How Much Different Will be the World in 2090?

The year is 2090, and a rapid spike in our population has depleted the Earth’s resources. Since 2020, the population has risen from 7.8 billion people to an astonishing 11 billion people worldwide, but 2090 is the breaking point. The growth of our species is finally slowing down, because our planet can no longer sustain us. The stress on Earth’s environment is too great. Will this be the end of civilization as we know it? Or will humanity persevere yet again through advancements in technology? By the year 2000, our growing demands for land, fuel, and paper wiped out 50% of the world’s rainforests.

Between 2001 and 2019, humans destroyed another 386 million hectares of forest globally. In the year 2090, rainforests are on the verge of extinction. The world’s most biologically diverse ecosystem is dying, displacing and endangering millions of species. As the creatures of the rainforest vanish, marine life follows in their footsteps. Our astronomical population consumes alarming quantities of seafood on a daily basis. Corporate overfishing ravages the world’s oceans. And the breeding populations of sea creatures, like tuna and lobster, fall to zero.

 The oceans are empty, and the rivers have run dry. Humans ultimately failed to reduce their water consumption. Now, in 2090, humans are experiencing the greatest fresh-water shortage in history. To make matters worse, global temperatures are climbing. Arid environments across the globe are experiencing record-breaking heatwaves, and the agricultural industry is paying the price. High temperatures and water-shortages dehydrate fertile farmland. In 2090, the world grows less natural produce than ever. Our resources, from fresh water to fresh fruit, are withering away. While climate change scorches our dry ecosystems, temperatures rise around the north and south poles. 

Massive sheets of ice sink into the ocean. In 2090, West Antarctica has lost substantial quantities of ice. As the continent thaws, West Antarctica sees a massive migration of new settlers. Towns and cities, like those in Alaska and Northern Scandinavia today, welcome immigrants from around the world—turning Antarctica into an up-and-coming, cultural melting pot. As sheets and glaciers fall to pieces, sea levels rise substantially. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that number could climb as high as two feet. Oceanic flooding overwhelms coastal cities around the world.

Coastlines and archipelagos have been evacuated. Millions of people have been displaced from their homes. Over 75% of the Maldives, the lowest-lying islands in the world, have sunk underwater. While Mother Nature struggles in 2090, technology booms. At the helm of our digital expansion, corporate giants pioneer state-of-the-art machines and innovations. Powerhouse businesses and their trillionaire CEOs dominate the world, leading our civilization into a new, virtual age. By 2090, these tech giants have created autonomous robots in almost every major industry.

Drones deliver packages to your doorstep. Autonomous clerks scan your groceries and handle your money at the bank. The world is dominated by more machinery than ever, but we’ve only scratched the surface. Technological innovations have transformed the transportation industry. Between major city centers, passengers can board hypersonic vactrains. These trains combine maglev technology with pneumatic tubes, traveling 4,000 miles per hour in sealed, vacuum chambers. Vactrains have revolutionized the transportation industry, creating a fast, convenient, and energy-efficient method of transoceanic travel. In 2090, Urban centers are more connected than ever.

Our once divided, nationalized culture has established new, global standards. Hundreds of languages are no longer spoken. In their place, a handful of common languages, likely English, Spanish, and Mandarin, have grown exponentially more popular, dominating both business and education. Cities have grown taller and far more densely populated in 2090. A record-breaking portion of the population lives in high-rises, which are buried in crowded cityscapes. Urban centers as dense as modern-day Hong-Kong or New York City are commonplace in countries around the world. The lifestyle of the average person has changed drastically.

People are working fewer hours than ever. Our international culture has shifted its priorities, favoring creativity and free time over material possession and stability. Thus, the average employee works only 20 hours per week, reducing their annual workload by about 50%. We may work less, but our population is more knowledgeable and qualified than ever. Our changing technological world, as well as the automation of entry-level jobs, has created higher working standards. More people have earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees than ever before.

In 2090, higher education is on the rise. As our economy grows more tech-focused, the work force sees a gradual but significant transformation. The more machines we build and employ, the more people we need to design and program them. This creates a surplus of technical positions with high creative and intellectual standards. In 2090, the work force is populated by more programmers than secretaries. As we near the end of the 21st century, computers experience an incredible shrinkage, resulting in a boom for nanotechnology. Computers the size of blood cells can be implanted into our bodies. They moderate our daily faculties, preemptively fight diseases, and supply our brains with consistent nourishment.

The same microscopic technology brings virtual reality to the forefront of education and entertainment. Tiny machines, implanted into your brain, intercept live perpetual signals and produce spectacular virtual spaces right in front of your eyes. These computers also control your motor functions, creating the illusion of movement, like walking in a lucid dream. In the year 2090, you can immerse yourself in realistic virtual spaces, populated by lifelike, virtual characters. With the press of a button, you can venture to far reaches of a virtual solar system. You can walk with giant squids and angler fish at the bottom of the ocean, or explore fantastical universes alongside your favorite fictional characters.

The limitless potential of virtual reality is finally at your fingertips. For those unsatisfied by virtual exploration, the flourishing industry of space tourism offers wealthy travelers a view of the Earth from orbit. Those lucky few can journey to a lunar colony or visit a small but self-sustaining city on Mars. 2090 is a year of feast and famine of progress and destruction. As the natural world crumbles around us, 2090 promises groundbreaking innovations and exponential growth. But the future of our species is, and always will be, a mystery. Experts can formulate convincing predictions, but the universe has a habit of changing the future in ways we don’t expect.