How will the US be different in 2030? What will be different than now?

[Skip Intro]

:)

[Hydra]

1. Really hard question, IMO

The US has come to a crossroads(Haven't we had a bunch of those before this?) regarding corporate power, energy policy and just plain moving forward vs status quo.

I can tell you where I'd LIKE it to go, but I suspect where I fear it will go is a better guess:

Assuming this oil disaster doesn't wind up killing most of us, we'll be in the midst of Orwell's 1984. Government controlled shortages, thought police, perpetual war with China and whoever else wants to play, and just general savagery and anti-intellectualism.

Not looking forward to it.

[DFW]

2. I know one thing that will be different

When they hear about it, kids will be asking, "Daddy, what in the world is a "Gulf shrimp?"

[LARED]

3. Probably about as different as it is from 1990 to 2010.

Meaning not much different other than more gadgets to distract ourselves.

[Doremus]

4. Anybody who thinks things will stay the same isn't paying attention.

or has a severe case of head in sand.

How we transition out of the age of oil is going to determine a lot. So far it doesn't look good.

[Skip Intro]

6. Nothing stays the same. Nothing is stagnant. We're always in transition.

Always.

[WCGreen]

5. I think Miami and other low lying coastal cities will be considering

building more levies on top of the ones they started to build back in the 20's. New Yorks is rethinking the subway system as continual flooding due to rising sea water and several hurricanes battering New York.

Terrorism has become an accepted risk of living in the big cities with diverse populations.

many smaller cities such as Cleveland and Des Moines are attracting more people because of their back water status.

Detroit will have been remaid into a central city surrounded by a ring of urban farm land. the suburbs will lay outside that ring. The downtown area of Detroit will be plagued by so-called victumless crimes as prostitution.

Most recreation drugs will be legalized and highly regulated and taxed.

Great swaths of agricultural land will no longer be under the control of Monsanto and the other large corporate farms. After a genetic scare destroys the credibility of anything connected to big agriculture.

The diet of the American people becomes more based on grown foods and less on processed foods.

The population of the US and much of the world will be down from 2010 levels due to famine and disease.

This is stuff I see happening.

[Champion Jack]

7. Move over peak oil, water shortages will be the issue