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21st century ... 2026 timeline contents 2026 - Aquaculture provides the majority of the world's seafood | New treatments for Alzheimer’s disease | The cost per watt of solar PV has fallen below $1 | Wireless electricity is ubiquitous | Rising sea levels are wreaking havoc on the Maldives | Construction of the Sagrada Família is complete | Contact with the Voyager probes is lost 2026-2029 - Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM)
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 2000-2009
| 2010-2019 | 2020-2029
| 2030-2039 | 2040-2049
| 2050-2059 | 2060-2069
| 2070-2079 | 2080-2089
| 2090-2099 > |
Aquaculture provides the majority of the world's seafood Aquaculture - the cultivating of freshwater and saltwater fish under controlled conditions - has remained one of the fastest growing industries in the agricultural sector. Since the late 1980s, traditional "capture" fisheries have been on a plateau. Aquaculture, by contrast, increased by 8.8% per year from 1985 to 2010* and had witnessed an eightfold increase by the mid-2020s. It now accounts for the majority of the world's seafood, surpassing wild catch harvests by weight. The capture fishing industry itself has faced severe problems. Overfishing, climate change and pollution have all contributed to the sharp decline of yields.* Numerous regions have experienced near-collapse or total collapse and will take decades to repopulate. Examples include the UK cod and Chilean jack mackerel fishing industries.
The largest centres for aquaculture remain in East and Southeast Asia - with the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia seeing large increases in production. Cambodia in particular has seen massive growth.* New techniques have been adopted, helping to increase both sustainability and yield. One such method, used for the cultivation of jumbo shrimp, is super-intensive stacked raceways. Shrimp are grown in large, enclosed tubes called raceways, in which computers monitor and control a steady circulation of mineral water. As they mature, they are moved down the stacked columns of tubes, until they reach the final bottom row, fully grown, where they are harvested. This method greatly increases the output of shrimp farms, up to one million pounds of shrimp per square acre, and can be deployed almost anywhere. Water usage is lowered significantly.* This method helps to alleviate the myriad of environmental damages traditional shrimp farming brings to the environment.* Another method being utilised is land-based, closed-loop recirculating aquaculture systems. These indoor systems recycle around 98% of their water, with little-to-no discharge back into the environment. The risk for disease in a closed-loop system is essentially zero and minimises the use of chemicals or antibiotics. Being entirely independent from any particular environment, these type of fish farms can be built anywhere, no matter the distance from any major body of water.* The growth of aquaculture has caused a major shift in commerce and trade. Countries previously reliant on imports are now capable of producing vast quantities of fish, crustaceans, seaweed and other seafood. Countries with dwindling natural fisheries benefit, now being able to produce as much or even more than can be caught from lakes or the ocean. Numerous startup companies have appeared to fill the growing industry. Aquaculture as a whole will become one of the most vital industries in the world this century, as traditional commercial fishing breaks down and produces unsustainable yields.
New treatments for Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. This incurable, degenerative and terminal disease affects over 27m people worldwide, mostly aged over 65. The most common symptom is the inability to acquire new memories and difficulty in recalling recently observed facts. As the disease advances, further symptoms include confusion, irritability and aggression, mood swings, language breakdown, long-term memory loss, and the general withdrawal of the sufferer as their senses decline. Bodily functions are gradually lost, ultimately leading to death. Until recently, the precise mechanisms behind the illness were poorly understood. In 2011, however, genes were identified that played a key role in biological pathways such as inflammation, cholesterol and cell transport systems. These provided new targets for potential treatments in the form of drugs, behavioral changes and other therapies. New ways of delivering drugs to the brain were also found, such as using the body's own exosomes as carriers.* After 15 years of research and clinical trials, the risk of developing the disease has now been cut by over 60%.* With a better roadmap to guide progress with the remaining genes and biological processes, there is now real hope of actually curing the disease in the 2030s.
The cost per watt of solar PV has fallen below $1 The cost of solar energy has declined considerably. Nanotechnology materials have been applied to solar panels, improving their efficiency and driving down the costs still further. By the end of this decade they are widely utilised by homes and businesses around the world. A typical rooftop system can now be obtained for under $1 per watt. This is having a significant impact with regards to the peak oil crisis.
