The 21st century dawned with a great sense of optimism. The Cold War, which had dominated the previous half-century, was over and with its end the spirits of the world were lifted. The battle of political ideas had apparently been won - free markets and democracy triumphed over the centrally planned state. A dynamic new information age offered enhanced freedom and prosperity. The revolution in the biological sciences promised health, beauty and longevity. World trade took off and, in the less developed nations, hundreds of millions of people were joining the world economy for the first time, seizing the chance to lift themselves out of poverty. There was even the hope that the political will of Kyoto could be translated into actions to mitigate the environmental effects of rapid population and economic growth.
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