On oceans, fuels and beyond..

The future of science will focus on maintaining biosphere stability, discoveries in medicine, deep sea exploration, sustainable resource extraction, finding new energy sources, and exploration of the solar system. As we exhaust our resources here we will need to look at other metal and carbon rich moons to satisfy our resource needs. If we stay put, then we will have to develop better fuel sources, such as those from algae, recycle efficiently and develop ways to manage the atmosphere. The potential is there for a very well managed future. Here I am at Point Dume with the holdfast of  Macrocystis.

We have barely explored our deep oceans and if we hope to find life on other worlds, we will need to develop an understanding of the life on Earth that survives in harsh environments. Secrets in curing disease and promoting longevity might hide in the biochemistry of these organism. A new field of scientific research is emerging in this area. Examples include life in caverns and the basics of Extremophiles in general.

Besides learning about various environments and making new discoveries, we must decide how best to utilize resources for our own good and learn how to manage and preserve them for future generations while maintaining ecosystem balance. In order to do this, our future scientists will need to tackle such problems as  ocean acidification and cnidarian proliferation. These will be hot topics in the near future demanding attention and world-wide cooperation. Our existence depends on Ocean Chemistry and health. Another hot spot problem will be the monumental task of collecting and recycling plastics in the ocean.

A modern Biology or science class should include conceptual exploration and discovery projects as these issues must be managed in the coming decades. Integration of all the sciences is the best way to go about this covering Geoscience, Physics, Chemistry, Biology (all fields), relevant mathematics and Cosmology.