What might the world look like in 50 years? Here’s what some leading minds think.
1. The world population will be over 9 billion. Disease will be more common, as everybody will be physically closer to everyone else, and chronic food shortages may be the norm (although this has been debated).
2.We'll also have to start cutting down on our energy consumption: If humankind continues to use energy at the rate it does now, and population growth follows expected trends, we will need the equivalent of three earths to support ourselves by 2050. Which is, obviously, impossible.
3. As far as global warming goes, the Dead Sea will be almost completely dried up, nearly half of the Amazon rainforest will have been deforested, wildfires will spread like, umm, wildfire, and the polar ice caps will be only 60 percent the size they are now.
4. Also, rising temperatures mean that heat stress will place a significant strain on human labor productivity.