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The Pacific Institute based in California has amassed a database linking global conflict to vital resources like clean drinking water. In the past ten years, water-related conflicts around the globe have doubled compared to previous decades (The Guardian, December 31, 2019).

Mockery has been around throughout mankind’s history, but in recent times it seems to have become increasingly common to mock competitors, public personalities, and authority figures—and even God, Christ, the Bible, and religion in general. The Bible warns that mockers sit “in the seat of the scornful” (Psalm 1:1).

In 2020, Germany is positioned to have a major impact on the European Union and the world. Ursula von der Leyen, Germany’s former Minister of Defense, is now President of the European Commission and is calling for a Green Deal to address climate change and make Europe the first carbon-neutral continent.

New research by Dr. BJ Fogg at Stanford University suggests that it is emotion, not repetition, that creates lasting habits (TIME, December 30, 2019). It all has to do with motivation. “There is a direct connection between what you feel when you do a behavior and the likelihood that you will repeat the behavior in the future.” According to Dr.