Each year, the World Future Society gathers thought-provoking forecasts, trends, and ideas that are drawn from articles that originally appeared in The Futurist during the past year.
These forecasts afford glimpses of what may arise, and proposals for dealing with the events. The opinions presented below are those of the authors or sources cited, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the
World Future Society. At the conclusion of selected predictions, the editors of the CAM Report have spotlighted careers that will benefit as a result of these trends.
Business and Economics
Medical tourism will continue to grow in popularity. Some medical treatments and procedures are far less expensive in developing countries than they are in the United States. For example, a bone marrow transplant that costs $400,000 in the US costs only $30,000 in India. Medical tourism is already a $40-billion business. Approximately 780 million people have participated in medical tourism, and this number is expected to rise in coming years. There will be strong demand for specialists to facilitate medical tourism. Potential Growth Careers: Medical Tourism Directors and Researchers, Medical Transportation Physicians, Nurses, and Other Health Care Professionals
Future workers
will earn the same anywhere in the world.
Some companies are "increasingly strained to find qualified job applicants," which is prompting them to expand their job searches throughout
The world to find quality hires. This will result in certain workers earning the same salaries whether they are working in Thailand, Germany; Chile, the United States, or other countries. Potential Growth Careers: Executive Recruiters, International Hiring Managers
Smell will play a prominent role in marketing in the future. Russell Brumfield, author of Whiff, says that "our relatively recent understanding of the prominence and influence of scent in our lives is rapidly changing the paradigm of how we market, sell, and deliver products and services to consumers." Potential Growth Careers: Chemists, Marketing Workers
Energy
Ammonia may be the dominant fuel for cars by 2020.
Ammonia is being studied as a source for hydrogen used in fuel cells because it is "plentiful, easier to liquefy than methane, and Emits nitrogen rather than carbon, thus having fewer negative impacts on the climate." Potential Growth Careers: Chemical Engineers, Chemists, Fuel Cell Engineers and Technicians
The next big trend in car design: solar roofs. Volkswagen and other companies have created concept cars with "optional solar panels on the roofs of vehicles working with, or in the place of, lithium-ion batteries." Potential Growth Careers: Automotive Engineers, Photovoltaic Engineers and Technicians
Trash may be used to make electricity. Scientists at the University of Birmingham are working to convert trash into hydrogen fuel. Futurist Garry Golden says that the "170 million tons of garbage that the United States currently incinerates or sends to landfills each year could potentially provide about 2.4 percent of the nation's energy needs, or 93.9 billion kilowatts." Potential Growth Careers: Chemists, Engineers (many specialties)
Electricity from seawater. Michael Bemitsas, a University of Michigan engineer, has designed a machine that "creates vortices in ocean water and captures their power ... to create affordable and reliable electricity." One additional benefit: the machinery poses "less risk to marine life than present-day dams and water turbines." Potential Growth Careers: Electrical Engineers, Other Engineers, Power Transmission Workers
World oil supplies are on the decline. It is estimated that five nations (Iran, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) that supply half the world's oil will have no more oil to sell by 2031. Exports from all oil-producing nations are declining by 2.5 percent annually. This reinforces the fact that oil is not an infinite resource and that countries must plan for the day when oil exports dry up or oil is in such short supply that it is too costly to use as a power source. Potential Growth Careers: Nonrenewable Energy Workers (coal, natural gas), Nuclear Engineers, Nuclear Power Plant Operators, Renewable Energy Workers |
