Now, as you all know, we usually have one article every two days. Today’s article (from Darkprinceofawesome/Nero) had really nothing to do with the future. So, enjoy this one, too.

We all know that music has an incredible power over the world, and the past few decades have been devoted to music expansion.

From records to tapes, to CD’s and now to files on a computer, music has evolved alongside society. Currently, Apple has a large slice of the music industry, mostly because of the hugely popular ipod.

According to a recent entry on Wired, itunes may account for 28% of all music sold worldwide in five short years. This isn’t surprising, seeing how itunes is already installed in 30% of all computers worldwide, and seeing that Amazon, being one of the few competitors of itunes, isn’t much of a threat also contributes to the reality of the situation.

Is this a bad thing? Will Apple have too much control in the future?

-Rika

  The title pretty much robbed me of any good first sentences, so I’ll repeat it. Here I am, America! The newest (I think) writer on this website. And, although this site is viewed by only a (shamefully) few people, I hope I can make a difference in your lives as much as I have made a difference in the lives of Central Africa.

  I think I’ll cover mostly current world events and bring you the big picture on a nice, silver tray for you to wolf down, similar to suicidal animals bent on getting their intestines devoured by tundra beasts. Until my first true article, I will be watching.

“Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.” - Elbert Hubbard

Rika’s thoughts:

This site is actually viewed by more people then you think, Darkprinceofawesome/Nero. What is all that about suicidal animals getting eaten by tundra beasts, exactly? And what does this have to do about the future?

You’re probably thinking something along the lines of “oh NO not another article from Rika about biofuels and corn!” I’m not running out of topics. Honestly. This is not old news! (Points to the ‘world hunger’ part of the title) This is breaking news!

So thanks to the government not acting upon the problems that biofuels are causing, you have yet another one of my corn/food/hunger/fuel articles to deal with AND you get to see as the world unravels. If they had gotten rid of the idea two years ago when I began protesting it, everything would have been O.K. and this article would have never been written.

My point exactly. Now did you know that in any given city there is only a measly three days supply of food for everyone? You’d think that all the grocery stores combined would have had more then that! But nooo. Instead, food stores get really good at ordering food to get on their store right on time to make it look like they have an endless supply of food.

Here are the problems that have happened despite the Nearby Future Staff’s desperate cries:

• Biofuels are raising food prices
• Biofuels are making the environment worse, corn ethanol in specific emitting more carbon dioxide, one of the big culprits of global warming.
• World hunger is beginning in poverty stricken countries, because of changing climate and dying crops, and ethanol made of corn is not helping this issue at all.
• Thankfully, corn is STILL O.K., but not for long if this keeps up.
• Gas prices are rising rapidly because we still don’t have a stable alternative because the government has spent all their time and money working on biofuels that are, so far, a lost cause.
• Corn ethanol is actually NOT cheaper then oil, it’s just paid by taxes.

So we need to help the government out here. Some of the countries are being hit harder than ours, so this is a time to extend our reach and help! Not sure where to start? Go to the Global Emergencies page (after I write it and set it up) and visit some of the nonprofit organizations out there that are created to help all of the problems that are being created out there.

-Rika

Note: The title of this article was meant to poke fun at the people that always blame the government. It’s NOT always the government’s fault, it’s ours because we aren’t helping and being actively involved in our own personal missions to save the world.

Hey everyone! We have added another member to our happy band of writers! Her pen name is Pop Fiddler Princess. she is an awesome and talented writer, plus she happens to be my best friend.

Let me tell you a little about her: unlike Jala, she doesn’t read at all. We’re still trying to figure out if it’s because of the way her brain functions or just because… actually, we’re pretty sure it’s her brain. Her favorite color is pink and she’s in love with Mario Lopez. She’s a music fan, plays the violin, and is a phenomenal singer. Everything else you’ll have to find out from her.

-Piratical Lord of the Guitars

It’s too easy to be caught up in your life here in the U.S. and just forget about all the other countries out there that are in trouble- countries that are battling diseases, armies, freedom, liberty, peace- the world has so many problems!

Everyone is fighting for and against something, and you think that we would work to help solve things.

Soon, The Nearby Future will have a new page entitled either “Global Emergencies” or “Red Alert” or some combination of the two (I’m still deciding!) This new page will feature things you need to know and how you can help. It’s current, full of links, and a kind of a reference sheet, like our political election reference sheet.

