http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/20..._300x369,0.jpg
:P

Silly people. The planet will be inhabitable due to climac change, we're all gonna burn! 8D

Walt Disney will wake up!

I don't know what the future will be like......

I haven't checked my 8 ball yet 8D!

I think the near future will not change much.
THe only thing (in the US) that has really changed a lot in the past 30 years has been computers and media. however other than this there has not been many great inovations.

Take alternative energy sources. Nuclear and hydro are good efficient sources, but most of the US is still fueled by Coal gas and oil, (partialy because people are scared of Nuclear.) Yes, now hybrid cars are comming to market, despite the fact that people have wanted Gas alternatives since the Oil embargo of the 70's. And Fuel efficiency of cars is way bellow what they should be, I had a car back in 85 that got over 20 miles per gallon, and my current car new only got 30 mpg that is not a big difference for 20 years of advancements.

If we look at how people visioned the future from years past, we will see that many of there forcasts are slow to come about. take 2001 Space odessy or a better example 1984. when these were created people actually expected things in those storys to actually be plausable. and in some cases the fantasy has been becomming reality on the technology side(Communicaiton), but other than communication Society is resistant to Change.

I would say, that the typical person from the 1950's would have invisioned our current world to be filled with fantastic Transit devices. things like moving sidwalks, Flying machines. cars driving themselves. Monorails and trasit tubes run by phumantics. but what do we have today. Very little public transit eccept for Large Urban centers. when society should have moved twords Great Public transit it has moved to most families having more cars than members.

Overall, I would say inovation should slow down in the next decade. I think Societies Future is Bleak. mostly due to societly no longer appriciating Imagination and/or accomplishment. a good example of this: Did anyone else notice that Anna Nicole Death is recieving more coverage than Presedent Ford, Joe Barbera and James Brown combined?

Sorry for the rant, it is a topic that I am passionate about, but have diffuculty expressing my opinions. ALso Please forgive the spelling.

Monty :-/

Ah, I have a fellow futurist in you, montitech. The US has been a country, or at least recently been a country, that's afraid to throw money at unproven technologies. It keeps us far from where we should be. I'm not expecting flying cars or anything, but at least more streamlined communications and transportation such as that of Japan. Hopefully in the next few years that'll change. The last thing this country needs to lose is some edge in the tech market.
I really wish I had as much to add as Monty above, he seems to really know his stuff. And very passionate I might add.

I spend a lot of time on this subject and could write you pages of analysis on economic and political models that would bore the pants off you. So I won't.

It's worth remembering that the US is not the world. Europe is way ahead of on alternative energy science and even Iran is ahead of you on stem-cell research.

Generally speaking fixed hierachys and national boundarys are obsolete and are holding humans back. We'll gradually shake them off and start becoming a new life-form by embracing the validity of every individual's perspective. Diversity is wealth! Ultimately though every individual, species, planet and galaxy faces oblivion. Bear that in mind. Bye bye.

Wow, then we're way behind then. I really hope we do catch up to the rest of the world. Like I said, the last thing this country needs is to be left behind.

good point. with that said, i must believe that within the next five years, we may catch up with a few things like france's fasion thing, japan's technology(well, some of it), and maybe china's hold on making everything out there 8D. we should actually be there alreadly to be honest. but yeah. were too busy with a war in iraq and a george bush in the oval office. so, yeah. were still where we are. but by 2012, we'll be there. i think.