(bleep)
(I started out with an intention to be a bit more flippant about this, but just couldn't do it. Here it is, written last week and unedited.)
I’ve been feeling more and more edgy about the state of the world lately, and how we as a society aren’t doing enough backpedalling to get us out of this dirty big hole we’re heading towards. I’ve been trying to express this view to a few people lately but all that seems to come out of my mouth is something along the lines of “Oh My God. We’re (bleep)ing (bleep)ed. We’ve (bleep)ed it up (bleep)ing big time and now it’s too (bleep)ing late. (Bleep).”
I realise I probably could have expressed myself a little more succinctly, so I have called in expert help. Please welcome guest Blogger Dr Imina Rainshadow, head of research at the College of Wilde (Conjecture). Over to you Imina.
Thank you Lorena, it’s a pleasure to be here. Well, I have to say, you’re not far off the mark with your somewhat, uh, expressive views. Every generation (usually in their youth) feels that they’re on the brink of World collapse. The first and second World Wars, Vietnam, Nuclear threats, Cold War, the Ozone Layer, all gave cause to a sense of mass panic. The elder generations would look down and nod their heads in sympathy, but knew that the human race would sort itself out in the end. There would be a little blip perhaps, but we’d adapt, as we always do and life would get back to normal. And it has, for the most part. And this is pretty much how I’ve been feeling about our future - we’d get wise about the environment, sort it out, install a water tank, buy a solar powered car and get on with it.
Until recently. This time, I see convergence of events that on their own would be bad, but we’d probably sort them out and go on to cure cancer and populate the Moon. Whatever. But they’re happening together, they’re connected, and they’re going to culminate together.
As an expert at the College of Wilde (Conjecture), here are just a few of my predictions for the future.
There will be food shortages due to lack of water (drought) or an excess of it (damaging floods) depending on where you are. What food is produced will be prohibitively expensive, not only because of falling productivity, but because of rising fuel prices thanks to our overuse and depletion of the old “black gold” and America’s insane propensity for going to war with nations who have it, spending trillions of dollars on these wars and plunging themselves and the rest of the world into recession.
Fuel prices are already skyrocketing and will continue to do so. Once again, travel will become something only the rich can do. The golden age of cheap and easy travel is close to an end and it won’t be long until you won’t even be able to afford the drive to the airport. Due to the rising cost of fuel and subsequently freight, it won’t be viable to fly, or even truck, goods for great distances. I see a return to local, seasonal produce. Something that now is a fashionable lifestyle choice will become a necessity. We’ll see a real return to Village communities. We’ll farm what we can, and eat food that comes from within a close radius. We won’t often venture far afield. Rationing will become a necessity; water, food, fuel, will become more and more scarce.
The disregard we have for our world will catch up with us. Big business will continue to put money over anything else, of course they will, until we stop them. This must happen both from the bottom up, and the top down. Government must act. With recent and current election activity this is looking a little more likely, but we must push them to force real change. Business and industry must not be allowed to simply self regulate. We must make them make a change. This might inconvenience us in the short term (What? No more cheap baby-soft-rainforest-produced toilet paper??) but may just save our baby-soft arses in the end.
The threat now is not of blowing ourselves up with a nuclear explosion but a suddenly decline into famine and world financial depression with the added increase of natural disasters, extreme climate and rising sea levels. And that’s just the beginning.
Uh, thanks Imina. I’m off to pour a big glass of wine from a local winery and pull a carrot out of the ground for dinner. Maybe next week we can look at some options... solar, wind, etc... Imina?...
