How BAD do you think this is going to get...?

[FirstLight]

Poll question: How BAD do you think this is going to get...?

In recent weeks, it has become painfully clear to me that I cannot begin to wrap my consciousness around the magnitude of the problems we face as a nation, a species, or a planet. The size of the handbasket is something to consider, but the velocity in its descent and the depth of our abyss is still speculation...

The QUESTION: How bad do you think it will get?
Please PICK your poison.
Then POST your timeline for said demise...

have fun! let the doom and gloom begin!

[goldcanyonaz]

1. Other, we're all fucked and can't believe we're not rioting in the streets.

[existentialist]

4. Wait a minute

I just voted "other" and just after that there was only one "other " vote.

Either we're undercounted, or they count slow.

My own take is that we cannot know for sure. I believe in chaos theory, and the world is certainly chaotic.

A tiny thing could make a big difference.


So who knows? But I do still have hope.

[goldcanyonaz]

7. Hope doesn't put food on the table, nor does it put gas in my car.

[JuniperLea]

28. Hope arrives too late a lot of the time for a lot of people

I can remain hopeful while understanding the doom I see ahead of us, but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit and wait for it to help me out.

[JeanGrey]

42. Gas is soaring to over 3.50 a gallon, diesel is way over $4 for the

poor truckers, today I paid $4.59 for a gallon of milk. We're living on disability but at least our house is paid for. I don't know what poor people will do. Does anyone not see the absurdity of a poor working man, struggling to get by, going to work on a car held together with spit on bald tires and paying $3.50 a gallon for gas???

[JuniperLea]

27. Oh, it will come... it will come...

I'm convinced.

[panader0]

2. I still have hope.

I mean, if one president can screw things up up so bad in 7 years, maybe a different one can patch things up in 7 (or less) You know, good intentions and actions accomplish a lot more than bad ones.

[tom_paine]

56. It is easier to destroy than create. The damage the Bushies have done already can't be fully undone

We've run out of time. Not just environmentally, but demographically, as well.

The baby Boomer Retirement wave is going to hit like a fiscal tsunami. Had President Gore been allowed to asssume his rightfully won position, it is likely the National Debt would be down to $2-$3 trillion and need I say 9/11 would probably not have happened.

The Bushies would never have MIHOP or LIHOPPed it had they not been in power to take advantage of it.

Out of time.

However, I could be wrong and hope springs eternal.

[Richard Steele]

3. With a bit of luck, we -MIGHT- be able to postpone OPEN CANNIBALISM until 2015 or so. nm

[FirstLight]

5. Ya...that would be funny...

:rofl:



...IF it weren't so close to being true! :scared:

[Richard Steele]

24. It would be funny if I was KIDDING.

I'll bet you a NICKEL we have reliable reports of cannibalism
before December 2014.

NOT random "serial killers"- I'm talking about people being killed, slaughtered,
and sold by the pound as MEAT in a "business" environment.

[JuniperLea]

6. I dunno...

Elitists are sooo juicy and delicious! It's hard to imagine that people won't be bragging about those they had for dinner the night before.

[FirstLight]

8. I prefer mine..."free range" myself!

and cooked over an open fire! mmmm!

[JuniperLea]

10. Hickory? Or Mesquite?

No... Mahogany! Nummers!

[goldcanyonaz]

9. Now, this might be bragging, but I did have dinner with the tweeker next door last night.

[JuniperLea]

11. Oh my!

I bet tweekers are tender as all get out!

[goldcanyonaz]

13. She's a nice woman who is just caught up in a bad life. I wish I could help her more.

[JuniperLea]

20. You're a good friend...

But be careful... good people do bad things to the people they love most when they are under the influence.

I remember when Bill Ward was on the streets in downtown Los Angeles... and I wondered why none of his friends would help him out. I mean, my GAWD! The man is a legend (drummer for Black Sabbath, just in case you didn't know the name). The last time I talked to him, he said he blew through a fortune in money AND friends because of the drugs. He's the nicest guy you ever wanted to know... like a right proper English gentleman he is:)


Edited to say... he's clean and sober now... thank Goddess!

