In 2006, a staphylococcus epidemic wiped out 40 million people. In 2007, there was a crash and worldwide recession. In 2021, there was an e. coli outbreak, so it is no longer possible to eat meat.
Pollution is now so drastic that it is unsafe to go outside.
There are water shortages, and consequently water wars are being waged between city-kingdoms. Oh, it's all very bleak. To imagine the future is to continue the line from what we know and see where it leads. Science fiction tells us more about now than the future. In his much-hyped novel, Caleb Carr has drawn dozens of lines from his present, and they all lead to a frantic dystopia.