The times are a changing -" rising temperatures, growing population, and new technology coming at us faster than a greased cheetah.
So how will humans respond? Find out about future farming in the city -" your vegetables might be grown in downtown, hi-rise greenhouses. Also, a population expert tells us how our planet can cope with billions more people, and the man who invented the term -˜cyberspace describes what the future might hold for the techno-savvy.
Darwinian evolution takes a long time to accommodate to new environments. But Homo sapiens can beat that rap by wielding the right technology -" and becoming early adapters.
Descripcition en espaol
ENCORE We think of major geologic events as taking place a long time ago –“ but the Earth is just as active as it ever was. We´re a planet in motion. Discover why earthquakes might be increasing worldwide... descend into daring cave exploration... and take a trip to Hawaii where new volcanoes are gurgling up right now.
Plus –“ the supervolcano under Yellowstone Park… when might it erupt again?
Descripción en español
You are one-of-a-kind, unique, indispensible... oh, wait, never mind! It seems that computer over there can do what you do ... faster and with greater accuracy.
Yes, it´s silicon vs. carbon as intelligent, interactive machines out-perform humans in tasks beyond data-crunching. We´re not only building our successors, we´re developing emotional relationships with them. Find out why humans are hard-wired to be attached to androids.
Also, the handful of areas where humans still rule... as pilots, doctors and journalists. Scratch that! Journalism is automated too –“ tune in for a news story written solely by a machine.
They´re here! About one-third of all Americans believe we´re being visited by extraterrestrial spacecraft. But wait, you want evidence?
UFO sighting are as prevalent as flies at a picnic. But proof of visitation –“ well, that´s really alien.
Hear why belief in extraterrestrial UFOs persists ... and why military sightings that "can´t be explained" don´t warrant rolling out a welcome mat for ET.
Plus, the most fab UFOs in the movies!
It´s Skeptic Check... but don´t take our word for it!
If someone asks where you get off, you can now respond with precision. Satellites and computers spit out coordinates accurate to a few paces. And digital maps stand the Copernican principle on its head –“ putting you at the center of everything (how does it feel?).
Find out how today´s maps are shuffling our world view. Also, how does a rat navigate a maze without GPS? Hear of the plotting that goes on in that tiny rodent brain.
Plus, mapping the universe and pinpointing just where we are in cosmic time –“ lucky for us, human evolution is right on schedule.
Humans are pleasure-seekers –“ from food to sex to fine art. But do we know why we crave what we do? Discover the surprising motivation behind our desires. Also, why our hedonistic cousins, the bonobos, may hold the secret to world peace.
Plus, self-awareness in monkeys: can they really pass the mirror test? Can bacteria, for that matter? Nope! But since you are, cell for cell, more microbe than human, you´ll want to know just how cognitively aware these critters are.
If a tree feel on another planet, would we be able to detect it? Not quite yet –“ but we might be able to tell if the planet was habitable. A living-planet is the promise of newly-discovered Gliese 581g. But does the planet exist at all?
Discover how we learn a planet´s geology and chemistry from afar. Also, what we learn about a civilization from what it discards, beginning with our own sloppy habits.
Plus, the hunt for derelict alien spaceships... and a man who sketches alien creatures for a living –“ based on real science.
ENCORE From Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the view of the cosmos is spectacular. Giant black holes, distant galaxies, and extrasolar planets have all been uncovered by the massive telescopes that perch on this volcanic cone.
Join the astronomers who use the Keck Telescopes to peer at objects so far away, their light started out before Earth was born.
Also discover how the new Thirty Meter Telescope will dwarf even the massive glass eyes now in place, and why some of the world´s most important astronomical discoveries are being made in the Aloha State.
Plus, why the building of telescopes on the volcano is controversial to some native Hawaiians.
ENCORE Humans have not gone unnoticed on this planet. We´ve left our mark with technology, agriculture, architecture, and a growing carbon footprint. But where is this trajectory headed?
In the second of a two-part series: what we´ll lose and what will last in 1000 years or more.
Discover what the planet might look like to geologists of the far-off-future... the stubborn longevity of plastic and radioactive waste… human civilization in space... and postcards from the galactic edge; crafting interstellar messages to E.T.
In the first of a two-part series: what will be lost and what will still be around 100 years from now? James Lovelock says a hotter planet will prompt mass migrations. And Cary Fowler urges us to save our seeds –“ the health of future farms may depend on it.
Plus, from antibiotics to sewage systems: why human ingenuity ultimately saves the day.
And, sure, humans will be around in a century, but –“ with bionic limbs and silicon neurons –“ would we recognize them?