Wireless electricity is ubiquitous All electric/electronic appliances now have antennas in place of batteries, and draw power from a single power node mounted in the ceiling of a room – eliminating the need for multiple wall sockets and bulky cables. This greatly reduces clutter in homes and offices. A magnetic coil is housed in a small box, which can be set into a wall or ceiling. Powered by mains, this resonates at a specific frequency. Electromagnetic waves are transmitted through the air. These are received by a second magnetic coil, fitted in the laptop/TV or other appliance. This resonates at the same frequency as the first coil and absorbs energy, charging the product. This technology began with small, short-range devices such as phone charger pads and electric toothbrush holders. Improving efficiency made it possible to beam power over distances of many metres. This allowed it to spread to larger and more energy-hungry products, such as televisions, computers and even vehicles. A universal standard was also adopted – ensuring compatibility and greatly expanding its mass market appeal. The system is completely safe to humans. By the late 2020s, it is ubiquitous in homes and workplaces throughout the developed world. Eventually, power lines begin to disappear from streets, with electricity passed wirelessly from building to building. Laptop users in cafes and airport terminals are able to utilise "WiTricity" hotspots. This does for battery life what WiFi did for the Internet.
Rising sea levels are wreaking havoc on the Maldives At an average of just 1.5m above sea level, the Maldives is the lowest lying country on the planet. Rising sea levels are now heavily impacting its economy, one-third of which relies on tourism. The mere talk of a possible submersion, in recent years, had been damaging investor confidence. By this date, however, the tangible reality of global warming has led to the wholesale abandonment of many islands.*
Construction
of the Sagrada Família is complete
Contact with the Voyager probes is lost Voyager I is now almost 23 billion kilometers from our Sun - or 150 times the distance between the Sun and Earth. Both probes have remained operational for nearly half a century, continuing to transmit science data back to NASA. They have left the heliosphere entirely and are now headed towards the bow shock - the boundary between the stellar wind and the interstellar medium. However, by this date, onboard power finally starts to wane. Various instruments begin shutting down, one by one, until eventually all contact is lost. Each probe carries a gold-plated audio-visual disc, in the event that either spacecraft is ever found by intelligent alien life. The discs carry images of Earth and its lifeforms, a range of scientific information, along with a medley, "Sounds of Earth", that includes the sounds of whales, a baby crying, waves breaking on a shore, a variety of music from different cultures and eras, plus greetings in 60 different languages.*
Europa
Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) •
United States NASA: Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO), planned
to study Europa and Io. Launched in 2020, the probes use a Venus-Earth-Earth gravity assist trajectory, taking six years to reach Jupiter. The Jovian system tour phase lasts from 2026 to 2029. The US and European probes (JEO/JGO) monitor dynamic phenomena such as Io's volcanoes, Jupiter's atmosphere, the Jovian magnetosphere and its interactions with the Galilean satellites. They also confirm the long-hypothesized water oceans beneath the surfaces of Europa and Ganymede. The Japanese part of the mission (JMO) explores the Jovian magnetosphere in situ as a template for an astrophysical magnetised disk and affording the opportunity for "3-point" investigations of the Jupiter system, via synergistic observations with JGO and JEO. The Russian segment of the mission delivers a lander to Europa. With extended survivability, autonomous hardware and a drill/thermal system capable of deep ice penetration, this burrows down to explore the subsurface and to look for signs of life.
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References 1 Aquaculture's Growth Seen As Continuing, Science Daily: 2 The End of the Line: 3 FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report No. 928, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: 4 New Shrimp Farming Technique Yields Record Hauls of Jumbo Shrimp from Minimal Water, Popular Science: 5 Shrimp Farm - Ecological Impacts, Wikipedia: 6 World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture 2010, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: 7
Breakthrough
in delivering drugs to the brain, BBC: 8
Five
more Alzheimer's genes discovered, scientists say, BBC: 9
Maldives
rises to climate challenge, BBC: 10
Sagrada
Família, Wikipedia: 11
Voyager
Golden Record, goldenrecord.org: |
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