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1997-2100 sub trends and detours: the most agonizing century in modern history...

Mistakes in the 'third world' are a major source of dangerous pollution, radiation, and contagion over this period, usually having the greatest impact on the state making the error, but often affecting the rest of the world too. The developed states also have their own share of mishaps, but they are dwarfed by the global effects of errors in the lesser developed states during this period. The industrial waste products of the 'first world' also contribute substantially to the worsening environment.

These circumstances force much human activity indoors, underground, or otherwise protected from the 'natural' environment via low cost space-suit features designed into daily wear, and tighter environmental controls on buildings and vehicles, during the bulk of the 21st century. Totally enclosed Mall cities benefit enormously from this phenomenon. True 'outdoor resorts' are only safe in certain areas of the globe at the height of the danger, and even then only at certain times of the year. For decades it is not uncommon for people to hear something like air raid sirens or emergency radio broadcasts occasionally sounding off in their vicinity to alert of impending danger from radiation, nuclear fall out, toxic gases, or infectious wind-borne organisms.

The homes and buildings in the developed nations of the 2060s are much like stranded spacecraft, utilizing air locks at all entry ways, and most windows being permanently sealed shut. Powerful recycling systems are necessary to keep life support inside these structures at optimal levels.

Daily weather/environment news reports occasionally tell us we can venture outside without our light duty spacesuits, perhaps once every couple weeks or so.

Fortunately, the basics of this equipment required for living today are about as affordable as the basics needed in 1998 were. For example, a good set of disposeable coveralls (including 'footies' and gloves) and a transparent hood, along with a decent air filtering system, is the norm for basic 2060s protective clothing, and is available at reasonable cost to virtually everyone. Self-contained coverall kits may be obtained at vending machines found every block or so in many cities.

Yes, you CAN usually venture out for hours or days at a time WITHOUT such protection in the 2060s. It's just that you take a pretty substantial risk in doing so. A risk much worse than smoking a pack of cigarrettes a day in 1998. In the 2060s NOT wearing protection seems as risky as someone having regular unprotected sex with strangers in 1998-- so avoiding the wearing of space suits in the 2060s encourages many people to shun you (for good reason). Of course, in the earliest portions of the 21st century many people make do with rechargeable oxygen canisters/rebreathers they carry on their person for extended times outdoors.

Businesses for the most part LOVE the new toxic environment, as it's good for business pretty much across-the-board: the worse people's daily environment, the more gadgetry and services they have to buy to deal with it. So corporate lobbying of government tends towards keeping the environment dirty and poisonous. After some early ambivalence on the issue, many governments too come to realize a toxic environment not only increases a population's dependence on business products and services, but government as well-- and so at least some governments become effective co-conspirators in continued environmental degradation with many mega-corporations. One reason the governments go for this increasing dependency is the threat from the new virtual states. Old-line governments are being undermined and weakened as the new virtual states earn the allegiance of more and more citizens, by virtue of their greater cost-effectiveness, opportunities, freedom, and pace of innovation compared to the old world states. However, the virtual states of these early decades are largely impotent in many matters physical-- such as the global environment-- while old world entities are strong there (since they control the laws, regulations, industry, etc.). Therefore, by conspiring to maintain a bad (and even worsening) physical environment, old-line governments and business essentially maximize their leverage over their citizens and postpone their own demise that much longer. Or at least that's the wishful thinking among the elite of the period.When later historians examine this century and the decades that preceded it, they are amused by the fact that the general population imagined a multitude of conspiracies regarding assassinations and extraterrestrial contact, etc., while mostly ignoring the true conspiracies which would most impact their own lives and those of their posterity. ADDITIONAL NOTE: An important topic among economists nowadays is how humanity might better deal with positive feedback loops which have adverse consequences for the human race, such as that currently existing in regards to global business and an ever worsening environment (where each is apparently being fed by the other). Many corporations are now too powerful for geopolitical governments to exert much effective control over them; only popular consumer and worker boycotts and strikes, and unanticipated innovations which completely blindside large companies in the market, seem to have significant effects today. Several respected economists express fears for where the trends might ultimately take us. END NOTE.

Many make heavy use of virtual reality throughout this period as the ultimate refuge-- but even VR is not entirely safe or stress-free during big chunks of the 21st century...as well publicized accidents and excesses related to the technology make plain to everyone.

Note that the increasingly toxic outdoors environment means much wildlife is going extinct and even mankind's domesticated plant and animal species are being severely culled in terms of their diversity. Humanity is being forced to shelter many of both in vast underground or otherwise enclosed complexes, to preserve them against the dangers on the Earth's exposed surface. Enormous air-tight tensile structures dot the landscape in many locations for such purposes. Those species remaining out-of-doors often must be periodically genetically re-engineered to withstand the worsening conditions, as well as undergo much more intensive processing than required in earlier times to make them suitable as food.

The vast automated complexes now producing much of humanity's food would likely be considered hellish and cruel environments by 20th century observers. The most advanced facilities begin growing mostly headless and legless lumps of meats bathed in special fluids, genetically engineered originally from animals like cattle and pigs and others. But many food production complexes still process traditional types of living animals too, usually in ways 20th century animal activists would abhor. But rarely do human beings ever visit or see such places. And what outcry is made can make little headway against the demands of a hungry world.

Needless to say, decent food has become considerably more expensive than it used to be. At times there are sufficient food shortages to cause concern even in the developed nations. The times of shortage often stem from one of two causes: One, the great reduction in domesticated species diversity which took place in the late 20th/early 21st centuries, which made food production much more vulnerable to the climate changes brought about by largely unmitigated industrial and other pollutants. And two, the excesses mega corporations were allowed by world governments to pursue with intellectual property claims during the same decades. Previously open and public research and development of seed stocks were privatized, and overly broad and often outrageous patent claims served to reduce innovation to a standstill via decades of court proceedings, while also raising prices worldwide. Other mistakes were also made, all mostly in the name of higher profits for corporations, at the expense of practically all other considerations.

Poorer nations face mass starvation on an unprecedented scale, during the worst crises-- with the developed nations offering little more than token assistance, unlike the massive aid campaigns of the late 20th century.

Even in the developed nations many people are forced by budgets to make do with very unappealing types of food over lengthy periods. During many spans of the 21st century only the relatively wealthy can afford a constant diet of both delicious and nutritious food. Many others more often make due with a modern enriched version of gruel (if they are lucky).

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