Rocky Times Ahead: Are You Ready?

[marmar]

from YES! Magazine:



Rocky Times Ahead: Are You Ready?
This isn't a future you can, or should, face alone. How to make sure you don't have to.

by Sarah Byrnes, Chuck Collins
posted Jan 20, 2011


“I don’t believe the economy is getting better,” says Billy R., a member of a mutual aid group in Oregon that he jokingly calls “my reality support group.” “All around me I’m surrounded by media and advertising urging me to keep borrowing, buying, and sleepwalking. I love meeting with others who are staring down the potential risks and challenges of the future.”

Maybe more of us could use a reality support group.

Even with the announcement that the official unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent, millions of people remain in dismal economic straits. The pace of home foreclosures has barely slowed and millions remain out of work. Even upbeat scenarios still assume protracted unemployment and economic stagnation for much of the decade ahead. The unspoken scenario is that things could get worse.

So here’s the point: you must not face the future alone. Find your own “reality support group” (we’ll tell you how below). This year, make a resolution to deepen your relationships with people around you with whom you can face what’s coming down the pike.

Sometime during the next couple of years, there will likely be a fundamental shift. It might be another economic meltdown along the lines of 2008, or a shock to the economy thanks to a rapid spike in energy costs. It could be a series of extreme weather events that result in flooding, drought, or unprecedented heat waves. Think Hurricane Katrina on a larger scale. These changes could lead to food and water shortages—and test our personal and community preparedness in ways that we have not experienced in our lifetimes. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/rocky-times-ahead-are-you-ready

[roody]

1. Plant edible perrenials.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. I've been doing that..

Our neighbors have plums that hang over our side of the fence, we added another in our yard and have since figured out that that shrub in the back is some type of plum that my Romanian friend calls a Corcaduce.
Two apple trees, 3 blueberries (with plans for more) Rhubarb, 3 types of grapes are all a couple of years in, so we got our first tiny harvests last year. I still want to find room for grape kiwi's, since kiwi's do so well here.

And I'm saving seeds from all my vegies, making sure I have at least 3 years worth, just in case.

[xchrom]

2. interesting. nt

[liberalla]

4. K & R

bookmarking to read later.

Looks like useful & valuable information - thank you for posting.

[cali]

5. yes, I'm pretty ready. And I've been pretty ready for over 20 years.

live in a small house in the country with a big garden. keep chickens, have gravity fed water and wood heat, live in a close community.