2010s

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

The 2010s decade comprises the years from 2010 to 2019, inclusive. Informally, it may also include a few years at the end of the preceding decade or the beginning of the following decade.

This decade is expected to be called the tens or the twenty-tens, possibly the twenty-teens. It may be called the "two-thousand-tens" or "two-thousand-teens", similar to how the previous decade is sometimes referred to as the "two thousands". "Tweenz" is a rare, but occasionally used, word to refer to the decade, a merge between the words "twenty" and "teen".

Trends

• The baby boomer generation (which "officially" includes babies born after the end of World War II in 1945) reaches the age of retirement in North America and Europe. A rapid expansion of the number of retired persons due to the aging Baby Boomers is expected to have a drastic effect on the economies of these countries. For example, in the USA, Social Security and Medicare may be under strain. This expected surge in the distribution of retirement benefits has been dubbed the pension bomb.
• Those people born in the 1960s and 1970s will most likely be in positions of power (the so-called Generation X in the United States).
• It is likely that by the end of the decade, there will be under a handful, if any, surviving veterans from World War I. Equally, it is likely that the last people born in the Nineteenth Century will die during this decade.
• Global population is likely to reach around 7.5 billion by the end of the decade, representing a significant slowdown in growth.^[1]

Science

• Both the International Linear Collider and ITER may be completed during the latter half of the decade.
• Climate Change is likely to continue, with global temperatures steadily rising. It is not predicted, however, that temperatures will increase by more than 1 degree celsius before 2020.^[2] Although no serious disruption is predicted, some affects of warmer global temperatures will be noticeable^[3] In 2012, the Kyoto Agreement in its current form will end. Whatever measures come out of attempts to extend, revamp or replace the agreement will likely decide how the problem is tackled on a global scale

Technology

• Around this time, the Hubbert peak of global oil production predicts widespread disruptions to conventional energy supplies of oil and natural gas. Some academic and business research into hydrocarbon deposits has concluded that the continued usage of this form of energy source will inevitably create widespread reductions in its supply during the 2010s, resulting in a sudden need to switch to alternative energy sources such as nuclear energy and "green" sources such as solar and wind power. Similar predictions about the "end of the age of oil" have been made almost since oil first became a major commodity, and so far no such predictions have borne out. However, Marion Hubbert's 1954 prediction that U.S. oil production would peak in 1970 proved to be accurate, so it is possible that the prediction of the same methodology applied to world oil production may be equally accurate. See also future energy development.

• In the year 2012, conventional CPUs are expected to reach their maximum computing potential, according to Moore's Law. Moore's Law states that roughly every 18 months the computing power of processing units will double. Reaching the maximum potential would have devastating consequences on the technological industry, and possibly the global economy. It is hoped that this could open up the door for true quantum computing development, though this is likely to be advantageous only to certain programming routines.

• It is likely that many new technological developments that occur during the 2010s will results from the concerns of latter half of the 2000s with climate change.

Sporting events

• Expo 2010 to be held in Shanghai, China
• 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa
• 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi, India
• 2010 Winter Olympics to be held in Vancouver, BC, Canada
• 2011 Rugby World Cup to be held in New Zealand
• 2011 IFAF World Cup scheduled, location TBA
• 2012 Summer Olympics to be held in London
• 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held in South America
• 2014 Winter Olympics scheduled, location TBA
• 2014 Commonwealth Games scheduled, location TBA
• 2015 Rugby World Cup scheduled, location TBA
• 2016 Summer Olympics scheduled, location TBA
• 2018 FIFA World Cup scheduled, location TBA
• 2018 Winter Olympics scheduled, location TBA

Predicted events

• 2020 is the deadline for the Vision for Space Exploration to put men back on the Moon

Fictional references

• The Arthur C. Clarke novel 2010: Odyssey Two and its film adaptation 2010: The Year We Make Contact are set in 2010.
• The events of Capcom's Mega Man Classic series that give a date of 20XX take place during this decade. These games are Mega Man 3 through Rockman & Forte and the spinoffs (such as Superadventure Rockman). Mega Man 3 is the first game to shift from 200X to 20XX (thus it takes place circa 2010) and the other games span until roughly the year 2017).
• The film A Scanner Darkly takes place in 2013.
• The anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion takes place in 2015 and 2016.
• The Nintendo DS game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, takes place around 2016.
• The Nintendo DS game, Trauma Center: Under the Knife, takes place in 2018.
• The TV series Dark Angel takes place in 2019.
• The film "Blade Runner" takes place in 2019.
• The Command & Conquer: Generals series takes place in the 2010s.
• October 21, 2015 4:29 PM - Date and time when Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel 30 years into the future, in the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II. This film depicted the advent of flying cars, self-fitting clothes and the Mattel hover board.
• The video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots takes place in 2015.
• Philip K. Dick mentions the death of God in passing in his 1970 novel Our Friends from Frolix 8.

"God is dead," Nick said. "They found his carcass in 2019. Floating out in space near Alpha."

References

1. ^ United Nations, based on 2004 figures
2. ^ Report of the NIC
3. ^ By 202, kiss the snows Kilimanjaro goodbye CNET News.com