… but lets not look that far ahead.
Lets just do ten years, 2029 …
The trickle of, ‘it’s worse than we thought’, reports of environmental crises, collapses, and catastrophes, that even now are an almost weekly occurrence, will have become a flood.
There will be good news too, of course there will, just as there is now, but not enough.
Not enough to ‘save the planet’ … ah, what a wonderful catchphrase that is, and not at all accurate. To paraphrase another song, ‘She’ got along without us before She met us, She’s gonna get along without us now’.
The trick will be, to save ourselves. Not just pockets of humans, here and there, but the whole damn human race, and to be quite honest we’re doing a really piss-poor job of it so far, and by 2029 we’ll have a really good idea of how piss-poor.
So, 10 years. I’ll probably still be alive, (I certainly hope so) and so will you, all things being equal, but what will our lives be like, I wonder.
Technology will help mitigate the effects, for some people, in some areas, but for the majority of the eight billion people around the world (and who knows how many billions more by 2029) there will be no help coming, no magic fix.
Even if every government and corporation currently in existence pooled all their resources (hah! Fantasy, that!) it still wouldn’t be enough to support the way of life we currently enjoy or aspire to. That threshold is already long gone, and by 2029? … ‘we’ll have to do what we can, with what we can create, with the resources available, in a way that is ethical, and feeds our Spirit
I challenge you to look beyond the ‘feel-good’ fluff, and the ‘we’re doomed’ scenarios, and decide, with your eyes open, how you are going to survive, and if you’re lucky, thrive, working in harmony with and supporting your environment, during the next ten years.
Let’s get together then, and talk about how we’re going to do the same for the next ten.
In the meantime …
In 2013 I had thyroid cancer, had surgery, and radiation therapy, and my cancer is no more. I now take Synthroid every day to stay alive. Without it my Death will be upon me in a matter of weeks, and I’m reliably informed it won’t be pretty.
I’m nobody famous, nor am I rich. in ten years I’ll be 71 years old, will life-saving drugs be available for the likes of me then?
That’s my worst-case scenario. I’ve walked up to it and smacked it around, and come to a negotiated peace with it. Anything back from that precipice is negotiable.
We, Mrs Widds and I, live on the outer edge of a flood-plain of a major river, a mere 45 meters (148 feet) above sea-level, on top of a series of fault lines that run the entire length of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, in one of the fastest growing population regions in the country.
So next year we’re moving to higher, less-crowded, ground.
I have a goodly number of transferable skills, (as does Mrs Widds) both physical and intellectual, high and low-tech, that will be useful in the coming years, and both Mrs Widds and I believe in having three layers of backups. Lets take electricity as an example: (everything in our little cottage is powered by electricity. In a blackout the water doesn’t flow and nothing works) 1st layer – connected to the power grid. 2nd layer – if the power goes out we have a generator. 3rd layer – if the generator breaks down/runs out of gas/petrol, we know how to make a rocket stove, candles, campfires, etc. We didn’t come by these resources and skills overnight. They’re a result of years of work and in some cases a lifetime’s experience.
I’ll let you how it goes.
-oOo-
Speaking of the generator, it had a hissy fit the other day …
‘I shan’t start, and you can’t make me’
… and decided not to work. Mrs Widds jumped into the fray, and with assorted wrenches …
Matt-black wrench set in the late afternoon sun
… has determined that … well, we’re waiting on a new carburetor … I do love a woman who knows her way around her wrenches!
I also took advantage of the later afternoon sun to clean up our bicycles. Unfortunately I didn’t get past taking this photo before Stormy Weather showed up and rained on my parade.
Oooo, that’s the bean pyramid in the background, now laid low by the first frost of the season a few days ago
This is what it looked in peak greeness …
Should’a made it taller
And the Scarlet Climber eventually bloomed, scarlet
-oOo-
Widdershins Worlds 
“I’ll let you how it goes.” – the best line in the post
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We’re already well into the planning stages of our adventure. Mostly revolving around redsigning our 25′ travel trailer (caravan) so that two middle-aged women who are set in their ways, can live together for at least six months in it without killing each other, or end up divorced. 🙂 … it’s fun, and terrifying, and exciting, and challenging, and feels exactly the right thing to do. 🙂
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Excellent
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With that toolbox, Mrs Widds could save the species single-handed!
