Al Gore: five global crises

from The Assault on Reason

P. 163

..."First and foremost, our security is threatened by the global environmental crisis, which could render all our other progress meaningless...

Second, there is a looming water crisis that reflects both the sharp growth in the demand for freshwater, global warming's disruption of the natural storage system of mountain snow pack and glaciers, and a decline in water quality owing to the effects of pollution and inadequate water treatment.

Third, we must conquer the global challenge presented by terrorism, magnified by a growing access to new weapons of mass destruction.

Fourth, the global challenge of defeating drugs and corruption, which now spill across our borders, has never been more serious, given the growing strength and sophistication of international crime organizations.

Fifth, new pandemics like HIV/AIDS are laying waste to whole societies, a problem confounded by the emergence of new strains of old diseases that are horrifyingly resistant to the antibiotics that protected the last three generations.