Cue REM: And I Feel Fine....

I kind of like disaster books/movies, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it type scenarios. One of my all time favorite movies is Night of the Comet from the 80s (Daddy would have gotten us Uzis is a frequent comment in our home. Doesn't usually relate to anything, but it cracks me up). It always makes me think about how I & mine would fare in a day-after scenario.

The other day we watched The Day After Tomorrow.* I had thought it might be interesting to watch, but wasn't really inspired by reviews I had heard to see it sooner. It was pretty entertaining, overall. Yes, some of the plot was a little cliched. Some of the situations were pretty over the top (the leap Dennis Quaid's character makes to save his core samples in the first few minutes of movie? Whatever. Wolves? Yeah, sure.) But I liked the movie, and found myself thinking about the ice age this morning while lying snuggled cozily under mounds of blanket, listening to Andrew get ready for work.

It's pretty scary to think of all the changes that we might be making to our climate. Will we see any major effects that are very obviously our own faults in our lifetimes? I mean, people are always saying "AUGH! It's warmer than it should be; global warming is happening" and then, days later when it's back to normal, they don't notice. We've only been keeping track of temps for around 100 years, so it's not like we can really tell. I recently read a fictional book that took place during/after the real volcanic explosion in the 500s AD-ish which caused some major weather changes for quite some time, and starvation & disease for a few years after. What it showed is that even small changes to climate can have long-lasting, far reaching effects. What would you do if you couldn't go down to the grocery store to buy your dinner?

I even have a novel in my head that takes place after an apocalyptic global warming event. I've written some on it, did some research, but there are other things going on, the novels will wait. (As long as the icebergs don't get us).

I remember when I was a kid there was a lot of talk about how the Ice Age was coming again. This was way before we even heard of Global Warming. I read a book a few years ago about what the world might be like in that event-- it was a pretty good read; the author imagined some things I wouldn't have thought about, like a drought in the southern regions (cause all the water is in the glaciers!).

I mean, it's pretty obvious the world will continue to change. Things will not always be as they are now. Will it be for the better or for the worse? It's already pretty awful for some places on the planet. And pretty sweet in others. I wonder what the trends will really be, though. When I'm my Grandmother's age (and I hope I make it that long) what will I look around and see?

So for today, a question: Do you think it will be better in the future (flying cars, jet packs, travel to Mars, everyone happy) or bleak (toxic rainfall, Replicants among us, small civilized centers in the city and barbarians in the 'burbs?)

*And you know, of course, if you live in or are in New York City during an apocalyptic moment that all you have to do is hide in the torch of the Statue of Liberty? Cause it always survives even the worst disasters.