Every time global financial markets go into turmoil, most recently thanks to the US sub-prime mortgage fiasco, voices rise to demand global regulation.
The overall result has been to make entrance to professional geological journals harder for amateurs, a result that has been reinforced by the widespread introduction of refereeing.
As for rewriting nuclear rules, some governments will resist using the NPT conference to strengthen the badly weakened treaty on the ground that the nuclear powers have still not done enough.
There is, to date, only the flimsiest of publicly-funded health care and pension systems, which increases incentives for individuals to save while they are working.
We should increase input in agriculture, develop advanced technologies, curb market speculation, increase food assistance and intensify cooperation in food.