Is the end coming?

It seems since the beginning of this millennium, it has been full of apocalyptic talk. We've had Y2K, the religious right screaming the end is coming, increased terrorism, economics failures, global warming, and 2012 rhetoric. The history channel no longer shows history, it focus its lineup on Armageddon oriented shows, e.g. the Nostradamus Effect, Life After People, and several (feels like hundreds) 2012 specials. Are we really on the brink of civilization? This is inevitable; as we all know, all civilizations fall. Are we about to entire a new dark age? Or is this just a bunch of people screaming for attention?

It seems that things do not look good, this we know for sure. Our built to fail monetary system is on the brink of collapse. At this point we can only prolong its existence. I doubt we can get out of the debt we've put ourselves. We have less money in circulation, than what we owe. The oceans are rising. The Maldive Islands will most likely not see the next century. It doesn't matter whether humans are the main cause to global warming, or if we had little to no influence, it is real. The planet is warming up, the Arctic is thawing, and the oceans are rising. 2008 was the first year, on record, that humans did not grow enough food to feed everyone on the planet. In past years we had enough food, it just didn't make it those who need it. Now there is not enough food. We are beginning to run out of fresh water. Corporations are trying to privatize it, so they have control of the resource when it comes scarce. Israel's settlements in Palestine are based on areas that known to have deep water wells. Terrorist groups are growing, and attacks are continuing to increase. America is now involved in 3 wars Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. We have started to covert operations in Yemen, and are planning a surgical strike in Iran. China is starting to flex her foreign policy muscle, executing a British citizen, and testing defensive missiles in response to American arms sales to Taiwan. A country China wants back.

This isn't everything that's going badly, just what I have off the top of my head. We've also had the horrible Tsunami, Katrina, and other horrible natural disasters. And there's more still. Should we be preparing for the worst? I'm not saying this is going to happen over night, like the Y2K predictions. What I want to know is if the natural disasters are to continue, and the terror attacks with increased war responses get worse, will we still have infrastructure in 2050?

I think about his stuff a lot. I'm at a turning point in my life. I don't know if I should continue down the road of academia and see if I can help fix things through education. Or if we should ban together, start a self-sustaining community and just be ready.

What do you think? I'm not sure how many people read this. So this might be asking a blank wall, but leave me a comment about what you think. Am I just letting the "what ifs" eat me alive? Or is civilization heading downward?

(Click the title above for a short video supplied from disinformation.)

Climate Change

Great edition of Democracy Now! today, reporting from Copenhagen. I embed it, check it out if you have the time. Good news is the EPA has ruled that six gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, endanger the environment and public health. This will give the EPA the ability to regulate greenhouse gases, under the authority of the Clean Air Act. Yay! for America taking a step in the right direction on climate change. But is it to little to late? The rest of the world is having a climate change council in Copenhagen. With Obama only making a guest appearance, and he's already decided that a binding treaty will not come out the council.

I hadn't realized climate change was getting this bad. The country of The Maldive Islands is being washed away by the rising oceans. This country is only 7 feet above sea level. Meaning in the next hundred years there will be less than 3 feet of the island above sea level, if the oceans are to continue rising at this speed.

As covered in this edition of Democracy Now! is where these oceans are getting their water. An indigenous Alaskan is interviewed as she describes the melting of the permafrost in the Arctic. Making it hard for them to continue their way of life.

I had no idea it was getting this bad. At this point it doesn't matter anymore if humans are the main contributers to the problem, or if its a natural earth cycle. We know the oceans are rising and the ice sheets at the poles are melting. We do contribute to the rising temperatures, regardless if we are the leading force doing so. We must cut back emissions, it will help. While we cannot control the climate of the planet, we do contribute to it.