Marcus Barber invited to attend World Water Week in Stockholm 2007

Futurist Marcus Barber has been invited to present at the Stockholm International Water Institute’s prestigious World Water Week conference to be held in Stockholm later this year. His abstract submission ‘Life versus Lifestyle: the emerging clash between consumer demands and water availability’ forms part of the key workshop item of ‘Managing Future Consumer Demands’ which will attempt to consider the multitude of approaches and factors that will influence fresh water availability around the globe. The full abstract is availble below. To request a copy of the full paper, please contact us

Title of Paper:

‘Life versus Lifestyle: the emerging clash between consumer demands and water availability’

Key Words:  Consumers; Commercial Impacts; Globals; Lifestyles; Values

Abstract

For arguably the first time in the history of humankind, the developed world is facing similar water access problems to those of their less developed counterparts. 

The author asserts that as water is relied upon in every stage of production, all trade exchanges are simply examples of shifting water in its various end states. This understanding creates a paradigmatic shift in thinking for consumers of tomorrow who will increasingly rely upon ‘water used in production’ as an influencing factor when considering which products to buy.

In this piece we use two new concepts to change our paradigm on water access and use: the Global Currency Map”(GCM)  that assesses the types of challenges faced around the world and the different societal approaches to dealing with the crisis of water access; and a universal currency unit called Globals – the equivalent of 1 litre of fresh water.  

By using Globals as a currency unit, consumers are made aware of the true costs associated with creating products and services and will begin to make more critical choices about the types of products they buy and influence their understanding about appropriate uses of water.  This awareness will lead to a massive increase in pressure on companies whose high water use is deemed unacceptable give the consumers’ values. The author envisages a consumer based water usage guide that will enable the same product type from different manufacturers to be compared for water consumption.

The GCM also shines a spotlight on the topographical, geographical and societal biases that influence the amount and quality of available water.  In this light we understand that countries that have an abundance of Globals to ‘spend’ tend to be more materialistic while those that have few typically face survival issues.  The emerging consumer issue around the world can now be summed up as a choice between “Life versus Lifestyle”.

2012 International Year of Resilience – top 10 Tips

Dec 20, 2011

In thinking about the year ahead I’ve decided to call it the International Year of Resilience. With everything that appears to be going on in the world there’s unlikely to be any quick fixes and so I provide for you here below, my Top 10 Tips for building more resilience into your lives. If you…

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Rising Household Energy Costs NOT due to Environmental Polices

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The United Kingdom’s Committee on Climate Change has released a report that shows rising household energy costs are not caused by the apparent burden of environmental policies. Instead the core factor is increases in costs increases of Oil and Gas as the Energy resource sector taps into a ‘growth’ market.   You can have a…

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The massive missing piece of Australia’s Tourism approach

Nov 24, 2011

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A Wildcard to Top them all

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I alert you from the outset that I’m about to make a massive leap of potentially an supportable scientific theory in discussing a potential Wildcard event. If you’re only interested in the concrete real stuff, head elsewhere after you get about half way. I’m going to make a massive leap first of all and then…

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Asteroid Management and Mining

Nov 10, 2011

n this MP3 with Paul Dale on ABC Darwin radio we chat about the recent fly past of a large chunk of rock called Asteroid YU55, and what we might do as a species in managing a potential Asteroid impact. We also diverge into the concept of mining Asteroids for their mineral content as the…

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Futurist Marcus Barber discusses the Future of Sex (Part Two) on ABC Darwin with Vicki Kerrigan

Nov 10, 2011

The MP3 file below captures part two of our chat looking at the Future of Sex. Picking up on the theme of new technology that popped up towards the end of our first discussion in week one, here we move onto haptics and holographics and the extension of that technology from beyond the bedroom and…

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History as Future – TV Show Who’s Been Sleeping in My House?

Nov 8, 2011

Who’s Been Sleeping In My House? is a new Australian series presented by archaeologist Adam Ford that looks at the stories behind some of our old homes. Adam is the man behind the recent ‘Ned Kelly’ dig among other great archaeology finds here in Australia and the UK. As a futurist I’m always interested in…

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Professional Futurists running their Follow The Sun Futures Program

Oct 25, 2011

The Association of Professional Futures is holding its first Virtual Gathering, following the sun from Europe, across North America and finishing in the Australia pacific zone. It kicks off tomorrow and links to the program and registration (it’s only $45 for guests for a program featuring some of the worlds most prominent futurists)   You…

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Marcus Barber on ABC Darwin – the Future of Sex Part 2

Oct 24, 2011

I join Vicki Kerrigan on ABC Darwin radio where we continue our discussion about the future of sex. We consider three main areas in this session – smart phone applications; remote relationships and the combination of haptics and holographics as one the emerging means by which we’ll maintain physical contact.   You can download the…

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