[IADEMO2004]

16. tweaker meat too dry and has an after taste

[JuniperLea]

22. LOL!

I guess I went from connoisseur to kindofsewer:)

[bbinacan]

12. Things are bad?

Not as bad as the press portrays. If it bleeds it leads. An old expression goes something like this, "nothing is as bad as you are told or fear, and nothing is as good as you are told or hoped for".

[goldcanyonaz]

15. Things are very bad, people can barely afford to put gas in their cars.

[bbinacan]

19. And what would this

percentage of the country be?

[goldcanyonaz]

25. At least 50% if not more. I traveled across the country recently and it sucks.

[bbinacan]

35. Really?

Get out of town. How did you arrive at 50%? Do you have empirical data? If I follow your "scientific" analysis, the world is just fine based on my location. Want to know where?

[goldcanyonaz]

37. Texas? Oh, we were there too, and it ain't doing that grand either...

I'm an Engineer and for jobs, then TX is the place for me to be, but I couldn't stand the traffic.

If you think the country revolves around Texas then you're sadly mistaken. Many people are out of homes who have worked their entire lives.

[bbinacan]

38. My permanent home

is in NC. I'm on a pipeline project SW of Ft. Worth. This area is booming. It's all about perspective based on your locale. And my hometown of Raleigh, NC is doing quite well.

[goldcanyonaz]

39. As an Engineer, Michigan was dead, and here in Arizona it's a joke.

I had quite a few offers in Houston but couldn't stand the traffic. I should probably reconsider Texas, huh?

[bbinacan]

41. What kind of engineer are you?

BTW, once upon a time I lived in Phoenix and hated it.

[goldcanyonaz]

43. I'm an electrical controls engineer.

[bbinacan]

48. Can you apply that

knowledge to the energy industry? I'm not an engineer. I'm a right of way agent that acquires easements for infrastructure. Right now, I'm working on a natural gas liquids pipeline.

[goldcanyonaz]

50. Yes, of course. I'm an electrical engineer by trade, but here in Arizona it's just not happening.

[bbinacan]

51. You may want to look

for work in the Barnett Shale area of Texas. Here's a link on the subject. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnett_Shale

I hate traffic too. Most of this is west of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. There are estimates of 39 mcf of natural gas in this area. Harder to extract, it requires fracing, but with today's prices it is worth the extra expense. Good luck. I hope this may help.

[goldcanyonaz]

53. Wow, thank you so much for the lead. I truly appreciate it.

[bbinacan]

54. You're quite welcome

and best of luck. Keep me updated please. I'd look at Devon and Energy Transfer. They seem to be big players in the area. I don't represent either, but I run across them all the time. Oh, you might want to check out CrossTex.

[LondonReign2]

64. Actually, Chesapeake is the biggest player

in the Barnett Shale area around DFW. They are hiring gobs.

That isn't to say that outside of oil & gas the economy isn't shitty...

[bbinacan]

70. That's right.

I forgot all about Chesapeake. They are everywhere. Since I have't had to deal with them yet, I guess it's out of sight and out of mind.

[tammywammy]

58. The DFW area is doing fine right now

It's the fastest growing area of the country and economically doing just fine.

[NickB79]

67. Someone working in the energy industry thinks things aren't that bad

That's a shock :sarcasm:

[JuniperLea]

26. 10,000 children go to bed hungry in Los Angeles every night

That's too many... mutliply that by other large cities in the country...

You might consider getting out more. Volunteer at a local rescue mission, feed hungry people for just one day... then ask again.

[JuniperLea]

23. I've seen some very sad things recently...

People at the pump trying to get gas... pulling out credit card after credit card trying to get one of them to be accepted... I've seen some very well dressed people show up at food banks downtown too... it's bad.

