China was struck by a historically unprecedented snow storm last week. Just the sheer amount of snow completely paralyzed all types of transportation, ground and air. Power lines were snapped, cutting power to tens of millions of people. Power was cut so that a significant portion of China’s railroad system was powerless to move people […]
There is a lot of pessimism in the air. As we come to the end of the first month of 2008 it seems that many are in a negative, hunker down state of mind. The stock markets are being fueled by fear. The commentators are speaking as though a major recession has begun. Casualties continue […]
Debt is one of the primary underpinnings of the economic turbulence we are now experiencing. In the last 50 years debt has gone from something occasional to something universal, embraced and now endemic. Borrow against the future to pay for today. Debt, debt, debt, debt is like the drip, drip, drip, drip of a faucet […]
In the last post I suggested that the U.S. learn from Europe in the use of high speed trains as a core component of a national transportation system. Trains are more energy efficient than cars, give off far less greenhouse emissions than airplanes, rarely get cancelled or delayed due to ‘weather’ or ‘flow control’ and […]
High speed trains must, and will become an essential component of the U.S. transportation system during the next 20 years. This seems to be obvious, but is something that the (lack of) leadership in Washington D.C. has yet to seriously consider. A combination of lack of vision, deeply entrenched vested interests, a troubled Amtrak system […]
This is the second year for Evolution Shift to present you with a general forecast and somewhat more specific predictions for 2008. The forecast for 2007 is here for those wanting to check out the accuracy of what was predicted for last year. In addition I made some transitional 2007/2008 predictions last week, tying up […]
The price of oil topped $100 on January 2 and again on January 3. During these past two days I have received emails and phone calls from regular readers, complimenting me on my correct prediction. As I wrote here more than two months ago, the price of oil would not only cross the $100 price […]
Happy New Year to all of you that are regular readers of this blog and to those of you who might be coming to it the first time. May 2008 be a happy year for everyone. I can promise that it will be another year of upheaval and change, probably exceeding 2007 in that regard. […]
The Bush Administration has always made me think of George Orwell and his novel “1984†from the point of view of language. While all politicians and all administrations I can remember have been somewhat loose with language and the truth, the current administration has realized the vision of Orwell in that language means nothing and […]
As a futurist, I look at long term trends and waves of history. The three waves of history we know have been the Agricultural Age, the Industrial Age and the Information Age. The first age began some 10,000 years ago when man first began to literally put down roots. The second age began some 250 […]