While listening to CBC the other night, a journalist who had just returned from Haiti, asked what I think is an extremely relevant question in light of the coming changes we are likely to see in our planet.
“What would you do if you called 911, and nobody came?” Or if it was really obvious that there was no point in calling 911. Or if the phone system itself had totally shut down, and there was no way to call 911?
It’s a chilling question for those of us who count on what we view as the most basic infrastructure to always be there.
The reality is, though, that the future is certain to hold more dramatic weather events and extreme temperatures, which is certain to result in more frequent failure of our power, communication, and civil infrastructures. Just ask the people in Washington D.C. It might not be this year, or next, or even 10 years from now. But it’s coming.
Cody Lund’s When All Hell Breaks Loose
(not that I am anywhere close to being a Survivalist, but it was an interesting read) describes a study that was done where people who had at least contemplated what they would do in a disaster, were dramatically better able to handle the psychological trauma of such an event than those who had always denied it would happen.
So now’s your time to contemplate. When there’s nobody to answer your 911 call, what will you do?
Or if the power goes off for a week at a stretch – which is not far fetched. During the 2003 blackout, some were without power that long, and during the Montreal ice storm in ’99 some went without power for longer – how are you going to cope?
Is the solution to buy a big generator, and start spewing two stroke exhaust into the air? Or to get a woodburning stove, and start deforesting the urban canopy as soon as the lights go out? Or is it to prepare in a way that means that for a few days or weeks you might be inconvenienced, but will still survive.
Which is the crux of the whole debate going on about climate change in the first place: In order for our civilization to stand any chance of looking remotely like it does now, we are all going to have to get really inconvenienced.
Not walking 5 miles a day to get water inconvenienced, but by our standards, pretty damned awkward.
For instance, to get to my job in Toronto, I have a choice of driving one person to a car – listening to my music, not having to breath other people’s air, and having my own space - or cramming in like a sardine for the hour and a quarter GO bus or GO train trip.
Guess which one is remarkably inconvenient. It’s also the only one that makes sense in the context of contributing in some small way to the solution. Here’s the deal though – when gas reaches $1.40 a litre (my prediction is by Victoria Day) – the $18.50 for a day pass is going to look a whole lot more convenient that cutting back on the grocery bill to pay for gas.
The question is: How to get people to choose inconvenient – but more sensible – solutions before they (in terms of gas prices) or we (in terms of constant, crippling weather events) hit the wall?
Because you know what? Some people are going to just have to suck it up. Which is a skill a whole lot more people are going to have to learn if things are to stand any chance of improving.
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