Russia going crazy. After that soft revolution in Ukraine where USA managed to put in "their" president, Vladimir started his biggest gamble so far (astrologists say that era of Putin is ending, probably that is what he knows too and acts to toss the deck of cards again...) - re-ignite desire of Russian speakers to be part of big Empire. USSR at least. And while economy wise it does not make much sense with interdependence of gloabal economies (gas supplies and incomes from it, price of oil, financing cost etc), one shall not "understand soul of Russian", especially one who feels abused by NATO friends getting closer and closer to borders of Russia.
Cyber-war. StuxNet virus that was created by Americans to infect Iran nuclear agency computers was very powerful indeed. World is now viral, with economics depending on abilities to communicate as never before. Think of stock exchanges, internet sales, automated/programmed production of goods etc. Think of power-grid being paralized by some virus for few hours or days. This is area where a lot of activity goes on undercover. In USA you can make money on it too, investing in companies that get contracts in this area.
If you do not care about global threats, think of latest SSL virus attack, that was enabling hackers to steal your banking personal data, including PIN codes etc... Po
Financial apocalypsis. I am still very pessimistic about "printing" economy out of problems long term. The only solution is QE infinitive, with Americans and Germans (European wallet) printing their currencies like there is no tommorrow. One day that buble of public debt (double, tripple of total output of economies) will burst. Hyper-inflation or total collapse of monetary system then is within reach.
“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink”
The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner seems extreme, but water scarcity is a reality in many parts of the world. It will become an increasing challenge for many more people in the next decades. Only 2.5% of all the water on Earth is fresh water, and most of the world’s remaining fresh water lies too deep underground to be accessible. In fact, only 1% of the Earth’s fresh water is available for withdrawal and human use. Water is a crucial resource for all aspects of life (do you agree?), but fresh, accessible water is a scarce and unevenly distributed resource, which does not correspond well with patterns of human development. Due to demographic, economic and social changes global freshwater consumption rose at twice the rate of population growth in the 20th century and water consumption is projected to increase by 85% from 2010 to 2035.
Troubling water facts from Water.org,The World Bank and Huffington Post:
- More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Nearly all deaths, 99 percent, occur in the developing world.
- More people have a mobile phone than a toilet.
- 2.8 billion people live in areas of high water stress.
- About 95 percent of the water entering our homes goes down the drain.
- Running the tap while brushing your teeth can waste 4 gallons of water.
Drought and flood impacts: Drought and flooding (more frequent as a result of global warming) are both extremely devastating but where drought is often a slow and creeping natural disaster, flooding is often rapid and devastating. The direct and indirect impacts can be enormous, environmentally, economically and socially, including reduced viability of crops, forest; lost business opportunities; reduced income for farmers, agribusiness; increased unemployment, crime and insecurity and migration. Drought and flooding has become more intense and frequent worldwide: It will probably get worse this century.
I hope this list is enough for you to "not take yourself too seriously" and enjoy the moment! But if it is not enough, and you want to have more things to worry about, let me know, I have few more...