Watching “Prophets of Doom” on the History channel last night not surprisingly brought about dreams of death and destruction. Six highly intelligent men sat in a round table discussion inside a psuedo bomb shelter contemplating which catastrophe would end the world as we know it first…economic collapse, water shortage, peak oil, artelligence, nuclear annihilation, or overpopulation.
Though each proposed clear, concise reasons for the world, and specifically America, to anticipate a perceived unwelcome change in the near future, they did not apply the same rational action to prevention or solution. That is probably in the sequel. However; the discussion was insightful and enlightening and given that I am a relatively intelligent creature, I went to sleep creating plans and actions of my own. The program accomplished its mission.
The general consensus among these men was that economic restructuring would “reset” America first, or its standards at the very least, which would lead to a cascade of other effects. Other threats were pertinent, but not as immediate or definable.
Interestingly, the common supposition was that the world would invariably localize, either to prevent doom or as reaction to it (more likely the latter, since we are not ALL relatively intelligent and few watch the History channel or read obscure blogs, so they probably won’t be prepared). Of primary focus was obviously mass food production, since its creation and distribution contributes to all of the prevailing themes of catastrophe – water, oil, overpopulation, global politics, and money/currency.
Given that we live in the heartland of Agricultural Americana, their observations initially amounted to “The Crisis That Wasn’t.” One man’s worry of turning on the faucet and having no water (“which would mean death in 6 hours!”) and another’s contributing solution of planting window box gardens outside high-rise condos seemed laughable to someone who has hundreds of acres of land, lives on the river, and has an artesian well. But, I did start to explore the far-fetched (thankfully my brain prevents suicide daily by creating these terms) idea of self-sufficiency and no Costco.
We all know that a tomato plant, grown painstakingly over months in a window box in New York City will support a family of four approximately a week. It is simply unrealistic to imagine self-sufficiency in the city. But, what about out here? I started figuring and came up with four bovines (one bull, one cow, a calf a year to butcher, and a milk cow), a few chickens, a massive garden, a root cellar, row crops to feed said bovines and chickens, four horses for labor and travel (remember, we’re talking catastrophe and self-sufficiency), a methane digester or more row crops for alcohol, berry bushes, fruit trees, grass for range, etc, etc. I did not rely on wild game or fish, since I assumed the lessons we learned from friends in Peru about economic and political dishevelment leading to complete destruction of such natural resources would hold true here, too. In the end, I had completely consumed all of my time and my 500 acres of once profitable land, to create a self-sufficient family of two. But my quality of life was incredible and I died worn out at the ripe old age of 50 from natural causes. Once again, thank you brain.
We’ve all done this, gone down the doom and gloom road and thought about returning to the primitive. Do we really believe that our once ingenious brains are suddenly going to revert to some fictitious time in human history when we could not master basic concepts like providing food for ourselves and developing trade? Do we really believe that the concept of self interest was born from some corruption of human nature? No. The truth is that we all are rational humans and are driven by human nature to survive, protect our species, and prosper.
The Prophets of Doom presented lifetimes of study about the possibility and reality of catastrophe in thoughtful and rational discussion. We consumed it under a thick sauce of media alarmism and surreal rhetoric, complete with appropriate title “Prophets of Doom,” well-filmed post-apocalyptic footage, and Lurch as a narrator. The presentation begged its denial and promoted fear that you might truly be a Y2K fearing lunatic to have sat through the duration. In the end, the message was arrived upon by reflection: What do we individually do with this presentation of threats of catastrophe and the end of the world as we know it?
Thankfully, our brains do not always allow us to react in proportion to a perceived threat, or we would eliminate the overpopulation problem with mass self annihilation. Unfortunately, when problems are perceived as unrealistic and unsolvable, we often opt to do nothing. “Nothing” will lead to “something” eventually.
It would be very easy to lump Prophets of Doom in with the others, place it on that shelf reserved for things that we simply can’t deal with right now, and go on about our business. It could be one more giant squishy undefined threat from above. Instead, I have chosen to grow a tomato plant. Do I think that it will save my world? Absolutely not. I’m not delusional. But, it is “something.” It is my little way of saying that I didn’t sit back and watch the destruction, that I acted, was aware. It will make me feel better. It is my human nature to deal with problems, not ignore them…to feel better about the situation. If somehow we all accept this human nature, scrape off the thick sauce that prevents us from tasting the meat, and do something…anything…we may find that our lives are even better than we imagined and the future is rosy. Or, we could die tomorrow in nuclear annihilation. But, at least we will feel justified in our resentment.
I am not promoting widespread altruism or the outlaw of corporate farming. I am not suggesting anything very monumental. I am begging for a tiny vestige of rational self interest, self-awareness, and self-sufficiency. Call it a cry for just a little personal respsonsibility. We WILL reset our standards, but instead of running screaming and hiding under the covers or firmly planting our heels and denouncing all things change, perhaps we can use some of the Prophets’ rational spirit of discussion to provoke a more inherently human approach, something a little more natural. Something a little less like science fiction.
Maybe your tomato plant is reusing ziplocks, forgoing the placement of the third color of the same shoe on your credit card, buying groceries for the actual number of people in your house instead of the invisible army hiding in your closet (am I the only one who does this?), turning off the lights, walking to the mailbox, collecting rainwater, or discovering oil on Mars.
Anything is better than nothing. A lot of anythings is truly monumental.
