Professor Callum Thomas, Chair of Sustainable Aviation, Centre for Air Transport and the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University puts forward this provocation on tackling climate change:

The air transport industry has over the past 50 years driven patterns of trade and migration and in so doing helped create the Global economy and multicultural society.

The twin issues on climate change and peak oil are a threat to the future growth and development of aviation and the role it will play in the second half of the 20th Century as at present there is no alternative to carbon based fuels for air transport.

So will we get a step change in technology to carbon free flight or will we take our holidays in Blackpool rather than Benidorm?

What are your thoughts?  Please share them in the comments below.

Image credit: Weayaya

Prof. Jon Whittle, Chair of Software Engineering, Lancaster University offers this provocation on the Digital Economy:

Twitter, Bebo, Facebook, mash-ups, web 3.0, delicious…. where does it all end? Are all these new technologies really improving our lives? Or are they just a drain on our time and resources, keeping us away from the things that really matter….?

The time is ripe for developments in technology to change society for the better.  There are unprecedented opportunities to solve some of society’s most complex challenges through the appropriate use of technology. But we must be careful to focus on substance not fads.

Unless we understand the impact of technologies on society, we may never fully realise their potential.

Wise words indeed.  How can we start understanding the impact of technologies like Facebook on society?  Where does one start?

Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Image Credit: ICTKM

Welcome to Comixed: A Networked Conversation on Climate Change / The Digital Economy / Ageing / Food Security / Nano technology Synthetic Biology.

It kicks off on Wednesday 28th October at the Zion Arts Centre, Manchester.

Keep an eye on this blog for a series of interesting provocations and a live blog of the event.

Image credit: Wunderman.com