Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. The US is becoming an artisan beverage powerhouse. First it was California wine at the Judgement of Paris. Now niche US distillers are beating premium Scottish Whisky in tasting competitions, and American microbrews are surging in popularity in Germany. People are attempting to create reputation-based…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. According to the Hamilton Project’s Jobs Gap calculator, at the current pace of jobs growth, the US economy will not achieve 2008 levels of employment until 2020. On April 15 the US Supreme Court heard arguments on whether patents owned by…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. Mining mobile phone data enabled researchers to draw more efficient bus routes in Abidjan, the largest city of Ivory Coast. When maternal rats are fed a high fat, high sugar diet during pregnancy and lactation their offspring have a higher preference…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. In 2011, federal health officials and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended cholesterol screening for children between 9 and 11 years of age, concerned about development of heart disease risk factors early in life. Now a new study has identified…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. Highlighting different ways to look at information and organization, San Francisco artist Chris Cobb created an installation at a book store in which he cataloged 20,000 books by color. (Click the link, it is a wonder to behold.) Ford is…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. Fifty-nine percent of Americans are afraid of falling out of their current economic class, a poll finds. In this video interview, Dr. Susan Katz, a retired pediatrician and biochemist, discusses new research on “obesogens”–chemicals that may promote weight gain in humans and…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. Steve Waldman hypothesizes that the moribund economies of World 1 have fallen prey to a technology-driven resource curse. Elite access to finance capital and technology is becoming increasingly monopolized, impeding the re-distribution of economic resources to non-elites. According to Packaging World, waste-to-energy…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. A slew of new “Big Mother” apps and devices are coming online to nudge people into better behavior. These include cameras that watch posture, forks that alert a user if she is eating too quickly, and fitness devices that remind consumers…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. Nest’s smart thermostats are rolling out new peak-load management capabilities, enabling the company to offer participants cash discounts if they enable their thermostats to manage their electricity and A/C consumption during heavy load periods. Demand reduction for participants is always voluntary, and…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. New iPhone app in Iceland ensures that cousins don’t become “kissing cousins.” Phillips has developed prototypes of a tubular LED light that could be retrofit into existing overhead fluorescent fixtures. Although the tubular LED bulbs will have a significant cost…
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