Last week, inspired by the Neil Armstrong’s 1969 trip to the moon, GOOD and CNN iReport put out a challenge: Tell us what the next big, bordering-on-crazy idea for humanity should be. And we asked for answers in the form of illustrations. Click through the slideshow and see what the community came up with.
Idea: Deep-sea exploration
Summary: “Why not send a few astronauts in the other direction and explore the bottom of the sea? … The deep sea is largely unexplored and just as inhospitable as deep space.”
By Bob Lynch
Idea: The No-Seat Bicycle
Summary: “Been riding a new bike a lot, and I guess I need a more comfortable seat... or a head harness! … I definitely think it would be fun to try to ride a bike like this, but I guess my basic idea is that we should all be having more fun and try to solve our problems creatively.”
By Bobby Breidholt
Idea: World peace
Summary: “Growing up in a time of war and destruction makes the next generation hope for love and peace.”
By Andrea Duong
Idea: Controlling the force of gravity
Summary: “Massive amounts of energy are applied to counter the force of gravity in daily life. To easily lift and move heavy objects anywhere on earth would allow all societies the tool to build, transport and maintain structures and goods worldwide.”
By Jim Bertram
Idea: “Aim for Peace”
Summary: “My inspiration for the drawing was the knowledge of the amount of money put into defense, maybe all of the money used on ammunition for war could be spent on creating a more kind and peaceful world.”
By Jack Kirtley
Idea: Utopian village in space
Summary: “When mankind would venture out in space, I envision a new kind of humanity. It would be a new Planet Community where we could live in Peace and with tolerance for each other, with no hatred in our hearts, with no pollution, with free education and healthcare for everyone: that would be truly a giant leap for Mankind!”
By Jutka T. Emoke Barabas
Idea: Space exploration
Summary: “In terms of achievement, a human taking a walk on the moon and the construction of the international space station stand as amazing monuments to what we have accomplished as a species. Continuing this theme on space, I believe that the close study of planets beyond our own solar system, whether through direct human contact or an advanced satellite, would be spectacular. Above is an environment I created (using a drawing tablet) illustrating some planets just waiting to be discovered.”
By Kyle Gernhart
Idea: Body Regeneration
Summary: “I believe that the day will come when we will be able to prescribe drugs that cause severed spinal cords to heal, organs to regenerate and lost digits and limbs to regrow. … People will come to expect that injured or diseased organs are meant to be repaired from within or grown outside the body and replaced in much the same way that we fix and replace damaged parts in appliances and cars.”
By Lulis Leal
Idea: “Photosynthetic Solar Membranes”
Summary: “The idea would be to do further research into how plants are able to convert the sun's light into useful energy via the photosynthesis process … Further Research into this area would allow us to discover how we could apply this more efficient way of converting the Sun's energy into electrical power and use it the creation of "organic" membranes that could used as roof material, organic paints, etc. These new "organically" based materials would have much higher efficiencies than existing solar panels, which at best have an efficiency of 30% of sunlight conversion to electrical energy. This would be the cleanest form of energy we could ever produce and it would be in harmony with the planet.”
By Luis Molina
Idea: Mars or bust!
Summary: “We need to set our sights on sending humans to Mars! … Setting Mars as our next step into space would spur all kinds of new technologies. First would be the development of more efficient space vehicles and ground to orbit systems to ferry construction into space to build the ship that would be required. This would also spur safer and easier space based habitation systems. By the time we got to Mars we'd have built systems to make it easier to live in orbit. Then there's all the medical and energy and other support systems that would be developed to help that would have benefits here on earth.”
By Kevin Palivec
Idea: “Love All Around”
Summary: “Cows are a placid and friendly animal. Humans should be loving one another, a world without hate would be wonderful but sadly it is unimaginable in this day. However, if everyone were to smile a bit more and be more caring the world would be a friendlier place to live in.”
By Genevieve Clarke
Idea: Deep-Sea exploration
Summary: “We know the moon better than the deepest parts of our oceans, which are the least explored areas on Earth. The oceans have always been considered unfriendly to human kind. Nevertheless the oceans are very important because they are closely linked to the atmosphere.”
By Markku Rainer Peltonen
Idea: Convert human waste to energy
Summary: “I propose an invention that takes human waste, and through highly technical treatment, extracts fuel, gas and usable solids from it. The device would replace waste treatment sewage plants, and turn them into power plants. All of our poop would go into a system which would produce the essentials for society like electricity, fuel, and plastics.”
Robert Hanson
Idea: “Noah’s Ark v2.0”
Summary: “If we can't find a way to stop, urgently, the forces at work that are endangering countless precious species, can we find a way to suspend and recover them in the near future? Perhaps we can start a formal campaign to round up near-extinct creatures of all sorts and use technology to 'preserve' them for salvation some years from now. Noah's Ark v2.0 is an idea to collect DNA today for cloning future populations and returning those on the brink to ample numbers.”
