Well, it looks as though we are back on a semi-regular schedule. Here are things that caught our eye as we went about our business. What’s the world’s second most used resource? Did you guess sand? Neither did I. Anyway, like water, it is getting scarcer. Related to sand, rising agricultural commodity prices are…
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Back in April I had a chance to visit MetroCrops, an urban high-density indoor farm started by two of my friends here in Connecticut. Steve and Nancy Domyan and a small staff grow lettuce in 2,200 square feet of converted factory space in Bridgeport. Hydroponics, LED lights, and a controlled climate allow them to produce…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. Americans are increasingly doubtful about the future and the tenets of the “American dream,” polling finds. The first major poll of American Jews in more than 10 years shows rapid assimilation into the larger culture for every denomination except the Orthodox. Agribusiness giant…
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Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. The small house movement has moved to hospitality. Portland has become the first city with hotel rental at small eco-efficient units of 100 to 200 square feet. Wharton examines the trajectory of 3D printing. Professor Edward Cocking of the University of…
DetailsHere are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today Research scientist Gary Paul Nabhan warns of the impact of more frequent heat waves on food production in the Western US and offers a variety of non-biotech strategies for mitigation. Dutch scientists have demonstrated a method for harvesting power from the CO2 emissions from…
DetailsHere are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. “Computational sociologists” are using recipes to understand global eating patterns. Global food prices have been increasing for a decade and rose 2.7% in 2012. Price volatility has also increased substantially in the last few years, though neither prices nor volatility have…
DetailsHere are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today. The goal of the Digital Olfaction Society, which just held its first world congress, is to “digitize, transmit, reproduce and recapture smells, flavors and fragrances.” The Society’s founder imagines a “digiscented” future world in which smells are digitally detected and transmitted.…
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