NEWEST ISSUE OF THE FUTURIST FOCUSES ON RESCUING OUR PLANET UNDER STRESS

BETHESDA, MD.—As the world's nonrenewable resources are increasingly depleted, and as burgeoning economies such as China create more and more demand, ecological conflicts will arise from unlikely places, such as land use—do we use it to grow food for the masses or ethanol crops to move the masses’ SUVs? A new, more sustainable economy is clearly needed, and the time to build it is now. The key will be to acknowledge the ecological truth and incorporate the costs of nature's services into the prices of goods that impact nature.
In the July-August issue of THE FUTURIST, Earth Policy Institute President Lester R. Brown puts forward a plan to save the global economy and the planet.
Offering their perspectives on Brown's proposals are University of Vermont ecological economics professor Robert Costanza, Johns Hopkins political scientist Mark Blyth, University of Winnipeg economist Xiao-yuan Dong, and University of California Latino studies professor Manuel Pastor Jr.

ALSO IN THE JULY-AUGUST ISSUE:
THE DRAGON VS. THE TIGER: CHINA AND INDIA RESHAPE THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

China’s is currently the fastest-growing economy in the world; in the last quarter of the twentieth century, China's businesses thrived and the country’s GDP quadrupled. India’s economy has also displayed impressive growth of late, and many economists see it as the top destination for IT outsourcing. But will this nascent success translate into a more open Chinese society, or a more equal distribution of wealth in India? And what does the rapid rise of these two Asian nations mean for the United States?
In the July-August issue of THE FUTURIST, former White House advisor Marvin J. Cetron and former Omni senior editor Owen Davies examine the pitfalls ahead for these burgeoning economic super powers.
AND…
THE ROBOTIC ECONOMY: BRAVE NEW WORLD OR A RETURN TO SLAVERY?
One of the harsh truths of productivity gains in the Industrialized West is that, historically, they’ve been based on slave labor according to futurist Arnold Brown. As automation and robotics boost productivity once again, and as out technological progeny comes to resemble us to greater degree, the time has come, says Brown, to ask: will the new "slaves" be treated any differently from the former ones? And should humans think differently of them, especially since future robots will likely incorporate living, organic materials into their functioning?

In the July-August issue of THE FUTURIST, renowned business forecaster Arnold Brown looks at how today’s robotic technology may change not only how we relate to machinery, but how we define “human.”
and …

CAN MINORITY LANGUAGES BE SAVED? GLOBALIZATION VS. CULTURE

The global economy and the Internet have helped majority languages such as English and Mandarin spread like an Arizona brush fire across the globe, often to the determent of traditional, regional dialects. In the July-August issue of THE FUTURIST, Eric Garland explores how digital interconnectivity may reverse this trend by pulling together speakers from worldwide language diasporas.

PLUS: THE NEW BATTLE OVER SPRAWL, CONNECTING BRAIN CELLS TO MICROCHIPS, and ASIAN COMPANIES FACE THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE.

Pick up the July-August issue of THE FUTURIST for $4.95 at bookstores and newsstands, or write the World Future Society, 7910 Woodmont Ave., Suite 450, Bethesda, MD 20814. Order online at www.wfs.org.
THE FUTURIST is a bimonthly magazine published continuously since 1967 by the World Future Society and is a principal benefit of membership, read by 20,000 members worldwide.
Among the many thinkers and experts who have contributed to THE FUTURIST are: Al Gore, Alvin and Heidi Toffler, Buckminster Fuller, Frederik Pohl, Isaac Asimov, Vaclav Havel, Hazel Henderson, Margaret Mead, Robert McNamara, B.F. Skinner, Nicholas Negroponte, Helena Norberg-Hodge, and Ray Kurzweil
The focus of THE FUTURIST is innovation, creative thinking, and emerging trends in technology, culture, the environment, economics, and public policy.

Editors: To request a review copy of THE FUTURIST magazine, contact director of communications Patrick Tucker 301-656-8274 ext. 116, ptucker@wfs.org. More information about the World Future Society can also be obtained from the Society’s Web site, www.wfs.org.