If you are paying attention to news and economics you will eventually come across people warning about a financial calamity on the horizon.
These dooms-dayers are advising that we stock up on gold, learn to grow our own vegetables, buy a goat, get a few chickens, and ready our weapons.
They claim that dark days are upon us.
And I say, tell that to the billions of Moms around the world raising their children as if the world will be a better place in the future.
But the warnings are justified. Every Mom – however naive, under-educated and overly-hopeful — needs to pay close attention to them. Resources for our children would be severly compromised if what they say is true.
It is widely known now that our financial system is corrupted. Americans have grown wary of agencies that were entrusted to provide it proper oversight. Currencies are backed only by ”trendy” commodities and manipulated by aggressive governments and corporations seeking to control resources.
All the while, our Moms are working day and night to keep the wheels of life churning. Many at this moment are cooking a meal, working at an office, cleaning clothes, building a business, reading a blog. But not enough are paying attention to the fragile systems on which they highly depend, systems that are making the much of our lives in America very safe and very comfortable.
Financial policies, political favors, pure capitalism and not-so pure socialism (subsidies) have entangled our most basic needs within complicated food, water and transportation networks.
We Americans now rely on fresh food to be shipped into America from as far away as Chile and New Zealand. Even our most basic staples such as rice and chicken arrive from great distances.
And we are okay with it. A little ‘too okay’ with it.
My generation believes that quick trip to Safeway means we have everything that we need within reach. And we do so long as our transportation system continues to work. In fact, food would be more difficult to obtain than ever if this system fails.
As we toil away, many of us are oblivious to the interconnectedness of our resources and how our roles play into these systems. Should it all unravel, who will be left to tend gardens few of us learned how to grow? How would we kill a chicken and chop our wood while our men left us to fight each other with their shiny new guns? Who will be expected to rebuild and repopulate our world?
As Mothers, powerless to influence politics and economics, we have been forced to depend on poorly designed systems only to be consistently punished for that dependency.
In a Dark Age scenario I wonder what Moms would have to live for? What would they consider worth fighting for? The money that vanished completely? The country that fell apart?
If a person’s courage and passion for life is not within reach before a society’s fall, then I believe it simply is not there. We would get old and die waiting for all of our confirmed cowards to turn into hopeful heroes.
In spite of warnings that we are in ”The End Of Times”, I do not see an end to the world in so much as I see the possibility of a new beginning. I see a new breed of hero walking our streets everyday. Many are dressed like Mothers.
Mothers are on the front line of every society. These systems exist to control resources and provide an economic structure. Mothers are billions strong and need these resources the most. Right now, thanks to the women before us mothers have more financial, intellectual and political influence than ever. I believe we need to build on that.
Others may recommend buying gold and that you start polishing your guns. But I suggest you visit your local farmers market. Consider possibilities where your home could be made less dependent on non-local resources by reading up on solar, geothermal and wind energy. Start your own garden or farm if you can.
I cling to the hope that we can shape our world by defending the life we create, the same way we protect our children from running into the streets or preventing the various other hazards that could befall them. We can cultivate new ideas. Our diversity requires that we build smarter systems to address the variables that exist in nature. The time to do this is now.
on 
on 
Debra Koepke
/ August 26, 2011Very interesting details you have noted, thank you for posting.
Sarah
/ January 11, 2011Regarding the coming storm and likely upset in our energy supply: At first I was hell-bent on getting some sort of alternative energy for our home (solar panels, wind turbine, something, anything other than that oil tank.) But as time has passed I have gained more understanding of the limitations of these technologies; the wear and tear, maintenance and replacement parts, as well as the initial manufacturing requiring fossil fuel inputs to begin with – are huge issues with both, not to mention the high cost. I find myself leaning more and more backwards, towards an earlier time, when we humans lived without so much power, so much technology. Rather than solar panels to heat my hot water and my home, I am captivated by the idea of putting in a masonry heater – an ancient Scandinavian art/”technology,” – a firebox surrounded by a big mass of rock or brick, that absorbs the heat and then releases slowly throughout the day, having no moving parts, no electricity, and yet can be used for heat, hot water, cooking and baking (I live in a northern latitude.) I would rather save the solar panel for the one thing I think it will really be necessary for: the water pump for our well.
In the meantime, since this will be a big investment (although one that will last a lifetime) there are other things I can do:
Rather than buying the bestest and fanciest Energy Saver refrigerator, I think now, maybe instead of keeping every damned possible thing in that huge box, it would be better to get a dorm-size fridge for things like milk, and expand upon my home-canning, preserving, cheese-making, jamming, drying and fermenting efforts.