By Ralph Lucci
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How I kicked a late-30s slump through meditation. And you can, too. “Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” — Lao Tzu
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| Submissions: The Next Giant Leap for Mankind by Tom Carbone |
Last week, inspired by the Neil Armstrong’s 1969 trip to the moon, GOOD and CNN iReport put out a challenge: Tell us what the next big, bordering-on-crazy idea for humanity should be. And we asked for answers in the form of illustrations. Click through the slideshow and see what the community came up with.
Idea: Deep-sea exploration
Summary: “Why not send a few astronauts in the other direction and explore the bottom of the sea? … The deep sea is largely unexplored and just as inhospitable as deep space.”
By Bob Lynch
Idea: The No-Seat Bicycle
Summary: “Been riding a new bike a lot, and I guess I need a more comfortable seat... or a head harness! … I definitely think it would be fun to try to ride a bike like this, but I guess my basic idea is that we should all be having more fun and try to solve our problems creatively.”
By Bobby Breidholt
Idea: World peace
Summary: “Growing up in a time of war and destruction makes the next generation hope for love and peace.”
By Andrea Duong
Idea: Controlling the force of gravity
Summary: “Massive amounts of energy are applied to counter the force of gravity in daily life. To easily lift and move heavy objects anywhere on earth would allow all societies the tool to build, transport and maintain structures and goods worldwide.”
By Jim Bertram
Idea: “Aim for Peace”
Summary: “My inspiration for the drawing was the knowledge of the amount of money put into defense, maybe all of the money used on ammunition for war could be spent on creating a more kind and peaceful world.”
By Jack Kirtley
Idea: Utopian village in space
Summary: “When mankind would venture out in space, I envision a new kind of humanity. It would be a new Planet Community where we could live in Peace and with tolerance for each other, with no hatred in our hearts, with no pollution, with free education and healthcare for everyone: that would be truly a giant leap for Mankind!”
By Jutka T. Emoke Barabas
Idea: Space exploration
Summary: “In terms of achievement, a human taking a walk on the moon and the construction of the international space station stand as amazing monuments to what we have accomplished as a species. Continuing this theme on space, I believe that the close study of planets beyond our own solar system, whether through direct human contact or an advanced satellite, would be spectacular. Above is an environment I created (using a drawing tablet) illustrating some planets just waiting to be discovered.”
By Kyle Gernhart
Idea: Body Regeneration
Summary: “I believe that the day will come when we will be able to prescribe drugs that cause severed spinal cords to heal, organs to regenerate and lost digits and limbs to regrow. … People will come to expect that injured or diseased organs are meant to be repaired from within or grown outside the body and replaced in much the same way that we fix and replace damaged parts in appliances and cars.”
By Lulis Leal
Idea: “Photosynthetic Solar Membranes”
Summary: “The idea would be to do further research into how plants are able to convert the sun's light into useful energy via the photosynthesis process … Further Research into this area would allow us to discover how we could apply this more efficient way of converting the Sun's energy into electrical power and use it the creation of "organic" membranes that could used as roof material, organic paints, etc. These new "organically" based materials would have much higher efficiencies than existing solar panels, which at best have an efficiency of 30% of sunlight conversion to electrical energy. This would be the cleanest form of energy we could ever produce and it would be in harmony with the planet.”
By Luis Molina
Idea: Mars or bust!
Summary: “We need to set our sights on sending humans to Mars! … Setting Mars as our next step into space would spur all kinds of new technologies. First would be the development of more efficient space vehicles and ground to orbit systems to ferry construction into space to build the ship that would be required. This would also spur safer and easier space based habitation systems. By the time we got to Mars we'd have built systems to make it easier to live in orbit. Then there's all the medical and energy and other support systems that would be developed to help that would have benefits here on earth.”
By Kevin Palivec
Idea: “Love All Around”
Summary: “Cows are a placid and friendly animal. Humans should be loving one another, a world without hate would be wonderful but sadly it is unimaginable in this day. However, if everyone were to smile a bit more and be more caring the world would be a friendlier place to live in.”
By Genevieve Clarke
Idea: Deep-Sea exploration
Summary: “We know the moon better than the deepest parts of our oceans, which are the least explored areas on Earth. The oceans have always been considered unfriendly to human kind. Nevertheless the oceans are very important because they are closely linked to the atmosphere.”
By Markku Rainer Peltonen
Idea: Convert human waste to energy
Summary: “I propose an invention that takes human waste, and through highly technical treatment, extracts fuel, gas and usable solids from it. The device would replace waste treatment sewage plants, and turn them into power plants. All of our poop would go into a system which would produce the essentials for society like electricity, fuel, and plastics.”
Robert Hanson
Idea: “Noah’s Ark v2.0”
Summary: “If we can't find a way to stop, urgently, the forces at work that are endangering countless precious species, can we find a way to suspend and recover them in the near future? Perhaps we can start a formal campaign to round up near-extinct creatures of all sorts and use technology to 'preserve' them for salvation some years from now. Noah's Ark v2.0 is an idea to collect DNA today for cloning future populations and returning those on the brink to ample numbers.”
By Ralph Lucci
