Back in the 1990’s scientists began to observe hundreds of holes, about 1 meter in diameter, in the arctic region of Siberia known as the Yamal Peninsula. Over several years of observation the holes were observed to be growing, eventually reaching diameters of 1 kilometer. These holes are emitting methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a “greenhouse gas” meaning that it traps heat within our atmosphere. Over a 100 year period, methane has an impact on the climate that is 20 times stronger than the impact of an equal amount of carbon dioxide, according to the EPA. Globally, more methane is produced by human activity than by natural causes, but that may change because melting permafrost releases a lot of methane when it thaws. This makes arctic methane especially volatile because it can have a compounding effect on warming. A November, 2014 study published by the Journal of Geophysical Research produced a model that predicts an increase in the rate of warming of Siberian permafrost, and therefore an increase in the corresponding release of methane.
I’m afraid that we lack the capability to respond to problems like these. For 200 years Americans constructed, maintained, and repaired infrastructure. However, for the past 50 years we have been spending money on many frivolous projects that don’t accomplish anything. We poison the microbes, plants, animals, and people of God’s Earth with toxins from our homes and automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and the chemicals of industrial agriculture. There are at least 3 potentially disastrous calamities that seem imminent; the collapse of the dollar, the crumbling of our infrastructure, and the impact of global warming. An incompetent and corrupt government is not going to be able to solve problems like these.
And you don’t need to go to Siberia to see what a crazy world this is. Today, while I was walking on the mall and looking for food in the trash cans like I normally do, a man came up to me and said, “Do you want this?” I looked in his bag and to my great surprise I saw that he was offering me slightly aged but perfectly edible organic bananas, organic vine-ripened tomatoes, and organic apples. Somebody bought them and instead of eating them, threw them away, probably because they weren’t perfectly good looking. Lucky for me, my new friend saw this waste and intervened. He found the discarded fruits and instead of eating them, he offered them to me.
When harsh circumstances and hard times arrive, there are going to be some people who will be smart enough and lucky enough to thrive. To Marjory Wildcraft and all my loved ones here at growyourowngroceries.org, I’ll do anything and everything I can to help in times of need.
This article is an entry in our January – March 2015 writing contest. Be sure to rate this article – your vote is an important part of picking the winners!
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