Rather than insisting on wearing summer clothes indoors in winter, perhaps I could acclimate myself to the cold and wear long-johns and wool sweaters and keep the heat around 62 degrees F during the day, 52 F at night (I am already doing this – aside from the initial investment in some good quality Smartwool underwear, it has been painless and quite comfortable so far.) Put up window quilts and make insulated curtains to wall off parts of the house I don’t use much.
Rather than insisting on having hot water at all moments on demand, instead I could install a timer on it, having it go on for an hour in the morning, a couple hours in the evening, and just adjust my schedule accordingly. (The electrician is coming next week. Until then I have been simply flipping the breaker and turning the damned thing off until I need to use hot water – it only takes 20 minutes or so to heat up the water.)
Rather than having every single appliance and electronic device ON and ready to go at a moment’s notice, how about I install kill switches on everything? That cable box doesn’t need to be running 24/7. The television, the computer, the electric range, the dishwasher… every single thing has a circuit board that hums along continuously, often incorporating a clock – another thing I have enough of already. (Cable television went six months ago and I haven’t missed it once.) The garage door openers each use up continuous energy as well – those could be turned off when I am at home – which is a lot since I work here. That Internet phone service requires all modems to be running All The Time, so I am going back to a telephone land line – which has the added benefit of likely operation during a power outage. Even the phones themselves – I have been using the cordless, wireless kind – that you have to plug in everywhere. Why not just go back to a regular old phone that sits there lifeless until it rings?
As you can see, once I started paying attention I realized that turning off lights is barely scratching the surface. And the silence is nice, really. I can hear myself think again. I can’t remember the last time I saw a commercial on television
Heather
/ January 11, 2011Sarah,
Thank you so much for sharing this. You are right there are so many adjustments that we can make very small — now. I am very interested in many of the suggestions you have written about here. Is there a book you can recommend? I’m going to e-mail you. We hear about numerous technologies headed our way but you are ultimately right, I think. We need to strip away at things and live more simply. Capitalist America doesn’t seem to know what to do with it’s satisfied and happy.
Sarah
/ January 12, 2011Here are a bunch of links about masonry heaters if anyone is interested. They are heated with wood, but the clincher is that they use half the amount of wood that a wood stove uses. The masonry is so efficient, you only need to fire it up once or twice a day, instead of continuously feeding it:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/masonryheaters
http://mha-net.org/
http://masonryheat.com/
http://www.masonryheaterstore.com/
http://www.heatkit.com/
http://www.tempcast.com/
This guy has some good pointers about electricity savings:
http://energyboomer.typepad.com/energyboomer/2007/12/give-your-chest.html
Sarah
/ January 12, 2011This guy has an interesting little series of YouTube videos, of what he and his family did in their home. They are called Preparing for Peak Oil, Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4. Part one isn’t much but his own somewhat rudimentary explanation of what Peak Oil is (there are better websites for learning about that) but the other three parts are what he specifically did to his house. He clearly has plenty of money and some of the things he did will be impossible for others to do, but I found it very interesting anyway. That being said, I do believe that while these things are important to save money and energy right now, the garden and raising animals will prove to be the really critical part later on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHmXhgBhtWk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUCl1TruUfo&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlgetkGKF4E&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMVseuagYt8&feature=channel
Heather
/ January 13, 2011I look forward to check this out. My internet was running crazy slow and it was taking YouTube videos forever to download. But that is all fixed now. Thanks again!
Heather
/ January 13, 2011As always, great info! They are beautiful and I am impressed that they can keep a room heated to 60% when it is below zero. Thanks so much for sharing this.
Tracey - JustAnotherMommyBlog
/ January 10, 2011Some great points in this article. I think it helps me to read back through the generations and find that every single group feared for the next generation. Not to say that we don’t have anything to worry about, but I do believe that there have always been doomsday people and the ones predicting the next 20-30 years are no different.
That said, I HAVE been meaning to get a garden going. Maybe now’s the time?
Heather
/ January 10, 2011Thanks for your thoughts Tracey. I think you are echoing alot of us mom’s who still have alot of hope but are practical about needing to be self-sufficient.
Marina DelVecchio
/ December 31, 2010Wow, powerful and articulate post, Heather. I hope that we are as strong as you claim. I think you should submit this to EzinesArticles.com. Google it. Follow their submission guidelines and submit. You will get a lot of readers for the article and on to your site. Good luck, and Carry on with the empowerment of our children.
Heather
/ December 31, 2010Thanks Marina! I will do that! I’m trying to expand my reach.
