I think that mankind will spend the rest of time here on earth, continually struggling with cultural differences. With the inevitable exhaustion of oil energy reserves, we will turn to biomass cultivation as a feedstock for synthetic ethanol fuels. There is limited land area for such activities, so we will turn to the oceans instead using mechanized aquaculture, water plant cultivation.

Floating rafts will be used to grow substantial quantities of salt water plants such as cord grass (Spartina Alterniflora). The exact plant species chosen needs to be at least 40 percent cellulose and 20 percent hemicellulose. The rafts will be huge in area, perhaps several acres each, and constructed of a minimum of materials. The metal structure will always be submerged to minimize corrosion to less than 0.001 inch per year, and can sink deeper to escape waves and stormy weather. If you can imagine how a kite is constructed, you may see how such floating rafts may be feasible. The rafts may use a rigid perimeter of low-carbon steel rod (5/8" dia), bowed into a semi-circular shape with thin transverse tension wires to maintain the shape. The transverse wires would also support a large expanse of canvas material, and on top of that a sponge material that can hold plant roots, and more tension wires on top to hold the growth membrane in place. On this growth membrane can be grown plant species such as cord grass which can yield up to 10 tonnes of biomass per acre. To be economically viable at least 750,000 tonnes of biomass has to be grown at a cost of less than $35/tonne. That means 75,000 - 150,000 acres of floating wire rafts need to be constructed. This will initially produce 225 million liters of ethanol annually at competitive market prices and can expand production thereafter. I predict that genetic engineering will become a booming business, permeating every industry, not just agriculture as it is today. It will be a primary energy-related industry aimed at increasing raft yields, developing new water plants that grow better in high-salinity submerged environments, plants with high cellulose and hemicellulose content and possessing their own floatation air-sacs, plants with less dependence on soil and using minimal holdfasts instead. IMO Benthic energy is the future.

With such advanced proliferation of genomics we may also start to use it on ourselves. We might use it for cosmetic reasons initially, to improve skin tone, dental condition, or eliminate hair loss. We may also use it to improve our physical condition, adopt night vision to eliminate the need for artificial lighting, and thereby conserve more energy. It is also conceivable that we may evolve into a new species by "intelligent selection". Psychological factors thereafter may be unpredictable, or by some luck we may figure out how to maintain our humanity in spite of evolution. Who knows.