The Perfect Storm

Some people saw the movie about a captain taking his boat out in weather that turns hellish quickly due to several factors reinforcing each other to make the perfect storm. I can relate the premise of that movie to what is happening now in and in the near future.

Back in 1995 and even earlier, people were talking about Y2K. A lot of money was thrown at the problem and a lot of hard work went into making it a non-event. Remember in 1998-99 companies sprang up, ready to supply you with MRE's and emergency power equipment plus an assortment of dry and canned foods + water. The people buying that stuff considered the price paid to be a form of insurance, one you could resell or at least eat. Earlier than that, in the 70's, it was gas shortages. We have survived plagues and pandemics in the past and we will do so again. We got a nasty shock with 9-11. We got a wake-up call when we had the major power black out. Next was E.W.E.'s (Extreme Weather Events)during christmas holidays and hurricanes like Katrina wiping out New Orleans, not to mention the year of Peak OIL (2005). Lets add to this mix scientific evidence, the poles are melting and the global warming is getting hotter and the hole in the ozone is getting larger.

Can you see the "Perfect Storm" brewing? The U.S. is overspending on the war in Iraq to the point some people think the States are bankrupt. There has been a major world shift from U.S. dollars to Euro's. What does that mean? Lets say a small terrorist attack on certain Oil producing countries makes Gas prices go up even higher. Add to that limited production means limited supplies = Crime waves. Add a record number of extreme floods, hurricanes, tornados and fires. Now add a possible outbreak of a deadly strain of flu = people not going anywhere and barricadeing themselves in = a stalled U.S. economy. If the U.S. dollar falls, so does the loonie and since the entire world is in each other's back pockets, a possible world economy colapse. The deadly flu does not even have to hit for this scene to play out.

A lot of good starts on alternative fuel sources and hybrid cars will be scrapped, with no one to buy the product. In some cases the rich will be getting richer and the poor will be busy getting dead. By rich , I mean actual goods, animals or land. Money will not be worth anything untill a new money system restarts. What happens when you can't pay police and firefighters and other emergency people? They quit or you work out a deal to provide food and shelter to the workers and their families in exchange for their services. The barter system will be the only way of getting goods untill money is UNIVERSALLY introduced. Can you say "One world currency"? Personally I would put forth the idea of a money system based on hemp since it is a plant that grows everywhere mankind can survive(except maybe the extreme north, but with the poles melting, who knows)

I have thought this out many different ways and most of them are bad. Some are worse than others. The smallest of things could spark it. When that happens the U.S. will officially or unofficially try to invade Canada. Either gangs of roving thugs looking for food will force themselves across our border or The U.S. will try a land grab. That could mean the end of Canada as we know it or we could throw some nukes at them and get pummeled back. They can distroy a lot of land and the people on it with conventional weapons. They need our land and minerals and water, and may use that time period of chaos to grab (steal) it. That is one of the bad scenarios. There are worse. The pandemic could hit while all this other stuff is happening and catch everyone with their pants down. That means a lot of dead people. I don't have to like it, but that is some interpretations I have of current affairs under the shrub, I mean Bush administration. The ball is in his court and George and Dick are fumbling it.

Please don't flame me too hard, I am only the messenger, telling the possible truth as I see it. Michael J. Kaer