Rio Guzman
/ December 24, 2010Great Heather!
Looking forward to see your article in electric cars.
Rio Guzman
/ December 24, 2010Hi Heather!
Get out of debt! Our debt is a great part of the wealth of Corporate America, and they have blood in their hands. Be conscious! Demand an electric car.
Heather
/ December 24, 2010Hi Rio! Great advice. I have an exciting article about electric cars coming in a few weeks that is going to smash all of the negative propaganda about them. I have a neighbor who bought one of the 500 RAV4 EVs first sold — 10 years ago! The data on these cars and their battery life is tried and tested. Big oil has good reason to worry about it’s business model as people learn more about this successful technology. An electric car is definitely on my wish list!
AskTracy
/ December 24, 2010The time to build IS now. The more you know right? Education is an important part of this whole equation. The more we Moms are able to understand and support each other, the more change we can make as a society for the better.
Heather
/ December 24, 2010Thanks for sharing your thoughts Tracy. Education is absolutely key. I see that you are working that angle in the blogosphere. Thanks for connecting. We have a lot of important work ahead of us.
AnarchoMama
/ December 23, 2010Great post! My partner is constantly talking about the coming ‘collapse’, and I’m well aware that it may actually occur some day. I want change…change that is great enough that many WOULD consider it a collapse, but clearly, I hope that it comes peacefully and with enough warning that we are PREPARED!
I DO believe that the time to learn the skills that will be necessary in the event of a collapse is NOW! Gardening? I had a small flower garden as a child…I have no idea when you plant what…or for that matter, what is best to plant for nutritional sustainability of a family! I can’t wait to start that adventure this spring! I have learned knitting and sewing, which goes a long way in clothing my son, and keeping my partner and I warm in winter! I hope to raise chickens and ducks for meat and eggs, and I’ve been toying with the idea of someday raising rabbit for meat.
We don’t want to wait for the ‘dark ages’ of transition to learn these skills! The more self-sustainable we can become, the more protected we will be should anything happen in our lifetime…not to mention the invaluableness of passing this knowledge on to our children…who are sure to experience something cataclysmic!
Heather
/ December 23, 2010Sounds like you’ve got a decent plan in place. I’m glad to hear of so many considering how to get off the grid or system. If we are working with Bruno’s timeline, I think I should be up and running before the pressure is on. Lot’s to learn by then, right? Thanks for your visit and comment.
Beth
/ December 23, 2010Brunolem–interesting that you commented on …”between 2020 and 2030″. Here in the States, in 2030 46% of our population will be senior citizens–The elderly population is expected to grow substantially in size in the next 20 years—with expectations of the total population (USA) reflecting 31.5% ages 65 and older, 11.9% ages 75 and older, and 2.6% ages 85 and older by the year 2030. To some degree most will be needing social services, and many have no retirement savings or plans….leaving Social Security benefits the sole means of providing for themselves. Add that to your brewing storm melting pot!
Heather
/ December 23, 2010Beth — I have a population post coming. You are mentioning the biggest elephant of all — our collective fear of mortality. There are people who think that humans will live to be 150 in our kid’s lifetime. I’m not planning on being one of them. Very interesting stats.
brunolem
/ December 23, 2010I wouldn’t expect any major catastrophic economic event in the coming years, because there are too many observers.
Remember, observers influence the experiment, or event, they are observing. In this case, I think they are preventing the event from happening.
To try to read the future, one should better observe what is disregarded by most.
The markets have had their blood in 2008-2009. Millions have lost their job and won’t find a new one. 10% unemployment is the new norm. So is 10% fiscal deficit.
The economy will find a temporary equilibrium with these new norms…until the next crisis, that will hit sooner than the previous one.
There were 7 to 8 years between the 2000-2001 crisis and the 2008 crisis. The next one will hit after maybe 5 years.
Meanwhile, freak weather events follow the same pattern, more intense and more frequent.
What you have is the gathering of a perfect storm!
I keep my “timing” unchanged: the s..t will hit the fan sometime between 2020 and 2030.
Our children (young) will be caught right in the middle of it and will have to live the rest of their lives with the consequences.
Heather
/ December 23, 2010Bruno, we’ll have to keep our blogs going until then. Hopefully my “army of moms” will push back your date projections. I’m working on it.
But I have considered the fact that so many people are watching those in power. We watched the financial crisis build, we watched GW become president TWICE! We’ve watched incompentence and corruption continue at tremendous levels. It’s a matter of waking those who seem to be sleep-walking. Maybe a slow adjustment down to knew norms is a good thing. Perhaps it is what we need to end better off with more time and balance.
