Tag Archives: future trends

Combining Current Tech Could Make Solar Cheaper than Coal

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Ramez Naam

By the end of the decade, manufacturers in the United States could make solar panels that are less than half as expensive as the ones they make now. That would be cheap enough for solar power to compete with electricity … Continue reading →

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Japans population to drop by 1 million each year

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Ramez Naam

Japans rapid aging means the national population of 128 million will shrink by one-third by 2060 and seniors will account for 40 percent of people, placing a greater burden on the shrinking work force population to support the social security … Continue reading →

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My WFS2011 Talk: The Infinite Resource: Growing Prosperity While Reducing Impact on the Earth

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Ramez Naam

I gave at talk this morning at the World Future Society 2011 Conference in Vancouver.   The talk was entitled The Infinite Resource:  Growing Prosperity While Reducing Impact on the Earth, and it looks at what the ultimate limits of growth … Continue reading →

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Key Trends of the Next 25 Years

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Ramez Naam

Michell Zappa has a fascinating infographic attempting to lay out timelines for future technologies over the next 25 years. It’s an impressive job of collecting data and laying it out in a way that someone can explore. It’s worth playing … Continue reading →

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Is Moore’s Law really a fair comparison for Solar?

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Ramez Naam

A reader at Scientific American raises some healthy skepticism about whether or not the exponential trend in solar watts / dollar can continue. This is a fine thing to be skeptical about.  As I mentioned in the original post, we … Continue reading →

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The Exponential Gains in Solar Power per Dollar

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Ramez Naam

My post on the Moore’s Law-like exponential gains in solar power per dollar went up at Scientific American yesterday.  Reprinting here with permission. The sun strikes every square meter of our planet with more than 1,360 watts of power.  Half … Continue reading →

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Singularity Summit Talk: The Digital Biome – Re-Engineering Life on Earth to Survive and Thrive in the 21st Century

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Ramez Naam

This weekend I was at the Singularity Summit in San Francisco.   On Sunday I gave a talk called The Digital Biome – Re-Engineering Life on Earth to Survive and Thrive in the 21st Century.  (Follow the link to see … Continue reading →

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