[Mojorabbit]

33. I don't know

I saw a map of the world with places that have had food riots lately marked in a post here today and it was a lot of countries. When I do my turn at the homeless feeding there are more and more people each time. I think it is bad but will get much worse.

[sendero]

75. You have it exactly backwards...

... the prospects for bad are 10 times worse than the MSM is talking about.

[TransitJohn]

14. There's no problem human ingenuity can't solve.

It's just a matter of finding the profit in the solution, sadly.

[JuniperLea]

30. Sadly, you nailed it. eom

[doctordog]

32. People living beyond their means

People in nice suits getting credit cards rejected are living beyond their means, you will suffer in the end for fiscal irresponsibility.

[stillcool]

46. Bitter or naive?

[JuniperLea]

60. seriously... eom

[JuniperLea]

61. Ha! There we have it!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=user_profiles&u_id=218978

[The2ndWheel]

63. Or create at the same time

[NickB79]

68. Exactly, human ingenuity CREATED the current mess

The ingenuity to build society around non-renewable, finite energy sources like fossil fuels knowing that one day they would start to run out.

The ingenuity to fail to see the ecological damage those same fossil fuels would do to the environment and the atmosphere.

The ingenuity to clear-cut massive forests and replace them with monocrop cultures of genetically engineered crops bathed in herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers.

The ingenuity to allow our population to push past the carrying capacity of our planet, virtually ensuring a mass die-off at some point in the future.

See where I'm going with this?

[chknltl]

17. Humans will continue on

Barring a meteor strike, I think we no longer have to worry too much about human extinction. Can it get worse than it is for America? Sure, of course! We could easily follow the Romans Empire's lead and worse wind up bringing about a second "Dark Age" as we take the worlds economies down with us...but in the end, humanity will rise and eventually democracy will rule us all.

Will that be the case? Who do you think I am, Edgar Cayce??? I am just another biased American who thinks that his country is powerful enough to cause such a tragedy to occur and can see that it is sorta happening as we speak...oh and I slept at that one motel.

[marmar]

18. If the earth "fucks us over"......

..... It's nothing but well-deserved revenge.

[FirstLight]

21. hear hear!

...I think that the Earth is probably pretty upset with us too...I certainly am!

[dysfunctional press]

29. right now, i just want to make it to 12-21-2012 to see what the hub-bub is all about...

and find out if maybe those wacky mayans were on to something on the profound side.

[lonestarnot]

40. LOL

[cynatnite]

31. You should have 'I'm spending too much time at DU'?

When I'm thinking the world is going to hell, life is a bitch, and there isn't a reason to get up tomorrow morning because of all the bad...then I know it's time for me to get off my ass and away from DU for a while.

[FirstLight]

36. teehee you could very well be right!

but it IS addictive, aint it?

[FirstLight]

34. Let me 'splain...

Part of the reason for posting this is because I have probably been indulging in scaring myself a bit, but damn! the headlines about food shortages, water shoratages coming by the end of summer, dreams of oceans rising rapidly, etc... The election? Well IF we actualy haveone, it will be fixed, and honestly, I don't see us even making it to that...I have a sinking feeling that our world is about to change drastically. Economy will mean shit when we have NO FOOD OR FUEL OR STRUCTURE OR AN EPIC NATURAL DISASTER...

Humans continuing on? I think that the population wil have to be DRASTICALLY reduced globaly for us to have any sustainability in the near future... our world infrastructure has to come to a screeching halt and be rebuilt with beter ecology in mind...and it is not on the horizon, not by a long shot.

I live in a rural mountain town, so the idea of staying out of the way of the insanity in the streets is easy for me to hide in...but the reality of losing our food shipments, fuel, etc is really daunting...especially with 20 feet of snow outside! I go down the hill to the city and am awestruck at the infrastructure and the hugeness of it all... too many humans just in one state, let alone a planet...we are not even close to waking up as a species. I guess I better stock up on survival gear and barterable items...

so this is a questionnaire to see where some of my collective "like thinkers" may or may not agree...and perhaps help me to get my mind out of the perpetual despair.

