This is a sequel to the first part.

I had this with me for almost two months now, but only publishing it now.

Again, this is not meant to be about apocalypse or the end of the world or shit like that.

These are just a few issues that I think will change the the way things work- across the globe- in times to come- and are going to have an impact on every individual across the globe.

In the first part I discussed:

Rise of the improbables: Non mainstream countries getting more aggressive and getting equipped with warheads enough for starting collateral damage (I was hoping someone would argue in favor or extend the discussion)

New Germs with more reach

The growing insensitivity and intolerance of common individuals and society

Here’s the next list:

I think the world is at a tipping point

Terrorist groups: Welcome to the jungle

They are an age old issue you might say. But here’s the difference: In no previous decades they had the power of the Internet, the power of mobility, and Worse- the power of acceptance. They are getting funded, have a complex network, access to educated recruits- and even acceptance amongst some sects.

The noise, glamour and perceived successes surrounding some- give rise to newer ones- motivated by money or fanned by socio-religious inequality/superiority complexes.

Needs sustained military, diplomatic and economic efforts to contain and reform.

The economic recession-Money for nothing

It has definitely been the worst financial disaster my generation has witnessed. Actually, in Asia it might be the worst economic disaster ever. We were too ‘secluded’ in the 30s to have witnessed the Great Depression in its severity, with many countries still under western colonial rule. In the later economic downturns the severity was restricted to sectors and mitigated due to less interdependence with western counterparts.

But This is it. Money has eroded, jobs have gone, lives have changed. And the world is never ever going to be the same again. We can just hope it was a bad pill to swallow and we all will be healthy soon. Amen.

Global Warming: The heat is on.

Now you don’t have to be Al Gore to realize that it is here and it is now. Apart from the increasing unpredictability and intensity of the normal everyday weather across the world, I got a taste of it visiting the glacier mouth of the Ganges river in India. Apparently it has receded about 10 km in less than a century. And more in the previous 25 years than the 75 years before that.

A latest study here from Nat Geo says the CO2 levels have been the highest in two million years!

It is happening fast and we are experiencing the impact within our lifetime. We have started actioning- lets hope it is not too little too late.

The world has changing and continues to change.

A simple example sometimes makes me think: when we were kids, we had not even heard words like H1N1, SAARS, Dengue, Chickenguniya, ponzi schemes, global warming etc etc. Or maybe it is due to the media explosion. God knows.

thumbnail courtsey: Flickr