But never mind all that, do you rent her out for the occasional small adjustment… me boiler’s playing up again, and I may have inadvertently twisted the fan thingy in a moment of over-enthusiastic “this completely inappropriate tool will do the job” thinking. Currently living with a very annoying squealing till the bit that’s rubbing (that shouldn’t be) gets worn down sufficiently…
In other words, um, yeah… we’re doomed… 😉
Only one thing for it for us…. https://bit.ly/33Gc2nu
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With that toolbox, Mrs Widds could save the entire species single-handed!
But never mind all that. Do you rent her out on short term basis? Me boiler’s playing up again, and I seem to have twisted the fan thingy in a moment of overconfident “this completely inappropriate tool will suffice” thinking. Currently living with a rather annoying squeal (even the neighbours have “mentioned” it) until such times as the rubbing bit is sufficiently worn away…
So, yeah, in short… we’re doomed – SAVE YOURSELVES!!!
Current plan: https://bit.ly/33Gc2nu
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I read your comment to Mrs Widds, and although appreciating the sentiment, and humour, she politely declined. 😀
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😀 😀
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I do have to emit slightly insane giggles at this climate change “El Crisis”. Yes, we’re doing horrid and nasty things to the environment and to other species because there’s just too damned many of us on the planet, but… everyone seems to have either forgotten or to not know that, in the case of England, we were physically attached by land to Europe just eight thousand years ago. Doggerland as it was named was flooded when the last ice age retreated, ice so thick that it tilted the whole of this island under its weight. Now that’s a rising sea-level! Doggerland is how my ancestors got to this island from Europe – they walked across the English Channel. Eight-thousand years is a mere moment in planetary terms. The planet doesn’t give an airborne rodent’s rectum about humans or our industry, but humans ought to… we are creating nought but our own doom (and generously taking lots of other species down with us).
Perhaps we can all move to Planet B, and begin again? 😉
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I totally agree with your penultimate sentence, but not, alas, with the ultimate one. There is no Planet B, and if there was, it would not be rolling out the welcome mat for Homo destructor.
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I’m all for being in the moment, but if we don’t understand our past, and cast our thoughts into possible futures, we might as well not even bother to get out of bed in the morning. Not that I’ve got anything about a good lie-in with a cuppa and a riveting novel, 🙂 but not as a head-in-the-sand-or-up-the-arse lifestyle choice.
I think Planet B best be by invitation only. 🙂
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Being so cheerful keeps you going, I see…
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Heh, heh, heh 😀 … yep that’s me, a right little ray of sunshine! 😀 … actually, seeing the bigger picture like this helps give me clarity about how I respond to the smaller scale events that impact me directly, and I find a kind of hopeful clarity in that. 🙂
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Think I’ll stick with cheerful!
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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There’s always Hope…Unfortunately, Hope isn’t worth anything, without Action!
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Can’t have one without the other.
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A disturbing post, and very thought-provoking.
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That was the idea … I know people find comfort in thinking it can be ‘fixed’ or ‘saved’, but unfortunately it’s only in the short term, and getting shorter all the time.
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Having a plan (and the wrenches with which to execute it) is a great start. I would consider a few solar panels to supplement (and maybe supplant) the generator, in case fuel for the latter becomes unavailable. BTW, that lovely cerise-coloured flower looks more like a morning glory than any kind of bean.
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I agree with you about the solar panels. ‘Suitcase’ models that are lightweight and flexible are really affordable now, so they’re on your ‘wish-list’.
It is a gorgeous colour, isn’t it? 😀
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Good luck. I thought I’d let you know I’ve made my blog private and will delete it soon. I got tired of fending comments from people who don’t believe in climate change. I have thyroid issues too though mine are in the early stages. I’m ten years older than you and have decided to put my energy in healing myself rather than spreading myself too thin trying to wake others up. The future in 10 years? I haven’t got a clue…. I can see why you are moving to higher ground… I’ve enjoyed our blog chats and hope you find the security you are looking for.
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A wise decision, I think. 😀 … that’s sort of what we’re doing too. I’ve been wanting to explore having a YouTue channel for a while now, but couldn’t really find a direction that resonated with me, until now. So, the plan is to document our journey, probably starting early next year when we start outfitting our travel trailer so that the two of us can live in it full-time. It’s only 8 meters (25′) long so we’re going to have to be creative. The plan is to spend 6 months traveling around the regions we’d like to live in and experience them without having to make a commitment until we’re sure. It also means we have the option of buying land without a house on it … lots of possibilities. 🙂 … big adventure, scary, exciting, terrifying, freeing, every emotion all rolled into one! 🙂
Mrs Widds is also 70, so realistically, this is our last chance to get this right.
