Say

Mean

Matter

“The population of the planet now exceeds eleven billion, not counting scientific outposts on titan and even a nascent colony on mars” (p.1).

Vint Cerf, the vice president of google, is explaining to the world about the significant growth in population during the year 2058 and just how vast he predicts it is going to be. Also he is representing the mass expansion of living space to space.

This quote just shows how many people will be alive and well during the year 2058.  It also represents the spread of well being and taking care of one’s self.  If people in the future were not healthy than there would not be such a vast population.  Also the fact that he adds that there are people living in space and especially moons in space is an interesting add to the future and how unthinkable it can be. 

“Global warming has taken its toll on the coastal areas, and the population has had to move inland in many places” (p.1).

Vint Cerf is talking about the residential effects of global warming.  He is showing the change in lifestyle that people will have to make when global warming hits the coast.  Vint expresses his feel that global warming will affect the everyday life of people that reside on the coastal areas.

Global warming is going to be a major affect on the coastal areas in the future and because of these affects to the coast, most people will have to move inland and give up there fantastic and scenic lifestyle by the beautiful beaches.  This just expands the future risk of global warming in the future and how it affects the lifestyle of the everyday person in the future. 

“Oil will no longer be as dominant and prevalent as it is today” (p.7).

George F. Smoot, an astrophysicist, explains the major decrease in the use of oil in the future and the many conflicts it will cause but also the positive outcomes.  He also shows the other changes throughout time in energy and their outcomes.  But in the end the use of new energy will help the economy and the environment in the future.

Because oil and gas in cars pollutes the environment the use of new energy will decrease the risks of global changes.  But even though oil will not be used as much there will still be people who will use oil and resources made from oil.  As his chart shows oil and its resources are the most used in US history so it will take some time for most people to change from oil to new sources of energy.

“Large cities, crushed by overcrowding, will have degenerated into jungles ruled by crime and violence” (p.12).

This is a quote described by Christian de Duve, founder of the International Institute of Cellular and molecular Pathology, stating how in the future the population will be in large numbers causing many cities to overcrowd.  Because of this overcrowding, the cities will erupt into crime and violence because of the large numbers and overcrowding of different types of people.

As a factor of the mass population in the future overcrowding will be automatic but as Vint Cerf early stated, maybe overcrowding can be avoided if technology is found and people could live in space.  As for the crime and violence, that is also involuntary because there will be such a mix and match of different people that might not get along.  If the population keeps growing, the future will hold a time of crime and violence, and the major fact, overcrowding everywhere.

“I can not know the extent of the artic sea ice in 2058. But I believe that there will be at least as many polar bears as there are today” (p.16).

John Christy, a professor at the University of Alabama at Huntsville, explains how no one will know the climate or the condition of the Arctic.  Also he makes a guess that there will be just as many polar bears because they adapt so well to new surroundings and features. 

As a result of what some people say “global warming,” which should be called climate change because the earth goes through different stages, the polar caps will melt in the future.  But, those are only speculations and as Christy explains here he says no one will know the extent of them in the future.  He also adds that the polar bears will be fine meaning that they will be able to adapt if the climate does change.

“Dogs will still commonly be kept as pets, but keeping cats, hamsters , and others will be uncommon because of the known danger of infectious agents they carry” (p.23).

E. Fuller Torrey, a psychiatrist is talking about how different pathogens in animals will be found to be harmful to humans.  This causes people to not have pets and if they do it will be a dog because it is cleaner and more common.  But as many others in this novel mentioned if we control most infections, than this will not be a problem.

Because many pets that are more wild than say dogs carry more pathogens that could be harmful to humans, it is more likely that those pets will not be pets anymore.  This will cause people to not have to buy animal food causing businesses to go out of business and people to have extra money to do what they wish.

“Gene therapy will be able to correct many defects that shorten life or reduce quality of life, and support structures will be in place to help families and individuals control modifiable risk factors” (p.28).

Wanda Jones, the director of the Office of Women’s Health, states that people that are born say with down syndrome, will not have that anymore with special gene therapy.  This will cause the life expectancy to rise and babies and even adults will not have these painful life altering disabilities.  

If the genes that cause fatal disabilities can be eliminated or able to be altered than the people with these diseases will be able to live freely and happier.  This will cause an increase in the population that could cause more overcrowding and people will live longer.

