Food, Energy Shortages Loom

Klare cites the recent uprising in Tunisia and extreme weather events as indications that we are entering a dangerous era.

"Get ready for a rocky year. From now on, rising prices, powerful storms, severe droughts and floods, and other unexpected events are likely to play havoc with the fabric of global society, producing chaos and political unrest. Start with a simple fact: the prices of basic food staples are already approaching or exceeding their 2008 peaks, that year when deadly riots erupted in dozens of countries around the world.

Put simply, global consumption patterns are now beginning to challenge the planet's natural resource limits [as] the severity and frequency of extreme weather events appear to be on the rise. "