Thursday, June 24, 2010

Thinking about the present and the future - oil gone bad

Now, i feel i must preface the following rant with a little info. I'm NOT a prepper, nor do i think that I'm an Eco-guru or some such. In fact, i tend to avoid the news, particularly world news, as it's ALL BAD NEWS, all the time. Quite frankly, i don't need more reasons to get depressed about the state of things as they stand globally than i already know about.

(via)

That being said, hubby and i have in the past talked about and loosely planned contingencies for apocalyptic disaster (a la Dies the Fire, but without the weird alchemical changes) and i think the plans are sound, as they stand, but that's all they are at this point, plans. We have yet to get to the point of being 'settled in' to somewhere for the long haul, and more easily able to be prepared for a long emergency.

Recent global events, however, have made me think about new possibilities of disaster, and their ramifications long term on the planet-wide ecology. Scary thoughts, too.... it may well be that our looming disaster is of Mesozoic proportions (just replace the dinosaurs with us, and the asteroid {or whatever the current theory is} with a giant oil spill)

So my current ponderings on the subject have been on the 'what if's'  ... what if the worst case scenario really does happen? they can't close the leak, and it pumps itself dry, they use Tons of dispersants, which just serves to spread the oil and chemical-laden water effectively throughout the worlds waterways. Within a couple years (or less) all the oceans and waterways are considerably more polluted because of the bungles and stupidity occurring RIGHT NOW. Are we looking at an Oil Apocalypse? Might we even kill off the larger part of our oceanic species?  Sadly, i think the answer might be yes.  This, in turn, will affect all  It's up to us to do what we can: look foreward, and do what we can to plan for the worst, but also take action right now, and contact your local government representatives (US folks try here)


other interesting links:
a peek at a worst case scenario here and here
Locally inspired Preparedness info
Current state of affairs in Oil Disaster - from  the huffington post
Witchcraft to stop oil - hey, it's no more far-fetched than using human hair!
views of the oil - as seen from space! yikes!


Anywhoo.... i think that's enough depressing forethought for the moment.  What i wanted to stress to everyone is this: be aware of which way the winds are turning. be prepared for short term emergencies, and start planning for long ones. everyone can do it, even if you live on a fixed income or in an appartment. Plan ahead, spend a couple of dollars every paycheck towards emergency planning, and before you know it, you'll have all the basics for at least a short emergency.  Everyone take care, and keep your eyes open!

3 comments:

  1. We are totally unprepared for an emergency... and you're right, this does make us stop and think.

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  2. We are living in sobering times I think. And, I am with you, this isn't going to go the way we want it to. Far too much dissembling going on. I don't believe anything we are being told by the powers that be. So, as you say, we best prepare ourselves.

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  3. rachel - here's to hoping that thinking becomes planning and action!

    jadedj - all we can do i think is demand the truth from those in power, and plan for the worst, because whether we ever get the truth or not, you can bet things are going to continue on the downward spiral.

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