"Over a decade ago I warned of water wars, and that water would become a national security issue. We have seen this recently in Syria and Iraq. Rivers, canals, dams, water treatment plants and pipelines have all become military targets. Entire cities in desert areas can easily be placed under siege if their water is cut off."

Micro-particles are now found in just about every marine creature, as well as in millions of people. Expect thousands of new regulations over the next decade globally, to force rapid action on this problem. Part of this will involve a big rethink about polyester clothing – a single clothes wash can release 700,000 microplastic fibres. Read Future of Almost Everything book extract...

One in three people in the UK only use phone calls to speak to their parents.  They are most likely to send texts to partners and WhatsApp messages to friends.  Most people find social media more convenient than talking on the phone, yet most companies are lagging far behind in how they communicate to customers and their teams.