So, I hope you’ll stay in touch, even if it’s commenting on my posts whenever the mood strikes you.
I enjoyed our chats too. 🙂
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How fabulous. What a great dream. I’d love to do something like that. At present I live in a place that is about 9 metres by 6 (about the equivalent of two trailers placed side by side or two tiny houses) It works for me though it did take some getting used to.
I just took the plunge and signed up for the NaNoWriteMo – the writing challenge that runs on the internet over November. At this stage I’m keeping my writing private but joined to access the tutorials. I will re-write an e-book I wrote a few years back about the future after climate change has wreaked havoc on this society. I’m exciting about the project.
My email is *** — *** if you ever want to drop me a line. I’d love to keep track of your Youtube journey. All the best – Suzanne
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I’ve done NaNo a couple of times and although I enjoyed it, I learned I don’t write well under pressure, even the self-inflicted sort. Using it to rewrite a story is a great idea. You’ve already got your outline well sorted. 🙂
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P.S. I edited your email address out of your comment, after I C&P’d it … just to guarantee your privacy. 🙂
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Thanks. I appreciate that.. I saw your email and will reply very soon. 🙂
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I agree with you so much… and find it hard to contemplate the future my darling son is looking at- he’d be 29 in 2029- having kids? Buying his first home? I don’t think so! 😰
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Yep, our grandsons are 12 and great-grand-daughter is 2. Their world will be nothing like we remember it was when we were young.
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But we don’t understand our past, nor do we care about it, otherwise would we be where we are?
How wise of you to start thinking of actual survival plans. And they sound good!
If things got REALLY bad, we have very little. Hand-cranked radio. LED lantern. Camping equipment. Water purifiers.
We’d last a little while before someone with a gun stole it all from us. 😦
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It really brings home that saying about not learning from the past, doesn’t it? …
Given that a large majority of people done’t even think about this stuff, I reckon you’re ahead of the game right there. 🙂
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I share your concerns, but a part of me continues to believe that ‘things’ll be okay’. Unfortunately, it’s the part of me that hopes there’ll be a decent world for the Offspring to continue living in so, probably wishful thinking.
When you move, will solar be an option? And a battery. We have panels and solar hot water but no battery. And everything is tied into the grid. Grid goes down and they turn into useless, expensive roof tiles.
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I think parts of the world will be decent-ish, for another generation … maybe.
We’re planning on getting a couple of those wonderful ‘suitcase’ solar panels which will charge a portable power generator, (which can also be charged when you’re driving) for small appliances and the ‘electronicals’ (phones, computers, etc) The trailer batteries will be topped off when we’re driving, and can last for a week (as far as we’ve tested) dry camping before we have to fire up the generator. As for when we find our ‘forever home’ solar, wind, and water (if possible) will be our priorities. 🙂
Can your solar array be connected to some sort of switching system so that it still works when the power goes out? Even if it’s just to be able to charge a couple of in-line deep cycle batteries?
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I like the sound of all that and will look into the cost. Water we have because of the threat of bushfires, but the solar panels can’t be switched to batteries, not yet. Sadly, cost is the problem for the foreseeable future. Fingers crossed the price comes down fast enough.
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Very sensible – I have imagined boiling up the water in our rainbutts and we could chop down those too tall pine trees behind our back fence for firewood. Pockets of humans will always survive but their lives will be like refugees.
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That’s how I see it too. Sooner or later there will be a homo sapiens die-back, whether it’s to extinction or not …
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Really like this. Practical and imaginative. It is coming.
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Hi there Biscuit, 😀 … welcome to my little corner of the interwebz. 🙂 … glad you liked it.
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Wow that is some damn fine beans! I love gardening – we have a great little patch that is covered (for the heat and the frost because we have extremes of either end of the scale here)
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They’re impressive wee beasties, aren’t they? … frosts are immanent here too. Definitely time to gather the beans while we may. 🙂
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[…] Mrs Widds, fresh from her triumphant carburetor replacement on the generator. (which can be found HERE – you have to scroll down a bit, and HERE) swung into […]
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