As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes in some countries, while spreading in others, vaccines are becoming available, although distribution is still problematic in many locations. Reports on COVID itself (see COVID-19 – What Experts Expect & Propose) have waned, but many reports on other global challenges continue to be issued, and many mention COVID as a concern, and often as a possible spur to action on other challenges, notably climate change and biodiversity. The sub-title of this review is somewhat exaggerated to make an important point. “The Whale” refers to the quadrennial Global Trends report of America’s National Intelligence Council, which was reviewed in The New York Times and also prompted a lengthy Times editorial. It even got a half-page review from The Washington Post reprinted in the local newspaper where I live in upstate New York. The NIC report is a powerful multi-disciplinary synthesis of structural forces, emerging dynamics, and regional forecasts (see below). But it is weak on environmental challenges, notably biodiversity.
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