[cdn-nucl-l] Thw World - 2015

[Jim Muckerheide <jmuckerheide@delphi.com>]

POPULATION, ENVIRONMENT AMONG IMPORTANT FUTURE TRENDS

WASHINGTON, DC, December 22, 2000 (ENS) - Demographics, natural resources,
science and technology are among the issues that will shape the future, says a
forecast released December 18 by the National Intelligence Council. The report
was  compiled by experts in a variety of fields, working under the auspices of
the National Intelligence Council. "Global Trends 2015: A Dialogue About the
Future with Non-government Experts" identifies what it calls drivers and
trends that will influence the future. Among the key drivers identified by the
analysis are: 

>Demographics: A population increase of almost 1,000 million people by 2015 will have different effects in different countries. The report predicts increased populations bringing the potential for greater stability in some places, greater instability in others.  

>Natural Resources and Environment: Food supplies will be adequate, but distribution problems will leave some nations with famine. Water scarcity will be a growing problem in some regions.  

>Science and Technology: More "quantum leaps in information technology" will further contribute to "the most significant global transformation since the Industrial Revolution beginning in the mid-eighteenth century," the report says.  
The Global Economy and Globalization: A "rocky" evolution and "chronic
financial volatility" will mark the expansion of the globalized economy. But
the analysts forecast that globalization will lead to increased political
stability.

The full report is available at:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/globaltrends2015/index.html#link2