[lonestarnot]

44. study the piss ants. LOL

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3158828&mesg_id=3158828

[Fox Mulder]

45. Well, if the media didn't deem Dennis Kucinich "unelectable",

then things would've changed a lot sooner (assuming he won the presidency).

But alas, things will still be the same, no matter who gets in office. I'm thinking we'll be fucked w/in 50 years.

[elizfeelinggreat]

47. Gore

was the most able to affect change in time.

Thanks for nothing, Corporate Media.

[Fox Mulder]

49. A Gore/Kucinich or Kucinich/Gore ticket would've rocked.

Sigh.

[bamacrat]

59. Right on!!

That was my dream ticket either way you say it. I share that sigh as well.

[roamer65]

52. A hyperinflationary depression.

Very similar to Zimbabwe, or post-WW1 Germany.

[El Pinko]

55. Other - Things will be very hard for many, but not all bad. People will adapt.

I see the economical and ecological problems mounting as challenges and opportunities. I think with the new administration, we will hopefully put our economic strength in new, more constructive directions that will improve living standards for regular people while reducing pollution and consumption of fossil fuels.

It's going to be a painful transition, but people have adapted to painful transitions in the past, and we'll adapt to the coming ones.

My one and only worry for the long term is population growth - it's the one thing that is hard to compensate for and the one thing that really needs to be reined in for the rest of these things to ever be stabilized.

[davekriss]

57. I have three kids, all adopted

And quite a collection, too. May oldest daughter is early-onset rapid-cycling extreme bipolar disordered, my younger daughter is autistic (moderate on the Carrs scale); and my youngest son suffers reactive attachment disorder and ADHD (technically he's not my son yet, just my foster son, but we are on an adoption track with him). When we see newlyweds, we just trot out the kids. Scares them off their ideas of having a big family! Just doing our part to encourage birth control.

[MoeHayNow]

62. "Screwn"

Put me down for that one.

[LanternWaste]

65. I'm neither a religious nor secular End-of-Timer

The realization that I'm neither a religious nor secular End-of-Timer provides me access to my own little biases.

Mankind has faced challenges in the past ands has overcome them (sometimes rather painfully, sometimes rather peacefully, and rarely on the timetable we as individuals set).

I'm relatively confident in the ability of mankind to meet and greet these challenges, and then to overcome them.

[DutchLiberal]

66. Either the administration cancels the elections, citing martial law, or...

...McCain will steal the elections.

I don't believe for a moment they're going to turn over power to Obama.

[Javaman]

69. It starts this summer...

if and when a major heat wave hits. Rolling brown outs or black outs.

The fall will see decreased harvests due to lack of rain in some areas and way to much rain in others.

This winter will see record breaking prices for heating fuel in the north. A cord of wood will be a prized possession.

Fuel will get so expensive, we will see the next tsunami hit. The mass migration of the work force. People will be forced to quit because the commute to and from their jobs will become to expensive. This of course will come after employers cut back their work force due to no orders or a major drop in retail sales (but then again that is already happening).

The following spring will bring food shortages as national pantries run out. Shipping, trucking and general deliveries become no longer cost effective. And because of the neglect to our train industry, there won't be enough rail to cover the loss.

Also, the dollar will continue to slide as more and more nations choose to trade the very expensive oil in euros, as a result, inflation here will take off. By the fall of next year, black-markets, bartering and accepting only euros will be the norm.

That's as far as I can see.

[BeHereNow]

71. You left out THE clear voting choice-

"We are totally fucked and then we will be fucked some more-
it aint gonna get better in our life time"

BHN

[robcon]

72. Things are fine. 2008 will be an excellent year: a dem will be president,

we'll control both houses of Congress, and hold the majority in the supreme Court.

[Junkdrawer]

73. The FEMA camps they're building tell you how bad our leaders think it will get...

Getting ready...

[ColbertWatcher]

74. How about: our system of government...

...already has the solution to the GOP messes, why don't we use them?