Time again to take the day off, kick back, and just generally celebrate the fact that you’ve completed another trip around the sun. While you’re at it, take a few moments to think about what the new year may herald. There’s plenty to think about…
To paraphrase Joni Mitchell, from Big Yellow Taxi:
“Take all the cows. Put ’em in a cow museum…”
Get ready for the great upheaval!
I was kind of trepidacious to do the old crystal ball thing this year. I’ve been reading so much about how the food apocalypse is rushing down upon us faster than most of us predicted just a couple of years ago. At first, it all seemed too much to contemplate without becoming dangerously depressed. Or at least getting TMAH – The Mother of All Headaches.
The big changes and flips
How are we going to cope with the big changes and flips coming between now and 2050?
The climate changes are just now starting. But already we’re getting record wildfires, droughts, crop failures, heat records, and hurricanes and tornado seasons Weather disasters like we’ve never seen before. Traditional foods we’ve all taken for granted most of our lives, will disappear; become unsustainable at a pace none of us is prepared to deal with…
Consider how intricately it’s all tied together…
The big changes scientists have been warning about are roaring in from the wings. Glaciers are disappearing faster than we all thought they would, or even could. Millions of cubic miles of fresh water are plunging from polar ice shelves into oceans whose sea levels will rise enough to submerge most of the great coastal cities we all know and love.
That will not only displace the majority of the world’s trade and financial activity. It will also push millions of residents inland, looking for new places to live. Too bad there are already millions of people living there.
And what about all the people moving north from southerly climes that become unlivable? Then what? Do they push the rest of us even farther north? Or, as the army types say, do they march through us and go straight from Tijuana to Tuktoyaktuk? Think of the migrant issues at the U.S. southern border already – and multiply by thousands.
As the world’s population edges towards 10 billion, the amount of food-growing space we have will decline significantly, on balance. The absolute need for most of us to switch completely to meatless diets will land on our plates before we know – or are ready – for it.
But the news isn’t all bad
Good thing there are already proven, mature regimes for veggie living that have been developed over hundreds or thousands of years. Mainly in Asian realms, where they haven’t had a choice.
Thank goodness the Chinese (and a few others) are looking at practical issues now. Like developing new strains of rice with double or triple the crop yields of the ones we rely on today. And new varieties that can grow in salty water.
In short, we have the tools at our disposal to survive the sunset of traditional meat and rise of the veggies.
So, what’s all that got to do with the new year?
The world of 2050 is not just breathing down the backs of our necks. It’s here. And getting hotter and more insistent. We must all take a significant moment – like New Year’s Day – to resolve most earnestly to stand up, and make ourselves ready to meet the growing beast. What are you doing to get ready for the great upheaval? It’s a matter of survival.
Muse on that…
Maggie J.