WORLD IN 2050

INTRODUCTION

This documentary starts with the phrase 'we are in a race, a race against
time...' and also said that there would be enormous consequences if we lose this
race. They even estimated that in the year 2050, the world population would be
9 billion, and vast megacities as a result energy needs will be doubled compared
to now. We can divide this documentary in few sections :-

OBJECTIVE

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WORLD IN 2050

By observing the increasing population, our fuels are at the urge of falling short
for future generations. We also face the problem of congestion all over the
globe which causes many problems. There is a need for solutions for both of
the above issues which can help humans and the planet.

ACTION
In curiosity for the solution for these problems I did some research and found
a video named 'The World in 2050' which has some amazing ideas.

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WORLD IN 2050

FUTURE OF FUELING
It was estimated that the number of vehicles on the earth will double by the
year 2050. This can cause an increase in energy demands. This increase in
demand can lead to an enormous impact on energy-producing resources. We can
do two things for this more use of liquid fuel or electricity. There is a problem
with the use of electricity as a source of energy, fuelling large vehicles and
airplanes with it is difficult. Because of all of this, we need alternate fuel
sources to replace petroleum-based fuels. There are few attempts to attain
the perfect alternate of petroleum fuels.

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1. ETHANOL AS FUEL
The concept of using ethanol as fuel was invented in Brazil due to the shortage
and import of gasoline in the mid-19s. Ethanol production in Brazil was started
in 1975. More than 50% of car use ethanol rather than gasoline which reduces
carbon footprints by 70% compared to gasoline. Sugarcane was chosen to
produce ethanol as there are ideal climatic conditions. Brazil has a total of 400
mills that produce up to 120000 cubic meters of ethanol annually. The annual
sales of this ethanol are 30 billion and increasing. Due to its efficiency, Brazil
uses 40% less petroleum. Still, it is not enough to serve the whole world.

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2. SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
By synthetic biology, yeast is modified such that it can synthesize drugs and
chemicals from glucose. This process is used to make the anti-malarial drug at a
low cost. After more research on this process, researchers found that the
chemical composition of this anti-malarial drug is similar to that of diesel.
Further modification of the yeast can cause the production of fuel from
glucose. This glucose can be obtained from non-food plants like switchgrass
which requires less water and can be grown on marginal land. This is now not
feasible as glucose extraction is difficult and further discoveries are made to
improve this and make it more efficient.

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WORLD IN 2050

DRIVEN BY DESIGN
The earlier invention of the automobile was said to be a positive change and will
help mankind in many ways like traveling quickly. As people started owning more
and more vehicles, resulting in congestion. Congestion causes a sudden drop in
quality of life. An average American spends 300 hours in a car and 38 stuck in
traffic. It ruins the purpose of the automobile. Congestion consumes 1 billion
dollars of gasoline in the US alone. It also causes financial as well as emotional
damage. To overcome this, the vehicle should travel the urban landscape in
different ways. There are few ways to solve this problem:-

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WORLD IN 2050

1. DIGITAL MAPPING
It was developed by Nokia. This technology uses lidar, sonar, and 360-degree
cameras. It contains 64 rotating lasers to collect 3d data from the
surroundings. This 3D data can be helpful in many ways. It helps in integrating
topography, infrastructure, and density of surroundings.

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2. AUTOPILOT CARS
The self-driving car is considered a thing of the future. Many companies are
working on it and making gradual processes and heading towards the perfect
way. It can also prevent human errors like overspeeding, changing lanes often,
merging haphazardly, and many more. By combining this with 3D maps, vehicles
can communicate with themselves and their surroundings for safe travel and
energy efficiency.

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SEARCHING FOR UTOPIA

Utopia states as a place where everyone lives in harmony. Referring to this, the
city of Masdar was created in the Arabian desert near the city of Abu Dhabi.
In the last half-century, cities were made focusing on automobiles and
transport only and causing cities not to be pedestrian friendly, carbon neutral,
and powered by any renewable sources. These all problems are overcome in
Masdar. For making street pedestrian friendly, all transportation is shifted
below the city. While looking at its infrastructure we can see that they have
adapted ancient Arabic towns and villages. This adaptation helps in avoiding
direct sunlight hitting glass and therefore heating the building. There are
various things every city should learn from Masdar and their techniques for
increasing quality of life and reducing carbon emission.

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LEARNING OUTCOME
I enjoyed working on this project and learned many things. How the world is
trying to aid future generation and all the creative ways used in various parts
of world. The most interesting one is methanol used as fuel. This could be used
all over the globe as sugarcane can be grow in most of the weather especially in
poor or developing countries.

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