So if you have any ideas for the new page, or just simply feel like adding your opinions, then leave a comment.

-Rika

What fun is it to predict the world’s impending demise? I can’t see the joy of telling people that the world will collapse in ten years when oil becomes too expensive. A professor from the University of Arizona recently published an article in The Arizona Republic about how civilization will unravel because of the current oil crisis, and I have some questions for him.

If civilization is going to self destruct in ten years, why aren’t we seeing any signs of it now? Yes, oil is a problem. No, corn ethanol is not the answer. What exactly will happen when we run out of oil? Will we have to ride our bicycles everywhere? That doesn’t sound so bad to me.

Actually, Guy R. McPherson says that it’s the jump we’ll have to make when oil shoots up in price; he says that when oil reaches $400 a barrel we won’t be able to afford it and “In a decade, unemployment will be approaching 100% percent, inflation will be running at 1,000 percent and central heating will be a pipe dream”. So, if this is true, what do we do?

One solution I’ve heard so far is pretty good. Here it is:

• Taxing Oil: by gradually putting and increasing a tax on our oil, people will not only get used to the higher priced oil and the leap we’ll have to make won’t be as large, but the tax money can be used to fund research programs concerning renewable fuel, and ‘greener’ cars.

So whatever path we chose to take, we need to act. And, no, I don’t mean act as in the ‘whenever you get around to it’ kind of action. I mean the now ‘dinner’s burning’ type of immediate action. Just stop wasting oil, get a hybrid car until the better electric cars and biofuel cars come out.

-Calister F. Wells

Don’t give up, if you have never tried.

Rika’s Thoughts:

This is a good quote, but not always true. You can give up if the goal your headed for might have more risks then positives, and giving up actually might be a better idea. For example, if the plant on top of the refrigerator needs watering desperately but you can’t reach it, what do you do? Go all Tarzan and climb on top of the counters to get to the plant? Or give up for fear of a broken or sprained bone? Giving up can sometimes be good for your help.

What happened in the past will only affect you as much as you let it.

Calister Again:

Mistakes are good. You can learn from them. But sometimes we get these people who can’t seem to get over the mistakes. They stare them down as if the mistake is a car in the rear view mirror who is trailing them. Or a foreboding homework assignment. One or the other. But the point is that if you let the constant thinking of ‘oh I shouldn’t have done that’ continue, it won’t help. Learn from your mistakes and get over them.

Hummers: driven by people who want the world to be destroyed.

That has to be an exaggeration.

It’s the truth! Unless the Hummer and large SUV owners have been living under a rock, the following facts are known by them:

• Hummers and large, heavy, SUV’s are expensive
• A 2004 Hummer H2 SUV has 9.6 mpg compared to a Honda, who’s miles per gallon ranges from 20-50 mpg. So for sure all of the SUV and Hummer owners know that they’re paying more for the gas prices then other car owners.
• The emissions from cars contributes to global warming, and by simply switching from a fifteen mpg car to a 30mpg, you are cutting your car’s CO2 emissions in half.

What’s up with all the melodramatic titles?

Rika has stated that my titles are over-dramatic. Well they’re not. Our current environmental goal is to stop global warming, and almost everywhere on the road you see these heavy SUVs roaring down the road.

All of these car owners understand that buying fuel efficient cars would not only be less expensive, but better for the environment. So why do they keep buying these heavy duty vehicles?

Why?

“Because I feel safer knowing that in a car crash I wouldn’t be the one hurt” is one that I’ve heard. I guess that some people feel powerful behind a wheel of these tanks, but they’re endangering other people on the road. If no one drove heavy SUVs, then everyone would be safer on the road.

What should we do?

So when choosing a new car, you have several choices. Hybrid cars go for approximately thirty grand, depending on the model you buy. Hummers, on the other hand, often cost much more than that.

-Calister F. Wells

I am writing this because I believe that alcohol and other types of drugs need to be stopped and controlled now. I recently  learned all about types of drugs and alcohol and what it can do to the inside and outside of ourselves. I don’t understand how people can do this to themselves.

My dad is an alcoholic and it’s sad what it did to him. Right now, he is at the point of dying and he doesn’t have enough money to live on. I saw him two years ago at Christmas. I couldn’t even look at him, he was so bad looking. My parents got a divorce when I was in kindergarten and even when I was little I said, “Divorce can be a good thing.” And I was right. That was the best decision my Mom could have made. I feel sorry, but nothing he could say or do would take that feeling away from me. He’s been out of my life for so many years and doesn’t want to do anything to try to help himself. Only you can help yourself from stopping yourself, nobody else.

