Science is gradually changing life in Britain, but is it now too late?

A “LitterCam” that is watching you, a shape-changing smartphone, electronic scooters, all-electric cars and a store where you can pick up your food and walk straight out... this is the future which is becoming our present.

It is an exciting new world for many in Britain, especially younger people, but others are not so sure, including civil liberties campaigners.

Asked about the “just walk-out” food store developed by the American retail giant Amazon, a spokesperson for Big Brother Watch said, “It offers a dystopian, total-surveillance, shopping experience.”

Amazon’s first contactless store outside of the United States opened in Ealing, London, the precursor of many expected to appear in high streets across the UK.

This is how it works: The shopper downloads an app and enters their bank card details, then heads for the shelves; cameras and depth-censor technology identify every item taken; the customer walks out – there are no tills -- and is charged later via an Amazon app on their phone.

It’s not for everybody. “No, no, no, can’t be bothered,” said an elderly man when the system was explained to him. He then headed towards Sainsbury’s supermarket. But Philippa Dolphin, aged 71, enthused “It was like magic, so quick and easy.”

From easier shopping to cleaner streets... new software in CCTV cameras can now match footage of motorists throwing rubbish to their car’s number plate and issue an immediate fine of £90.

I am not sure about the benefits of a new phone by the Chinese maker Oppo, which can grow and shrink on demand, but a drive to get rid of the combustion engine is something I think the old man at the food store would go along with.

Major auto-makers are now falling over themselves to announce they are changing to electric vehicles in the face of government moves to ban the sale of new cars powered by petrol or diesel and the deadly emissions they produce.

Global warming is becoming ever more widely acknowledged here as a real threat to humanity’s future.

Television film of icebergs collapsing, floes melting, snows receding, coral reefs dying and wildlife desperately seeking new habitats has recruited popular support here for what Premier Boris Johnson has described as “a green industrial revolution”.

His government has announced that the UK will ban the sale of fossil-fuel cars from the year 2030. Ford of America and its rival, General Motors, the Swedish giant Volvo, and Jaguar Land Rover, the UK-based manufacturer owned by India’s Tata Motors, have all promised to go electric-only by 2030 at the latest.

Let’s just hope we are not too late.

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Supermarket products here will often bear the legend “one of your five a day.” For the uninitiated, this refers to the five portions of fruit and vegetables which are recommended for a healthy life.

The National Health Service has been backing this advice for two decades and some people are becoming immune to the message or confused as to exactly what is best to eat.

For the waverers, a new American study has concluded that the five-a-day discipline slashes the risk of dying young by 13 per cent, with two servings of fruit and three vegetables, the ideal combination.

Researchers from the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, tracked two million people around the world for 30 years.

They discovered that the best vegetables to counter deaths from such illnesses as heart disease, cancer, respiratory conditions and strokes were green, leafy plants like spinach, lettuce and kale.

Fruits recommended by the scientists were those rich in beta carotene and vitamin C, ideally oranges, grapefruit and berries. Carrots also come into this category.

Fruit juices and starchy vegetables such as corn, peas and potatoes were not found to reduce the risk of dying young.

As for how much to eat, lead author Dr Dong Wang defined a single serving as 80 grams (three ounces), equal to a small banana, a pear, or three tablespoons of spinach.

Bon appetit!