on oil for sustenance. Their populations have boomed, living off of the wealth of oil, and as it runs out in the next few years, they will become very desperate. Large numbers will seek to migrate to other countries. This will be the largest source of global tension. Rather than a WW II type global war, we will see wide spread gorilla warfare. Attitudes about peace are probably going to be changed very radically in the near future.

reply to post by casenately


It was the Americans and the Brits who discovered the oil in the Middle East, and developed those resources.

I don't think there is some magical formula for energy. The answer will be huge increases in efficiency. Our current biggest problem is planned obsolescence. If we were to aim technology towards efficiency, we would consume a whole lot less, and have more time to enjoy life.

Originally posted by poet1b
reply to post by works4dhs

 

Essentially, all the Muslim states are welfare states, who depend entirely on oil for sustenance. Their populations have boomed, living off of the wealth of oil, and as it runs out in the next few years, they will become very desperate. Large numbers will seek to migrate to other countries. This will be the largest source of global tension. Rather than a WW II type global war, we will see wide spread gorilla warfare. Attitudes about peace are probably going to be changed very radically in the near future.

I don't think their reserves will run out any time soon. it would be interesting to see what would happen if someone did come up wi alternate energy that would render them broke and powerless. I would guess Europe would seal their borders. l
seems like no matter what scenario, Israel can't win!

Originally posted by works4dhs
the real wild card in the near future is Islam. will they use their petro power to force Europe to convert? wouldn't be surprised. things in that part of the world could really get hopping (not that they aren't now) if/when Al Mahdi shows up (he's expected).
I'm not convinced global warming is real but certainly plenty of people think it is, which colors actions.
this idea of community power plants etc is intriguing; I don't know enough about utilities to know if that's feasible. I've never seen a plant that wasn't humongous.
this community thing sounds good but has been tried many times before. it only works if everyone is the same mindset, or some Authority can coerce cooperation. small groups can work but with numbers comes that tipping point when people lose motivation ('why should I bust my butt all day for old Mrs. Goober's welfare?').
do we see food as a future issue? I've heard a ton of stuff last few years about shortages.

one more wildcard; Yellowstone / New Madrid / San Andreas / Cascadia. how would a major major disaster affect the USA's foreign policy, as well as it's power to project? if we're spending all our time/resources digging out of quake will we turn our back on Israel, encouraging Iran etc to overrun them? would nukes result?

stay tuned kids, details at eleven...

I disagree on so many levels......

Islam is no more dangerous than Satan worship. It is weird at times but just a means to an end really.
Iran will invade nobody. I don't see a bigger effort to "convert" people than Mormons and Christian missionaries spread all over the planet telling funny stories with the usual moral spin.

I was´nt describing communism. I was speaking to the form of self governance that has been employed by humans throughout recorded and unrecorded history. This is what a tribe does. It is self sufficient. Considering how tribalism is the foundation of ALL forms of government, I disagree that it has been tried and failed. If that were the case you and I would be talking about a berry tree we just found while wearing loin cloths, instead of a thought on the internet in our "city cloths"

Food cannot be in shortage unless the fields do not yield their abundance. CANNED FOOD could be though if they stop producing it or shipping it. We could feed ourselves.....it's what we have done for thousands of years at least.

The last thing, we are already bankrupt. We have been in debt forever, that's a given. The only difference is it has been collected somewhat and that's what has made this whole nightmare. We are as broke as we want to be. If less than 5% of some private wealth was released into circulation or cancelled in debt, we would become stable again. If it was all surrendered, we would be building bases on mars, or curing death.
I am not "fighting" you on these points, I just cordially disagree. You are welcome to them and I respect your right to think them. I simply cannot. I think you err in your judgment.

Hey, who knows right?