It is nice to see someone looking and planning beyond the next election date. In the end our future will be made up of those dreams, the wishfull thinkings, in which new inventions and new ways of doing things will pave the way and technology weed out the impracticallities.

I see the biggest thread to mankind not in energy, not in global warming and not food production, but in a society that has no vision for the future.

We need those "dreamers" to provide the challenges to rise above the level of seeing the everyday struggle to make ends meet as a meaning for life.

I wonder, though, would we in 2050 still have the annoying Medicare pop-ups grinning at us?

alfred

It is New Years' Eve 2050! Happy new year as we enter the next half century of this tumultuous era. Let us hope that we have learned much from the past half century. We are only now emerging from the disasterous decisions made in the first two decades of this century. With the collapse of the Euro in Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy by 2020, and with the increasing volatile national debt in the United States reaching $23 trillion dollars, the GFS of the late 1990's is being described as "the good times." Global depression coupled with ever-increasing natural disasters have created a world of national and international instability.

Europe has become again more nationally insular, reverting to border-controls and national currencies to stave off being sucked into the "Euro vortex" as it became known. The collapse of China's economy due to the lack of support for its products brought on by the fiscally distructive policies of both Europe and the United States has triggered social unrest in that country on a unprecedented scale.

With the virtual disappearance of "our Mineral economy" Australia was hit hard! But we are Aussies - and we have managed to find our soul within the direst of conditions. Our president, Bronwyn Rudd (no relation to that other past historical figure) in her address to the People of the Republic of Australia, stated in her New Year's address speech that we are on track to "Move Forward Again" to a better and brighter future.

In her national address she believes that job stimulus will be successful in ensuring that every house in Australia is solar-panelled, and that the NNBN (the NExt National Broadband Network) will provide adequate schooling for ALL Australian from K - U (Kindy to Uni). We approach 2050 with a spirit of hope that our 37 million citizens will see a new Australia boern from the ashes of the past 50 years.

As a consumer of future history - there is a surprising amount of it about - I was entertained by Julian's shot at Australia in 2050. I can say with certainty that it will be proved wrong, but in what way it will be wrong is impossible to say.

One quibble I had with it is the export of energy. Not because I doubted the super efficient direct current link, but because recent energy industry developments indicate that most electrical energy will generated by gas turbines outside the major cities were it is consumed. At least that is a more likely senario given recent developments with fracture cracking, or fracking, technology.

As for generating heaps of green power from alternative energy and geothermal projects, and for that energy to be cheap enough for other countries to want to buy, well if Julian wants to put that forward as a scenario that's up to him..

Anyone who is looking at the future in a constructive way deserves an accolade. My only comment is that I doubt that algal based fuels are more likely to be based on a technology where there is more control such as brine. And the good news is, we have buckets of that, and better still, we know how to grow and extract lipids already. Not far off and certainly before 2050. THIS could well drive our food production.

As for exporting energy, the folks at Desertec have framed this well and we already have the beginnings of efficient HVDC cables under the sea and the odd patches in Australia. Why not look at large scale solar thermal with molten salt storage to contribute. Gee, even hydrogen powered trains where the H2 comes from a solar process.

Earlier I said:
"I doubt that algal based fuels are more likely to be based on a technology where there is more control such as brine"

What I really meant was that sewage is variable and the nutrient control maybe a real challenge (as might the water in drier areas). On the other hand, brine as might found in a seawater salt works is more reliable. The salinity can be adjusted with seawater. And in case anyone is thinking energy balance, some thorough work has been done in Australia and algal biofuel is positive.

I was sent a flyer earlier this year advertising a series of conferences for ICT in schools and universities.

I though it was a classic.

There were to be over 170 sessions, and over 2000 people were expected to attend.

As far as I could see, every session on the program had to do with imported technology or imported equipment.

There was everything from Hitachi Starboards through to the iPad, with nothing at all from Australia.

How can the Australian economy become knowledge driven, when the education system wants everything to be imported?