“Smoking will be almost unheard of, but other addictions will evolve and require attention” (p.28).

Wanda Jones is saying that people will not be smoking almost completely, but there are always some people who do.  Other than smoking other addictions will occur and they could be worse for the body.

Smoking is almost totally eliminated from peoples’ lifestyles and this could mean that lung disease could be avoidable.  This could be the turning point in health, but there is always those other factors such as different addictions which could right away take the life expectancy down again.

“Several cancers and autoimmune diseases will have a vaccine to prevent them” (p.28).

Wanda states that some of the most deadly and brutal diseases will be preventable causing people to live longer and not have those risks.

Because these diseases are preventable, people will not have to worry about family genes and instead they will live longer.

“It must be noted that the vast majority of Americans have been telecommunicating for the past two decades and a typical work group is globally distributed.   The concept of driving to work has, for the most, become a thing of the past” (p.44).

Chandrasekhar Narayan, part of IBM’s research division, is talking as he is in the future and he is explaining how humans then have been telecommunicating for twenty years then.  Since it is so easy to get places fast then he says that most corporations are global because people can get to work in no time at all.  Since people can get to work and see everyone on the web driving to work is a thing of the past.

This is explaining how people have dumped the use of the car mostly in the future and most people work from home and can speak face to face with their business partners.

“China and India will likely be peer competitors. If not outright world economic leaders” (p.47).

James Cartwright says that India and China will be the major producers and will be top in the economic food chain.

This means that everyone will be buying from them causing their economies to boom and others to decrease or stay the same.

“Leveraging the tools of technology so readily available to us, our enemies will seek to beat us at our own game.  They will be able to change, react, and mutate in minutes and hours, not days, weeks, months, or years” (p.50).

James Cartwright also is saying that once technology gets to a point where everyone has the same things, someone will try to beat everyone by doing something different and better.  He says that they will try to mutate into to something bigger and better.

This means wars will wage because one group wants to stand out and be the best causing them to try something new and as he says they will try to mutate into something extraordinary.

“Over a fifty-year period, the prevention of terrorism is more properly a police function, rather than a military one” (p.59).

Ronald Noble says that terrorism will be normal and the police will be ready for it meaning that it will not be a major military threat rather the police will be ready and prepared. 

Since terrorism then will not be unknown the military will focus on different issues and the police will be in charge of controlling terrorism, which could mean new forms of attack.

“People will no longer be able to travel and engage in transactions with anonymity.  In other words, governments will know where people are going and what they are doing in the public realm” (p.61).

Ronal Noble also states that since the world will be a dangerous place, people will not be able to travel without the government knowing of their where about.  This means the government will be very involved in security and the ability to know where and who people interact with.     

This shows that one will not be able to travel anonymously and instead they will be tracked by their ever move causing less crime and terrorism.

“Global food and feed demand in 2050 is likely to increase by 75 percent over today, and this figure could be much higher, if large quantities of food and feed crops are diverted to making ethanol and other biofuels” (p.65).

Norman Borlaug is saying how the food demand throughout the world will increase 75% from today.  Also if food and crops are used for say new fuels, the food demand will grow even more.

This just shows hoe new fuels might be cheaper, they will throw off other problems as well causing major food shortages.  These food shortages could cause death, inflation and violence.

“Soldiers will be able to climb inside bullet-resistant suits that would monitor their body functions” (p.69).

Richard Clarke states that in the future soldiers will have no fear of bullets because they will be encapsulated in a bullet-proof suit.  These suits would also be able to detect problems in their body and in the surrounding environment.

This would allow soldiers to be protected from bullets causing less casualties in war and thus increasing the life expectancy.

“Africa will continue to be decimated by wars, poverty, malnutrition, and disease” (p.129).

Aaron Ciechanover explains how Africa will still be overpopulated, dirty with diseases, and full of hungry bellies.

Know Africa is full of the same things; malnutrition causes wars and wars cause poverty and because they are poor they can not buy food and then they starve.

“The cars are also elevated as they move through the traffic with the anti-crash sensors surrounding them” (p.165).

Joseph Bryant is talking in the future and is saying that the cars then will be able to fly and will also be much safer, leading to no people dying in car crashes.

Because these cars have anti-crash sensors on them no person would die in a car crash causing the life expectancy to raise.  Also these cars will fill the sky causing the ground to be clean but the skies and the birds to be dirty.