I do think that China, India, and probably Brazil will become very important global powers.

However, I also thnk there is another thing which is especially important; the rise of smaller developed nations in other parts of the world. Areas that were once considered backward or "third world" will become important global economies.

Chief among these I think is Iran, which is already poised to become a regional superpower. Iran's industrial output is increasing by leaps and bounds, it has an educated middle class, and a stable psuedo-democracy. I predict that within 10-20 years Iran will be a leading world power, competing in the global economic market, and a military giant as well.

As far as Africa goes, I still have a very gloomy outlook here; Africa has so many deep problems that it may take centuries for dramatic improvement. However, there are certain pockets of hope; some nations have had democratic elections, and there is some development in industry and foriegn business investment. Some parts of Africa may become important low-cost manufacturing regions, in the way parts of Asia are now.

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Climate will continue to warm up in the near term, which will cause some problems but may also have benefits, such as longer growing seasons, better shipping routes, etc.

Traditional oil reserves will all peak by 2015, and will begin to run out at an accelerated pace due to massive world demand, bolstered by a rising developing world.

New energy technologies like fuel cells, solar, ethanol, etc will be widespread and economical by 2015.

Flying "cars" will become available for the general market in areas like Europe, Japan, and the US sometimes around 2020. They will be noramly be controlled not b the driver but by an integrated navigation computer and a global traffic control system.