Beth
/ December 23, 2010I hate war too…but as for a shakedown…my hopes and prayers are that folks would embrace simplicity…without having to have it forced upon them?!?!
I had to laugh about the “pioneer woman”, my ex-husband really was fearin’ that I would be pulling the plug and getting a horse and buggy:) I was going through my books the other day and found an old, handmade Y2K book that someone had been peddling. Lots of strange recipes…one is “Urban Deer” which is DOG! And the recipe calls for shallots, dry sherry, minced garlic etc. So…times are so hard you have to eat a dog…and you have shallots and sherry? Please!!!!
Social Services–I’m going into advocacy, for I fear that if I went into social welfare I’d wind up a total misanthrope. Don’t want that to happen.
And as for goats…check with zoning. Alot of city ordinances will allow for a female goat (the guys are REAL stinky!!!!!!)
Heather
/ December 23, 2010This “Urban Deer” recipe really made me hungry.
It may not be PC but I don’t see why we don’t eat dog. So many are destroyed. We should at least eat their meat. Maybe we don’t because of the vaccines.
Good to know on the goat thing. And you said it well, it’s best to embrace simplicity now. It will be forced on us eventually.
Beth
/ December 22, 2010Great post. I guess you could say that I am a “doom and gloomer”–I’m in school getting my degree toward social work, and the outlook for those who need aid and/or social services looks pretty bleak. To add to that, the gap in wealth distribution is staggering, prices in everything keeps climbing, good jobs keep getting outsourced to other countries, and all the while our national economy is volatile, to say the least.
really! Maybe it was the influence of very intelligent people that I know believing in it…maybe it was wanting a corrupt system to finally implode…I don’t know, but I began to take personal inventory of my own self-sufficiency and began to learn some wonderful, creative skills.
I remember in the 90′s, a conspiracy theory was of our country being socially engineered to be on par with that of second and third class nations. The humanitarian in me doesn’t mind “sharing the love”, but as I see that this theory of sorts is coming to fruition, I can see that yeah–Americans are getting a “correction” in spending, etc., BUT those at the top just keep getting richer. In the late 90′s–I was one of those Y2K’ers
*Animal husbandry. For years I kept a herd of dairy goats. Beautiful creatures, we would milk them–make all kinds of product from the milk–learn how to train an animal for a show ring–win ribbons and awards:)
*Gardening. Well, it gets better every year, but is usually prone to how busy I am with other stuff. Regrettable.
*Herbalism. Have been practicing this since I was 22…I’m almost 47…yeah; quite a while. Wildcrafting, growing, making most of my own medicines and bath and body products.
Y2K came and went with nary a hitch—as we all know:) I was kinda disappointed, but don’t regret my new “hobbies”.
People ask me what I think will happen in 2012. I say, “I think someone is going to sell alot of books”. In other words—selling fear and hype. I believe that any rational being can look at society and know that economically, socially, we are at the brink of some kind of breaking point where something is gonna have to give. Social services will not be able to meet the demands that tomorrow may likely bring, it is important for families to seek a life that is sustainable.
Heather
/ December 22, 2010I would have to call you a pioneer woman! For all that I wrote, I wish I could say that I was as far ahead of the curve as you are. I’m more in the “reading about how to do it” mode but it’s more on my agenda than accepting that Armeggedon is arriving. But I am very envious of your knowledge. I know who to call on when I get going on my plans, which I hope to be when my son is little older and can help. My husband thinks I’m unrealistic for wanting a goat in my residential neighborhood in L.A. but he’s cool with chickens.
I was going to reference the Y2K thing in this article to point out that everyone made it through, BUT George W Bush became president then and some dark days did follow. I didn’t want accept that their could be a correlation but….??
Oh, the social services is awful — way to much abuse but there is little reward for work. We do not have positive reinforcements now for things that matter. When people have topped out on our wants and needs, capitalism morphs into a very bad “ism”. I have a post brewing on that topic.
I hope for a shakedown to, but a non-warlike one. It seems like our foundations are so strained something will eventually give out.
Tabitha
/ December 22, 2010Wow…you took the thoughts straight from my head! As a mom I find myself naturally pulling my children (even the college student) in closer. I agree that the moms quietly working in the background are the heros. It’s not as glamorous and history probably won’t report that the mom who encouraged her daughter to be a good person, learn to cook and fix her own car, and learn to appreciate life for all it has to offer was a monumental person, but we do it anyways.
Heather
/ December 22, 2010Hi Tabitha,
Great to see you again! That’s a great way to put it—pulling your children closer. That’s reliable Momma instinct in action.