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The End of Days?

Posted on: May 01, 2007

By Kim Ward

The end is coming…the end is coming…the end is coming…etc. Since the beginning of time there has always been a doomsday prediction. And to be honest, for every civilization that has come into existence, a fated day of reckoning followed. It was usually marked by the collapse of whatever governing system was in control followed by chaos until a new government seized control hopefully followed by a period of prosperity or not. The cycle of prosperity, advancement, collapse and chaos has played numerous times throughout the history of man. Do we think we are beyond the touch of history?

Living here in the United States has afforded most citizens a degree of separation from the suffering taking place around the world. While there are people making life and death decisions in other parts of the world we find ourselves faced with difficult dilemmas such as which cell phone would best suit our needs or car color best exemplifies our personality. The lion’s share of suffering takes place outside of our borders. Unfortunately, it is easy to blame those who don’t suffer for pain inflicted even though they may have nothing to do with it. This imbalance of suffering has given those who suffer a skewed solution; destroy those who don’t suffer. Having an enemy who is willing to die to destroy us will only end one of two ways; their complete annihilation or ours. The war we are currently engaged in is not one to be taken lightly.

Another source for our eventual demise could come in another form other than war. Currently, bee populations have decreased drastically from 60 to 90 percent depending on what part of the world you are from. The cause for the mass bee deaths is unknown. Scientists have speculated it could be anything from cell phones to pesticides. In any case, the bee population is important for anything requiring pollination. If you are the type of person who likes tomatoes, pickles, onions, lettuce, ketchup, mustard and a bun with your hamburger you might be concerned. If you are a vegetarian you may want to panic. And for those meat lovers out there you may want to ask yourselves, what do cows eat? Albert Einstein once said something to the effect, if bees disappear so will humans within about four years. But then again Al was a little crazy.

But if starvation and war doesn’t bother you, maybe a little pandemic flu might. South Eastern Idaho District Health Region 6 along with the Red Cross has been warning people to prepare for an impending epidemic. According to officials at both these agencies the pandemic flu is not an “if” but rather a “when.” The scary part of a pandemic flu is the numbers of projected fatalities. The pandemic flu in 1918 took approximately 50 million people world wide. When those numbers are extrapolated to present population numbers the deaths could be around 300 million worldwide. A pandemic flu will affect anyone it comes in contact with and not only the young, weak and old. Look under our broadcast section to find a list of items from the South Eastern Idaho District Health Region 6 needed to help survive the upcoming pandemic.

And if a war with fanatics, the decimation of bees, and a pandemic flu make you feel at ease then the only thing left is a punch to the wallet to bring you to your knees. With the collapse of the sub-prime housing market lenders and the price of oil projected to reach over a $100 dollars a barrel, the economy is facing a bit of turmoil in the near future. Oil is the lifeblood of America. Everything we consume as a consumer needs oil in one form or another. If oil goes up so will everything that requires it in order to be distributed. Soon we will no longer be able to afford a drive to the grocery store, anything in the store, or drive back to a home we call our own. Now that has gotta hurt.

There are several other things which could also spell out our extinction but NASA, Al Gore and Happy Feet have already covered them. The key to remember is we will not exist forever. Start stocking up for some rough times because it is the wise thing to do and keep smiling. I hear there is a sale on windmills and solar panels on ebay and if there is a tomorrow, have a good one.

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