Computer guru James Martin on Tuesday night gave a sobering two-hour speech on the state of the planet ? and what people can to to help save it.

Dr. Martin, a multi-millionaire author, spoke to an invited audience at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute hosted by the Minister of Tourism, Telecommunications and E-commerce, Renee Webb.

He addressed a packed hall where he took the audience through the many problems facing the planet, and finally offered some ways that new generations could help save the planet.

Dr. Martin was promoting his book, Crucible: The 21st Century, in which he takes a look at the way the world is ? and what will happen to us all.

"At some future time (perhaps far in the future) we'll build a much better world than the 20th century ? if humankind doesn't destroy itself," he writes. "The transition generation will see interesting new civilisations in some parts of the world, while other parts are trapped in poverty, mindless bureaucracy or extreme consumerism. In the age of the high-bandwidth global networks, multiple civilisations will overlap in the same place at the same time. Some societies will be fabulously wealthy while others will be in desperate poverty. In what ways will they coexist?"

Dr. Martin has written 101 textbooks, some of which were seminal works that changed perceptions in the Information Technology (IT) industry.

Two of his recent books were concerned with the evolution of new forms of corporations. Computerworld, in its 25th anniversary issue, ranked Dr. Martin fourth among the 25 individuals who have most influenced the world of computer science.written by Dr. Martin in 1977, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and contained remarkably accurate and timely descriptions of the use of computers and the Internet 25 years later.

Dr. Martin is well known for the accuracy of his predictions about high technology and its impact on modern society. In his book , published in 1987, there is a scenariothat depicts bombs used by Arab terrorists and a major terrorist attack on New York City in 1998.

Dr. Martin also has made several hundred educational videotapes. He developed the world's first educational course on videodisk ? followed by the first interactive educational laser disk. He was made a lifetime fellow of the ACPA for his contributions to DP education

He is sometimes referred to in the Press as the "Father of CASE" (Computer-Aided Systems Engineering). The original prototypes for the Texas Instruments and KnowledgeWare CASE tools were built in Dr. Martin's home under his direction. Dr. Martin originated the methodology "Information Engineering".