Events

The interaction of the three main decadal solar cycles suggests an upcoming reduction in solar activity, with a low-energy period centered on 2020. As suggested by John Maddox of Nature, this might mitigate the global warming trend (at least temporarily) in the 2010s and 2020s.

French demographist Emmanuel Todd predicts the level of literacy amongst the world population to reach near 100% by 2030.

According to a 2008 report released by the National Intelligence Council, the United States will experience the relative decline of its economic and military power, driven both by the rise of new behemoths such as China, India, and the EU and by domestic constraints on its global leadership.