HURRAY, WE ARE STILL ALIVE!

 

I think so almost every day. Every day, when I wake up in the morning. Yes, what a miracle, we are still alive although the negative news is pouring down on us like the unexpected hailstorm somewhere in the desert.

Hurray, we are still alive! In the ears of many, those struggling with illness, death, business failure, natural disasters, and personal financial ruin have to fight, a not a very encouraging exclamation. Yes, I can feel it.

How strong are we? How much anxiety,  how much pressure can you and I bear? What did we not have to overcome? After low tight comes high tide. 

What the future might bring us? Human-powered wearables? Airports for drones and flying taxis? Smart sutures that detect infections? Self-healing ‘living concrete'? Crowd-sourced antibiotics? Self-driving trucks? Floating farms?

Every day, people around the world come up with new ways to make the future brighter.  A list of some of the most exciting advances in future technology that will change our world. Somehow it scares me. And you my dear reader?

Also this: The world population is expected to reach 8.5 billion people by 2030. India will overtake China as the most populated country on Earth. Nigeria will overtake the US as the third most populous country in the world. The fastest-growing demographic will be the elderly: 65+ people will hit one billion by 2030. 

Bernard Marr is a world-renowned futurist, influencer and thought leader in the fields of business and technology, with a passion for using technology for the good of humanity. Among other things, he provides that as the ripple of COVID-19 careens around the globe, it’s forcing humankind to innovate and change the way we work and live. The upside of where we find ourselves right now is that individuals and corporations will be more resilient in a post-COVID-19 world.

We have to deal with more contact less interfaces and interactions, strengthened digital infrastructure, tele medicine, more digital events - just to mention some. 

Yes, we are still alive now. Let's see what the future will bring.

A 'difficult test of unity'

My column in Mindanao Daily, BusinessWeek Mindanao and Cagayan de Oro Times

While our globe is burning -in every respect- G7 Summit: EU's Tusk says meeting will be 'difficult test of unity'. Nothing new for us!

Of course, the list of issues for this year's G7 summit is long, with escalating trade tensions with the US, the UK's pending exit from the EU and fires in the Amazon looming over leaders as they gather in southern France. What concerns me more or at the most? Everything.

    

Fact is: anxieties over trade war and climate change hung heavy as world leaders gathered in southern France for the start of this year's G7 summit on this Saturday (August 24, 2019) — with low hopes of leaders reaching a consensus by the end of the three-day meeting. Yes, very sad to say - very low hopes.

European Council President Donald Tusk warned that this may be one of the last chances "to restore our political community." 

Speaking at a press conference, Tusk said this year's meeting will be "a difficult test of the unity and solidarity of the free world and its leaders." In my opinion - a lot of people are not realizing this. Unfortunately... .

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting the summit in the resort town of Biarritz, said one of his main objectives is to "convince all our partners that tensions, especially trade tensions, are bad for everyone."

Thousands of people gathered in the nearby town of Hendaye to protest against economic and environmental policies, urging world leaders to take action on climate change and other issues. Will it help?

US President Donald Trump, one of the main players at the center of global tensions, arrived with his wife, Melania, in the afternoon. He and other leaders were due to be officially greeted by Macron later on in the evening.

Shortly before leaving, Trump again threatened to levy new taxes on French wine over Paris's digital tax on big tech companies. Tusk responded by saying that the European Union is prepared to "respond in kind" should the US president make good on this threat.

The ongoing trade war between the US and China escalated shortly before the summit, after Trump raised tariffs. The US-China trade dispute is believed to be a major factor in the current global slowdown, raising concerns about a possible recession. And who is the one paying the bill?

The massive, ongoing fires in the Amazon rain forest are also topping the agenda this year, with Macron threatening to withhold an EU trade agreement if Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro does not take action.

The G7 will launch "not just an appeal, but a mobilization of all the powers there, but in partnership with the countries of Amazonia," to fight fires and invest in reforestation," Macron said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she supports discussing the fires during the summit, but disagrees that blocking the Mercosur trade deal with South American countries would reduce the destruction of the rain forest in Brazil.

Our and our next generation's future? Open end!

Our future on Earth

My column in BUSINESSWEEK MINDANAO and MINDANAO DAILY NEWS.

Yes, it's again the topic, we should really think about. Our future, but especially our children's future. Also here in the Philippines. Here's anew string of examples, my dear readers. But, don't expect only good news. 

We're experiencing in the Philippines a mild El Nino right now. "Mild" - because we might not be able to the see the end of the tunnel. Yes, it's summer - but... .

Greenland, the great island is being called already the 'Land of Ice on fire'. Why? A recent report says the Arctic may be ice-free by 2040. The Antarctic is also melting, albeit far slower, and in a less regular pattern. 

Yes, the Arctic is melting much faster than expected, and could even be ice-free in summer by the late 2030's, a report from the Arctic Council's Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program suggests. Previous studies had forecast an ice-free North Pole in summer by mid-century. Wow.  Different reports - different views.

While the outlook is bleak for the Arctic, there is a silver lining for the Antarctic: As I said before, the ice is melting at a slower rate than previously thought. Although glacier flow has increased since the 1990's, scientists from University of Leeds have found the melting rate to be only around a third of what was previously projected. A section of a glacier in Greenland was seen from NASA's Operation IceBridge research aircraft along the Upper Baffin Bay coast on March 27, 2017.

Operation IceBridge studies the processes that link the polar regions with the Earth's climate system. Rapidly changing polar ice means researchers need to use highly sophisticated airborne technology to measure annual changes in thickness and movement - on board a retrofitted 1966 Lockheed P-3 aircraft.

But the Antarctic is still melting. And a rapidly advancing crack in its fourth-largest ice shelf could soon see one of the largest icebergs ever recorded in human history break off into the sea.Scientists agree that global warming causes both the ice in the North and the South Pole to melt. Air temperatures are climbing, and so are water temperatures. This makes the ice melt faster. The period of winter, where the water is actually cold enough to freeze, is getting shorter, which means ice floes are getting smaller.

Greenland, home to the world's largest permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica, was being swept by wildfires already two years ago.. Yes, the land of ice was on fire. A really breath away taking situation. Scientists are keep on saying global warming and increased plant cover are likely factors. 

Honestly folks, it really scares me although experts say it is too early to draw firm conclusions linking the wild fires from all over the world to climate change because no long-term data is available to put the blaze in context. However, unusually warm and dry conditions  could have been a factor.

Although the origin of the global blaze (especially Australia or California) is unclear - with lightening and a stray cigarette as possible suspects - what is clear is how it has been spreading across remote areas of grassland and low shrub.  And Greenland's is indeed getting greener and greener. It conjures images of white, frozen expanses. But Box says global warming means it's getting greener all the time. "There's a shorter snow-cover season, and that allows the plant life to expand," he explained.

The Arctic is heating up around twice as fast as the global average. At the same time, rainfall around the world is also increasing - and that trend as well is more present in the Arctic. "More rain is a widespread symptom of climate change," Box said. "You get more precipitation - and where you get the biggest increase is in the Arctic."

Fact is: Greenland's ice sheets melt, that contributes to sea level rise. And if we add North- and South Pole and their vanishing ice and snow? Then yes, also the Philippines are in danger.