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Ed Barlow gets paid for predicting the future.

Barlow is a professional speaker, consultant and "futurist" who owns "Creating the Future, Inc." in St. Joseph, MI. Barlow analyzes data and statistics, follows trends, and assesses needs to make his projections.

"We are living in a continuum of change," Barlow says. "Everything in our existence has a life cycle to it, from when something is developed and is exciting and fresh, to when it become obsolete.

"The world we are moving into," he continues, "will be filled with complexity, diversity and pace of change. One needs to be creating for oneself the ability to monitor the changes that are taking place and how these changes will influence their condition, their family, their self and their company."

Barlow says it's "critically important" for people to become anticipatory thinkers who scan, discern and align themselves with changes. Here are his ideas about the next 100 years.

Americans will continue to have an interest in and reliance on cars, but cars will have mixed fuel combinations and engines that use a variety of energy sources, so they operate more efficiently. Plastics and other materials will make vehicles lighter, stronger and more fuel-efficient.

At the same time, Barlow forecasts an increase in the development and use of public transportation. "As we become an aging society," he says, "people will want to get around, but they may not be able to drive as much," This will lead to the development of more local and regional public transportation - probably buses and trains, but also monorails - which connect major cities.

There will also be fewer drivers on the roads for traditional purposes. "The nature of driving may change somewhat," says Barlow. "We're seeing an ability to bring information and work to one's home, and that is changing the need for people to get in the car and drive to work. As telemedicine comes online, people will not go see the doctor every time they're ill because they may be monitored at home."

Transportation will also be affected by people's ability to shop at home. Barlow predicts that "55 percent of retail trade will be done over the Internet by 2010."

Barlow thinks there will always be a need for the traditional gathering of students and educators coming together for discussions at a school. But he also sees an expansion of opportunities for people to get degrees and other instruction strictly over the Internet.

"The biggest change is that education will be taken to the learner," Barlow states. He works with many community colleges and he has told them that "by 2005, they will have to be organized so their delivery is one-third campus-based, one-third on the job, and one-third electronic."

This will lead to a tremendous expansion in educational opportunities for adult learners. Workers will be able to enhance their skills throughout their careers, and people will start taking classes in subjects they are personally interested in.

Barlow also thinks the K-12 school year, which was created by an agriculturally-based society, will change to a year-round model. "Kids can forget an awful lot over the summer," he says.

Barlow predicts that the major industries in the next millennium will be Internet-related. Some top job titles include: Webmaster, artificial intelligence technician, and bionic electronic technician.

He also sees the need for insight managers who help an organization prepare for change and identify what will happen.

The healthcare industry will grow, and opportunities exist for working with the aging population and non-traditional medical practices such as nutraceuticals, supplements and enriched food products.

Instead of people relying on social security or employer pension plans, people will take care of their own financial needs. Because they will need financial information and advice, jobs in financial planning will also increase.

Barlow also predicts that the economy will continue to become more reliant on international trade. "The global economy continues to expand, particularly with China becoming more active in free trade," he says. "That's one billion people in a marketplace that's now growing. China is going to be the single largest trading block. I would suggest it's important for young people to have more exposure to language, culture and business practices from around the world. Mandarin Chinese would be good to learn."

But he cautions that "the single most critical issue for American business in the next 10 years is worker dearth. The workforce pool coming out of educational institutions doesn't have the skills for the jobs that are in existence, and there aren't enough people in the labor pool."

Barlow says new job creation is exceeding worker availability, because the U.S. economy is robust. The U.S. workforce is comprised of 145 million workers, including 60 million baby boomers who are getting to the end of their career paths and may retire or shift to part-time work.

"We've got a real challenge to figure out a way to have enough workers to fill the jobs we are creating," Barlow says. "That challenge is going to be met by rethinking immigration and probably identifying the kind of people we need who can come into this country and help add value to this workforce situation."

In the 21^st century, Barlow says, people will carry Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) that incorporate a phone, pager and computer. They will also be assigned a phone number when they are born, and they will keep that number no matter where they travel or live. People may keep the PDA or phone clipped on their belt, instead of having wall or desk phones.

Technology will also be applied in quality of life areas, through efforts such as genetic engineering. The ability to treat, reverse or prevent disease will have a huge impact, as will being able to grow new body parts.

"I think the technology applied to genetic engineering and health will probably be the most significant breakthrough and have the most significant technological impact in the next 10-15 years," Barlow theorizes. "It will go so far above everything else. It will be more impacting than the Internet on people's lives."

And, he says it will set the stage for philosophical discussions about how long people should live and how or whether or not to manipulate human life through genetic engineering. "That will be the most significant and impacting issue we deal with in the next decade," Barlow states.

Aging will affect so many aspects of life, says Barlow, who believes that "by 2100, people will live to be well over 200 years of age."

He explains that the global population will continue to increase until 2025, when forecasters say the population trend will reverse as societies become wealthier and people don’t need as many children. "The whole dynamic of having a lot of kids was fostered in developing nations, where for every nine children born only two survived," Barlow says. "As healthcare practices improve and more people survive, there will be less desire to have more children."

Fewer people mean fewer customers, so businesses will need to find new ways to sell their products and services. People may develop new attitudes about working, sharing resources and using automation to free up their time for leisure and recreation.

Technology may bring us space colonization no later than 2050, Barlow predicts.

The U.S. population will continue to get more diverse, spurred on by the need for workers. He estimates that "25 percent of the U.S. population by 2050 will be Hispanic or of Hispanic origin." Currently, the number of Hispanics in the U.S. is larger than the entire population of Canada, he notes. "We're beginning to see advertising in Spanish (in the U.S.) and the development of products and services for Hispanics."

Good news for families. According to Barlow, "there's evidence we're switching back to see the importance of the traditional family unit." The extended family will come back into vogue, partly because caring for the aging population in nursing homes will be too expensive, so parents will live with their adult children.

Marriage may also be redefined. "If we're going to start living more and more over the age of 100, then is one going to want to or be able to live with the same person for over 100 years?" he asks. "Some sociologists are beginning to suggest that we may go through three stages of life, and people may choose to make transitions to different partners." The first stage may be young adults who start families. Once the kids are grown, people may switch to another partner, and change again for the later stage of life.

Barlow can be reached at 616-429-2601, info@creatingthefuture.com and www.creatingthefuture.com.

2907 Division Street, Suite 108
St. Joseph, MI 49085
Phone: (269) 982-1830
Fax: (269) 982-1541
Email barlow@qtm.net