forecast

From the Industrial Revolution to Communication Technologies – What is the Next Wave of Innovation?

Dr. James Bradfield Moody was the last, but far from the least, speaker at the panel session of the opening day of the 2012 World Resources Forum, which included Rocky Mountain Institute Chairman and Chief Scientist Amory Lovins and Yale Professor Thomas Graedel. Many important topics were addressed, from resources efficiency and recycling to societal values. However, being the youngest speaker of the day, Dr. Bradfield Moody, not only connected brilliantly with the audience but he managed to make the boldest prediction about the future. Dr. Bradfield Moody is presently on a sabbatical from his position as Executive Director, Development at the one of the world’s largest and most diverse global research organisations, The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). He is also Australian National Commissioner for UNESCO and on the Advisory Council of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

By: Anna Leijonhufvud | October 28, 2012 | World Resources Forum 2012

To Repeat or Not to Repeat -The Future of Resource Consumption in Emerging Economies

Student Reporter Adam Wong interviewed Yi-Heng Cheng, CEO of Kunshan Quanta K&M Consulting and Shanghai Microtech Co. Ltd. on the future of resource consumption in China. The emerging economy is today in the historical position that European conturies and America were some decades ago, and rapid industrialisation means that the ever-hungry economy is fiercely demanding all the time. But the world has changed significantly since then and countries face the challenge of either being swept away by the tide or being eroded in its wake.

By: Adam Wong | October 22, 2012 | World Resources Forum 2012

Wars over Water: Do I Really Have to Share?

Student Reporters Iliana Sepulveda and Arjun Bhargava contributed equally to this post. Wars over water? Nowadays, this concept does not sound unfamiliar at all. Shared natural resources offer a challenge from the political standpoint, given that its management has implications for the autonomy and wealth of different countries and states. As the IUCN notes, of the two hundred and fourteen transboundary river basins in the world, one hundred and fifty-five of these are shared between two States, thirty-six between three States and twenty-three between four or more States.