Scenario 2140: Living the Environmentally Friendly Lifestyle
One of the items Zhi Wen bought "online" from WoodMarvels.com in the year 2140
Here is how I would see the typical Chinese citizen living their life in the year 2140. Why Chinese? Because China WILL lead the environmental crusade through this century. They have the brain power (population x education x competition), the will and importantly, don’t live in a democratic country… these billions of people will be pushed into changing their lifestyle fundamentally with little choice but to comply or face severe consequences.
7am: Zhi Wen wakes-up to a flowing symphony of environmental beauty
Paper-like screens cover ALL walls in her home, including doors and windows so she can remodel her place at her whim, no more paint, no more drywall nor wallpaper. The floor is covered with kinetic capture devices that produce energy as people walk around their home due to shifts in body weight.
8am: She gets the kids out of bed
Beds all fold-away into the wall or floor, meaning each room has many different uses depending on time or mood so you can live in a smaller place. People live in ONE large room, reducing the amount of materials required to build a typical dwelling and what is used, comes from natural, fully recycled materials.
9am: She and the kids eat breakfast and take a shower while brushing their teeth
Brushing your teeth in the shower saves energy, there is no need for toothpaste as lasers are used instead of bristles. Shower”water” actually is pressured water droplets which come from recycled water used throughout the house so no shampoo is needed as all the bodies natural odors are water soluble. Breakfast comes from genetically modified plants grown in their own greenhouse that filter the air while growing back a few hours later.
10am: After dropping the kids off at school, Zhi Wen goes to work
All schools are solar powered and for temperature, use geothermal recycling and located no more than a few kilometers from where people live. Communities are built around schools to reduce public transit use or the need for personal transportation. Zhi Wen works at home and telecommutes so no need for office buildings, people use holographic avatars to interact in virtual words to work together.
11am: Time for some shopping!
Zhi Wen got out of work early today because she did a good job so she decides to go shopping, she goes “online” to WoodMarvels.com using her holographic avatar and orders a few items which get manufactured on-demand by the school her children attend which she can pick-up with the kids. People in 2040 have their own small desktop manufacturing machines for small items but larger ones that can build cars and other large items are centrally located in schools. Kids learn about manufacturing and technology at an early age, exposing them to the entire process is essential!
Noon: Time for Lunch!
On today’s menu, fresh algae with a few grasshoppers and meal worms, algae is incredibly nutritious, as are insects and can live off general household waste, algae needs sun and fertilizer provided by the bathroom while insects feed on the kitchen scraps. Plates and cutlery are made of bamboo which is durable, easy to clean and recycled.
1pm: Boss calls, need some quick work done
Zhi Wen is technically off-work but her boss needs a few things urgently, so she just puts back onto her head a visor and works for the next few hours using her hollographic avatar in a virtual business to finish her job. Keyboards and computers are a thing of the past, the entire processes of creation occur directly in the mind. All is powered by a mix of solar power and kinetic energy while going through the movements. You don’t just “sit” and think of working, you are actively moving as you would in real life but in a virtual environment which your room transforms into.
5pm: Boyfriend comes back home
People learn to think for themselves so they no need for religion nor marriage for that matter, ghosts and the supernatural are told as stories, not taken as facts. Her boyfriend finished upgrading the solar panels on their exterior walls which helps to power items within their home. People live in huge mega-complexes which are made-up of up to 20 000 units per building). There are no cities but mega-communities lined-up one next to the other, separated by natural forests and farmland.
6pm: Super time!
Zhi Wen and her boyfriend Yan Lee prepared some delicious fish and chicken, grown in the communal buildings aquariums and hatcheries, everything is recycled and almost nothing is thrown away. For desert, meal worms with a little fruit grown from the communal rooftop gardens.
7:30pm: Entertainment and family time
People can change their scenery at a whim, so their “kitchen” is also their “bedroom”, “living-room” and so on. In this case, they decide to go on a trip to “Washington” to see what use to be one of the world’s leading super powers that has since dwindled due into obscurity due to multiple defaults on foreign loans. People might be living in a communist country but they are free to do as they please, the government isn’t overly intrusive when it comes to education, only relating to wasteful and environmentally unfriedly practices. You can have as many children as you want as food is plenty and energy is essentially free due to kinetic, wind, water and solar power to name but a few. Nuclear power was phased-out 50 years ago after all the coal burning power plants where shut-down. Everything from “cars” to planes, watches to washing machines are now powerd by naturally occuring processes.
10pm: Time for bed!
In this future, people go to bed early because they can’t wait to wake-up in the morning to continue their environmentally friendly lifestyle, 9 hours of sleep is optimal.