This is Part 1 of a 15 part Series on how I think life will look like in 100 year assuming Global Warming is in effect and resources very scarce.  Some Parts refer back to earlier Part of this Series.

In the past year I have given some thought to what the future might look like a hundred years from now given the state of science today and into the future and the effects of global warming, diminishing natural resources, and a populations of over twice what it is today (population control will be in effect otherwise it would be many times higher).  One thing is clear, the word Sustainable will be far more than just a buzzword.  It will be a way of life.

Obviously life will be much different 100 years from now.  Gone will be rural lifestyles, shopping, work, and many of the other things we take so much for granted.  Global Warming and all its consequences will be in full effect since we do not have a global consensus to very quickly curtail it and there are still many conservatives in our government still in denial.  Technology and medical science will have advanced light years beyond what is today.  I invite you to read this series to understand the impact of the environment, population, technology, and the lack of resources that will lead to an entirely different way of living and wold.

Technology is leap frogging so rapidly and changing the way we live our lives today that it is very difficult to predict how things will be ten years from now let alone one hundred years into the future.  The PC was invented only 35 years ago.  Look at how far the digital world has come.  I am going to attempt to describe a world based both on speculative technology as well as what I consider a Sustainable society striving to survive as well as conserve, cope, and even thrive.  Nature won’t be as generous in the future as it is today due to the sins we commit today upon our environment and Global Warming.

The effects of Global Warming will be in full force.  However mankind would have taken serious steps to reduce its impact by 2050 with dramatic reductions in carbon emissions and by other means such as artificial clouds to reduce the sun’s impact.  But it will take perhaps many centuries to reverse.  In the mean time much of our land mass will be arid or experiencing extreme weather events.  Coastal communities will be underwater due to the 20-50 feet rise in our oceans and seas as well as storm surges.  The most desirable places to live will be on the western coast of continents but these areas will be in a perpetual state of drought.  So large populations will migrate to these regions striving to survive with the aid of technology.

The population will be twice that of today concentrated in smaller areas along the west coast of continents.  It would have been more than 10 time that and unsustainable had population control not been enforced.  Cities would typically have 10-50 million inhabitants.  Gone will be small cities as they will not have the infrastructure to survive against the harsh environment resulting from Global Warming.

But in order for man to exist in an advanced state 100 years from now he must have found ways of surviving his inclinations to destroy his species.  He must have figured out the best way to control population that is now growing at an exponential and unsustainable rate.  He must have solved the problems of poverty and inequality.  100 years is a little over 3 generation.  In that time, if he is to survive, he must have realized that to survive he must think not only think of himself but of the global environment and the issues of Global Warming that plague the world making life less habitable outside his sheltered and artificial environment.

Perhaps some will have left earth in spaceships to other world but the vast majority will still remain on earth which is still more habitable than any of our other planets.  It is far easier to adapt to the harshness of this frail world and make the best of it.  Resources will be scarce and difficult to acquire due to harsh weather and over extractions in the past.  Conservation, innovation, and recycling of resources and waste will be the primary source of materials.

On the plus side technology will come to the rescue for many things including softening the full impact of Global Warming.  But it cannot reverse it for centuries to come.  Technology will make possible a more hospitable environment and make up for the lack of resources if wisely employed.  I am making a large assumption that we will become far wiser in how we manage both technology, energy, conservation, and other resources.

The war against nature will be quite overwhelming so the people of earth by then will come to their senses and unit together in a cooperative global effort to survive.  At least that is what I hope because the alternative is the self annihilation as well as of all living things. Read the rest of this series listed below.

List of the Parts of this series “100 Years from Now“:

1. Considerations
2. Technology
3. Energy
4. Water
5. Food
6. Mobility
7. Housing
8. Jobs and Economics
9. Socializing
10. Shopping
11. Recreation & Entertainment
12. Population Control
13. Government
14. Education
15. Crime and Security