Water is limited and many once government owned services have been taken over by independent large companies. Prices are high, extortionate in fact and the rich poor divide is massive.
Figure 15: A smart building
1) Wind catcher
2) Solar array
3) Insulation
4) Biomass boiler
We live in heat smart buildings (see figure 15), very Hi Tec with many new energy sources in place as the fossil fuels are now controlled through the new tax system and accessed only through a smart card which only the rich can afford. The rich live in supercities; they are walled safe places with extreme security. These gated communities (see figure 16) divide us from the poor and those of the older generation who have been left stranded in the man made shanty towns. The population is living longer and there are many more old people, but immigrants are ever coming in to the country to look after our old and do the menial jobs no one else wants to do.
Figure 16:Walled cities of future
The government looks after us well; our every move is followed from work to the products we buy. DNA, blood and urine samples are part of everyday tests when going for a job interview or appraisal. Follow up advice and recommendations are then filtered to us through email inboxes and supermarket checkouts when shopping. Advertising finds you (see figure 17) and is very personalised to your tastes and personal needs. Smart tags track us telling of the environmental conditions and change and informing us of purchases.
Figure 17: adverts are personalised to you, picking up on your data
Elsewhere in the world many people have upsticks and migrated to safer places, where vegetation and life is better. Much of South East Asia is baron with the population crowded in one area. Exports from here have risen in price, for example rice due to the unreliable weather changes making farming too difficult for the majority of small town farmers. A shift of power to the east has ensured that today China is at the forefront of our decisions and products. Their values and culture are being bought to the UK as the US falls lower down in the control ranking.
Figure 18: smart self cleaning glass
Technology is undeniably everywhere, robots are the new must have in homes. Nano technology has given us smart materials (see figure 18), for example self cleaning surfaces in homes for extra convenience and in the private hospitals, who have now of course taken all the best consultants and doctors. This technology is highly mobile and people are intertwined with technology, chips are embedded into the body. They monitor constantly enabling us to take our personalised entertainment with us. Computers are everywhere too, leading to a vast range of online communities. Here business is strong and more and more people are isolating themselves in online relationships and groups suited to their own individual needs (see figure 19). This has further divided the rich and poor with new groups forming within existing ones.
Figure 19: Map representing online communities
Due to the popularity of this online existence, we suffer more than ever from mental health illnesses. Although we are obese and have things such as diabetes, we are a stronger as technology has given us a cure for 25% of cancers and many other once life threatening diseases. Through gene technology we can choose what attributes and looks our children have and even have the power to change ourselves through cosmetic surgery, which is now, part of the day to day routine.