Although I am worried about people in the world that have an addiction problem, and I am worried more for the teens out there. Parents give children freedom (sometimes too much) and it sometimes kids go into cults and gangs. What people don’t realize is that what you do now as children and teenagers affects your whole life. Once you get addicted, it is so hard to stop, and as I said only you can stop yourself. So we need to get control of this now so our children are healthy. Once your body is ruined, it’s hard and almost impossible to turn back…

To learn more go to www.abovetheinfluence.com

~Hope

You think that we (The Nearby Future Staff) have it easy: we research and write articles. Black and white, right? Wrong.

My daily to-do list/schedule looks something like this:

• 4:00 PM: click the spell check button on all submitted articles from the staff members who, apparently, are too good for spell check.
• 4:32 PM: hear Calister’s complaints about how the green flowers are too “girly”. Laugh along with him, promise that I’ll look into other templates, but secretly plan his demise.
• 4:46 PM: Check the site’s status and clap excitedly as I see that someone else BESIDES the staff actually commented!
• 4:56 PM: Reject Calister’s article on the stupid topics that have nothing to do with the future OR the environment OR technology. In the article rejection email, tell him that his next article should be about ice cream. Write a witty rejection letter in advance.
• 5:00 PM: Do some research on topics related to how corn should not be used as fuel, gripe about how hard it is to be an environmentalist to Calister. After all, it’s not like we can go around distributing pamphlets saying “Save the Trees” to promote our cause.
• 5:16 PM: Log off. Do real work. Try to not log back in. After all, I have other important things to do.
• 5:22 PM: Log in for a short time (only for a short time!) and read some more comments and edit more articles. Write an email to staff members explaining the value of spell check. Plan to send it as soon after I finish everything else I need to do. Log out, promise myself that I won’t log in again. (I won’t! I promise!)

So a lot of being a writer for The Nearby Future is watching the site, thinking up articles, doing research, debating with any living thing that talks, and typing it all up and delivering it to you.

Each writer has their own personality (Calister: Devious. Rika: Organized. Jala: Creative. etc etc..) and this is one of the ways our site is unique!

-Rika

Reminder: Vote in our April 2008 staff contest! Click the link to take the survey here and vote for YOUR favorite staff member! The survey is quick, it’s only four questions or so. We all read the submissions and analyze your comments, (and are very competitive when it comes to votes!) so please, stop by and vote!

Hi everybody! For one thing, I am the first (and maybe only) person to write an article stating why you should pick me for the April Staff Contest. As a newer member of the staff, I am now well-aware of everything now. Already, I have one vote and hopefully it will keep going! I write articles with purpose and things that you should worry about for the future.

Although I do think all the other staff members are great, I don’t think they are qualified enough. Here’s why you shouldn’t pick them:

Jala: She’s won every time…don’t you think you should give others a chance?

Kendra: She only does polls… does that tell you something?

Jennith: She doesn’t write that many articles…

Rika: I think you should pick her because she started the website and she manages everything

Piratical Lord of the Guitars: She is a great writer and she LOVES music! Almost all (or all) of her articles has to do with the future and music. I mean who doesn’t like music?!

Me (Hope): I write articles that have a very good purpose

Some say music is just a mere thing of entertainment. I worry about these people. Music truly has an impact on the world whether you would like to realize it or not. Don’t believe me? Well I’ll prove it; have you ever been happy, sad, upset, angry, or bored? Of course you have. Now what is something that is always on the same page of your feelings and understands exactly what your going through? Music! Maybe you work for a big company and need to make a jingle …well what is a jingle? Music. Maybe you’re promoting a cause and your audience is teens. One of the best ways to reach them is through music.

Have you ever watched the similarities between lyrics to songs and children behavior? Well if you did, you might notice some things in common. Such as happier, upbeat, and positive songs seem to make people just that. Music has a great influence on the entire world. You can listen to it anywhere; on the computer, in your car, on the radio, on your stereo, ipods, Mp3’s virtually anywhere! And don’t forget televisions shows where contestants compete by singing and dancing.

Do you believe me now? So as you can see music plays a huge role in our lives and is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly or brushed off, influence on people is power and too much power makes people like Rika. (Just kidding Rika) So what are your thoughts on the power of music and it’s far reaching effects?