ABSTRACT
The millennium will be a benchmark and will occasion much in the way of reflection on the state of the world—not as it has been but as we would like it to be. To some extent the process has already begun, as many political leaders have started to champion a set of issues they suspect will be key to attaining national and international positions of power in the elections and world of the mid-to late 1990s. By circa 2000, the world will be characterized by three central facts: first, there will be more people and robots on earth than ever before. Second, there will be less arable land and fresh water per person than at any time since these vital natural resources have been systematically measured. Finally, the surface of the planet will be warmer due to the accumulation of greenhouse gasses in the troposphere.
