-
American author and futurist George Friedman - Source: ONE News -
Watch Video
In as little as seven years we could be getting energy from space, according to American author and futurist George Friedman.
He believes the 21st century will be shaped by space age solutions to Earth-bound problems and nations that will emerge to surprise us.
Space is home of the hubble telescope and the final frontier, and with oil set to run out some time this century, Friedman says we must look to the sun.
"But it's not going to be Earth based solar power, that would be an ecological disaster. We're going to put it into space, where there's plenty of room, no night, no clouds, and beam it back to Earth in the form of microwave energy," he says.
Friedman is a forecaster and writer. His new book, The Next Hundred Years, A Forecast For The 21st Century, suggests California will be using power from space in seven years.
"NASA's working on it right now and Pacific Gas and Electric which is California's power company has already contracted for purchasing it in 2016," says Friedman.
For reasons of military and technological superiority, Friedman maintains his country will stay the world's dominant power for this century.
But there are three others he thinks will be hugely important - Mexico, already the world's 13th largest economy, and right next door to the American powerhouse.
"It is going ahead by leaps and bounds. People tend to think of it as a third world country but it really isn't," says Friedman.
Poland is strategically blocking Russia from the West.
"Consider Israel, consider South Korea, these are countries important to the us. They became enormous economic and military powers. Poland is starting from far less of a deficit," he says.
And Turkey is at the crossroads of the Western and Islamic worlds.
"It lives in a world of chaos. Whenever the Islamic world is stable it's because of Turkish leadership. They're returning to that position," says Friedman.
But why not China? Doesn't America owe it trillions?
"China invests in the US for two reasons. It doesn't want to put money into China and it must keep the US going. China is an American hostage," he says.
Listen to George Friedman and you realise the future isn't what it used to be.
