Well, C, I think I can go along with that prediction. Nothing is set in stone, and I believe we are at a juncture. Actually I think the defining factor is, or has been for some time, nuclear technology. Science has given us access to limitless power to create (nuclear power) or destroy (nuclear weapons). So the choice is ours whether to really choose the creative path.
The moment when we first split the atom was a decisive one. I believe instructions on how to do so came from extraterrestrial sources- but no matter how, a new vision of our world was set in motion. We already have near-divine powers. This understanding of the microscopic extends also to our understanding of DNA and the very, very, recent mapping of the human genome- an international effort. We are getting closer to the core of what life and the universe actually are- pure energy.
I just read that James Lovelock, who discovered global warming and the Gaia theory, has become a proponent of nuclear power as the only 'sensible' answer to the energy crisis. In fact, he says we should have started to use it more already, as our ever-growing energy needs make using fossil fuels a wasteful and messy option. This is kind of an unpopular point of view with many environmentalists, but if nuclear power can be used safely it would really help. If it wasn't used now the world could hardly continue to function, and it's use is growing steadily (already at about 17% of electricity is from a nuclear source). Some of the newer, advanced-gas, reactors even release hydrogen as a by-product, which could be used in fuel-cells for cars. I am starting to think that this will be a very major part of future energy-use and (providing it is safe) it is amazingly efficient
Also, if handled professionally, it is already very safe. On doing a bit of online research here.
I can see that it is, in fact, amazingly safe- the only major accident being Chernobyl, which used a very old type of reactor which lacked containment for radiation leakage, and took place because the safety systems override was turned off, to do an experiment! If the accident had happened in a modern, western nuclear plant, the radiation simply wouldn't have leaked out. The Three Mile Island accident, for instance, involved no significant radiation leak, just a little gas. I'd say it is something like the comparison of airplanes to cars- thousands of cars accidents take place every day (though I wish they didn't) yet when an airplane does it is so rare and dramatic that you get to hear about it. Newer technology seems to generally be better than the old, on many levels, and makes automated safety much easier to arrange.
For the moment though, the image of nuclear power makes it seem scary to people. I haven't seen a single politician mention increasing it as a proposal- yet, nevertheless, it's use is quietly increasing. Is this the public's superstition towards anything new? Should a nuclear-aware society remain transfixed by fossil fuels, more suitable for a pre-nuclear one's energy needs? It may be that impeding the path of progress is causing more harm than going with the flow. I wouldn't be surprised if GM foods have similar benefits and low actual, factual, risks.
Look at this, too-
As for pulling together because of contact with advanced civilisations, that is kind of another catch 22. They could be waiting for this as a sign of cosmic maturity of beings evolving ‘in the womb' of a planet. Whilst we wait for someone who has achieved this and more to appear before us, before we can believe it is possible. I strongly believe we are being monitored. But, yes, also that we are not yet quite ready for full contact, and only for small glimpses from year to year.
* The terrible myth of our time is that we actually need the fossil fuels that are so prevalent in predominantly Muslim-inhabited lands. Yet, if we could use more advanced forms of energy more, we would be practically self-sufficient. As I understand it, large quantities of uranium exist in Canada and Australia, hardly places we are in conflict with. The Muslim countries could use the 'black gold', which is better suited to their type of societies anyway, which have much lower needs for fuel. We could 'live and let live'. Everyone already has everything they need. Life would be a lot simpler. *
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