Five Interesting Things: Today’s Scan Hits
Here are five indicators, observations or articles that caught the eye of FA futurists today.
- Intel is talking about making personal data economically valuable to individual consumers.
- The New York Times reports that the High Plains Aquifer that stretches from Wyoming and South Dakota to Texas is drying up as the contents are tapped for irrigated agriculture. Farmers are gradually switching from irrigated to rain-fed farming, causing economic disruption. Decades or even centuries of rain would be needed to replenish the aquifer.
- The Economist estimates that nearly 290 million of the world’s youth are currently not in employment, education, or training. Delayed entry into the workforce could make this large cohort of youth earn up to 20% less than their employed peers, with the wage gap persisting for up to twenty years.
- Micro’be is a line of clothes created by an artist and a scientist that features fabric grown from microorganisms. The fabric is made from cellulose that is the by-product of fermenting wine with Acetobacter bacteria. The wine also give the fabric its color: translucent from white wine and shades of red from red wines.
- Both Google and mobile payment start-up Square have announced new services that will allow users to send money via email. The Google effort will be tied to directly to users’ Gmail accounts and require a link to either a bank account or a debit or credit card.. There are few details as yet about Square’s service.