THREAT What have been identified as the most dangerous threats to the human future. What can, or can't, be done to avoid or inhibit these? Climate change - sustaining the ozone layer, rising sea levels, international consensus Disasters - predictability, control, organizing relief Health - disease, viral threats and mobility, improving standards of food production Television - pervasiveness, control, mind control Advertising - pervasiveness, manipulation of personal choice, limitations Terror - minority pressure, identifying opportunities, manipulation of the media Corruption - loopholes, misspent aid, political power and its misuse Debt - the credit revolution, legacy, Trafficking -black economy, smuggling of people, drugs, goods SHELTER The need for shelter and security is one of humanity's a principal motivating forces, and extends from basic housing to securing the planet's future Resources - imbalances, access, distribution, cartels Megacities - as magnets for migration, explosion of, control of, slums Sex and society -social shelter, family, marriage, divorce, non-nuclear families, pornography Religion - moral shelter, responsibilities, ethical involvement and dogma The built environment - housing requirements, physical shelter, new building technologies oiwning/renting The Internet - virtual reality, gaming, blogging, escape, shelter for identities Refugees - seeking shelter, seeking resources, seeking work, seeking security Money - dependency on, laundering, currency market as investment shelter, pensions Fair trade - protecting producers, consumer spending and conscience COMPROMISE Negotiated agreements by their very nature imply trade-offs, which can often be expensive or regretted at a later stage. Language - the dominance of English, neologisms, disappearing language, protection Ageing --- growth of ageing population, the cost, medical priorities News - editorial compromise, CNN, Sky in China, al-Qaezera Money and Sport - amateur/pro, sponsorship v fans, sustainability of budgets and salaries Communications - mobile phones, privacy v connectedness, freedom of the Internet Surveillance - what price security? cctv, data storage, identity theft, loyalty cards The new technologies --- genetic modification of crops and humans, nanotechnology Voting - defining democracy, imposing democracy Freedom of the Press - pollitical control by govrernmentsc and proprietors, invasion of privacy Globalisation - freedom of trade and labour, erosion of local economies and culture Labour -employment/unemployment, minimum wages, trade unions BALANCE One of the outstanding concerns of modern global society is the abolishment of unjust imbalances, and the maintenance of equilibrium when confronted by actual or predicted change. Biodiversity - sustainability, international rsponsibilities Water - scarcity, access, sharing resources Population - birth and demographic control, social engineering and eugenics Food - diet, carbon footprints on you plate, malnutrition, obesity Drugs - cost of legitimate pharmaceuticals, social drugs, economy of drug trade Art Government - interpreting the social contract, regime change Arms - economy and legitimacy of the arms trade, choosing your customers Tourism - right to leisure, erosion of fragile local cultures and economies, cheap flights Wealth - poverty, wealth and social imbalance, taxation OPPORTUNITY This section features topics which both present opportunities for positive change, or which are changing at such a rate that the technological potentials are outstripping contemporary culture. It also evaluates opportunistic areas, often endemic to our culture, and how these can be controlled. Travel - modes, mass transit, commuting, tourism Literacy and Education - universal literacy, modes of education, educational resources Race --- the multicultural society, racism, ge