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DRIVER-SCARCITY The Industrial Revolutions improved living standards for people in most nations where technology proliferated.[1] Populations in modern societies are not overly concerned with accessing food or water on a daily basis. In particular, the availability of clean, freshwater is a reasonable expectation throughout the modern world. However, a growing lack of water ("water scarcity"), propelled by continued technological advancement and high demand, is creating a global crisis. This resource scarcity will change long-held expectations and demonstrate the capacity to disrupt the security and stability of entire regions. This Article examines the global state of freshwater scarcity[2] and the often-neglected linkages of water scarcity to economic, social, political, legal, and security consequences arising from disruptions, failures, or attacks on water access and distribution systems.[3] Our research concentrates on examples of the impacts of water scarcity from past and present utilizing selected examples from North America, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. We contend that poorly understood links between access to adequate water and national stability pose severe global security risks, especially if technological and policy correctives are not implemented to increase water resiliency and ensure availability and access.

USDA's 2020 Household Food Security Report - "This report provides statistics on food security in U.S. households throughout 2020 based on the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data collected in December 2020. An estimated 89.5 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2020, with access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (10.5 percent, unchanged from 10.5 percent in 2019) were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 3.9 percent with very low food security (not significantly different from 4.1 percent in 2019). "

Article talks about a possible Iranian hack of US maritime accounts. With so much reliance on ports, and an estimated increased reliance in the future, more attention needs to be brought to cyber security, especially as ports become more automated. How secure will the ports have to be? With continued reliance on trade, the security of the ports become a critical aspect of national security.

"The leaders of Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom announced last week the formation of a new trilateral security agreement called "AUKUS." The new security pact will oversee the development of a nuclear-powered submarine fleet in Australia and also focus on developing joint artificial intelligence, cyber warfare, and long-range strike capabilities."

"The Building Automation Systems Market was valued at USD 60.31 billion in 2020 and expected to reach USD 112.93 billion by 2026 and grow at a CAGR of 11.02% over the forecast period (2021-2026). Building automation systems, otherwise known as building automation and control systems (BACS), are automated systems that integrate and connect different facility technologies, including HVAC, lighting, surveillance, and security, among others, through information flow to a monitoring point."

"The smart building market was valued at USD 82.55 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 229.10 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of over 11.33% over the forecast period (2021 - 2026). Growing energy concerns, increasing government initiatives on smart infrastructure projects are driving the market's growth positively. Solutions, such as the Building Energy Management System, Infrastructure Management System, and Intelligent Security System, are being adopted for smart buildings. BEMS is integrated, computerized systems for monitoring and controlling energy-related building services plant and equipment, such as HVAC systems and lighting, among others"

"Innovations in digital technology and the use of alternative data sources have decreased the cost and increased the speed of data collection and use. Harnessing this potential requires increased investment by donors and governments and a more effective approach that strengthens foundational data systems and governance frameworks, and supports local knowledge and capacity development. "

Interesting thesis about climate change and ports. The paper discusses the importance of ports to world trade and national security (specificallyf or the US). The US military has recently become more of an expeditionary force rather than occupational, subsequently ports are becoming more important. However, impending climate change threatens the port operations and infrastructure that need to be understood.

In short, this is a global challenge because it's not just about food and feeding people, but also about practically all aspects of an economy and society.

ZeroAvia announced a development collaboration with Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, for a hydrogen-electric powertrain capable of flying 76-seat regional aircraft in excess of 500 NM. Alaska is also joining the list of top investors for the company, alongside a fellow Seattle-based Amazon Climate Pledge Fund and Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Alaska Airlines has also secured options for up to 50 kits to begin converting its regional aircraft to hydrogen-electric power through ZeroAvia's zero-emission powertrain. Zero emission would be a huge step, and nice to see Bezos and Gates both involved.

CSIS's Risk and Foresight Group created four plausible, differentiated scenarios to explore the changing geopolitical landscape of 2025-2030, including the potential lasting first- and second-order effects of Covid-19. The scenarios center on the relative power and influence of the United States and China and the interaction between them, along with detailed consideration of other major U.S. allies and adversaries within each of four worlds. Each scenario narrative was informed by deep trends analysis and subject-matter-expert interviews. CSIS's Dracopoulos iDeas Lab brought to life the scenarios in four engaging videos designed to test policymakers' preconceived notions about the defense and security challenges facing the United States and its allies in the second half of this decade. This research was sponsored by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Strategic Trends Division

U.S. cryptocurrency markets and related platforms will "not end well" if they stay outside the purview of regulators, according to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.

With the trucking industry continuing to move forward, the main thing on truck drivers' minds is the security of their jobs. Let's take a closer look at self-driving trucks quickly becoming a reality.

The rapid uptake of mobile money in recent years has generated new data needs and growing interest in understanding its impact on broad money. This paper reviews mobile money trends using mobile money data from the Financial Access Survey (FAS) and examines the statistical treatment of mobile money under the IMF's Monetary and Financial Statistics (MFS) framework. MFS guidance is straightforward in most cases, as many jurisdictions have adopted regulations which ensure that mobile money is captured in the banking system and thus in the calculation of broad money. However, in cases where mobile network operators (MNOs) act as niche financial intermediaries outside the banking regulatory perimeter and are allowed to invest their customer funds in sovereign securities and other permitted assets, mobile money liabilities may remain outside the banking system as well as monetary statistics. In that case, information on mobile money liabilities need to be collected directly from MNOs to account for mobile money as part of broad money.

Federal Bank regulators are struggling to figure out how to handle electronic assets in order to maintain the stability and security of the financial system while also allowing innovation and progress.