The Apocalypse: March 10, 2020. What are you eating for dinner?

The apocalypse : March 10, 2020. What are you eating for dinner?

Use what you've learned about food security this week to imagine a meal from the future.

This objective is worth +1 vision.

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“It’s all about collaboration, isn’t it?” said Verity, the slight lady we rescued from the desert that once was good farmland .

“That’s right, hon” my wife said as she added a few branches to the open fire. We were sitting outside in the cooler evening around the fire. New Mexico was experiencing 125 -135 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, but it dropped down to the high 90s during the evening. I rotated the turkey we were cooking. I smiled as Fred, Mary, Charlie and Angel nodded. We wouldn’t be eating if we hadn’t bonded together creating our own bartering collective.

I went and hand pumped another gallon of water. “More vegetables, anyone?” Fred held up the tray. It was still loaded with fresh veggies from the hydroponic gardens we sheltered from the heat. We worked inside mostly. Trips outside were very dangerous. With no grocery delivery to our population centers, people fled to the Midwest. Population had dropped below 3 billion and less than 100 million in the US. 120 million with Canada. Less than 500, 000 in New Mexico, the fifth largest state back in 2010.

We were about to double our Collective’s size by adding three families that had recently been “downsized”, read laid off, by closing local businesses. Only 5 or 6 businesses survived. Government continued to move slowly in recovery.

The over all economy was worse than it had been in the Great Depression of 2008. We survived because we knew how to survive. It all starts with using what you have. “The Event” of 2012 started the re-evaluation of civilization. Global warming had led to increases in temperatures,. Global melting led to flooding. But it was the incredible Earthquakes and tsunamis of November and December of 2012 that changed the face of the world.

“The turkey is ready, and so are the potatoes.” I announced. I uncovered the baked potatoes from under the fire. “With Mary’s herbs and glaze sauce, I call this Turkey a la Alchemy” Charlie cut the turkey and passed it around. We ate and discussed the future. The past was history.

Much of coastal life disappeared from the world as the waters rose and both shores and population moved inward. Living space decreased, as did the world population. Major centers disappeared and others grew. The United Nations moved to Bern Switzerland, the US Government moved to Des Moines Iowa. The US was reduced to 25 states and with Canada’s provinces added to make up the North American Federation. Similar events happened in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Fortunately the natural destruction refocused the Sino-Indian war and led to a semblance of world peace. Only a few nukes had been exploded, but a few high level EMP bursts sent world communications and computer designed and run factories into silence. Even with all the discussions of shielded computers, only a few were protected. The Solar flares from 2012 cooked a lot of satellites. But some things are eternal. We knew that political power games were still going on. We knew many of the rich, got richer still. We knew that humanity survived. We just didn’t get a lot of news. With little technology, no net access either, we were stranded and bounced back centuries into survival mode.

Our trainings in collaboration helped. We had no electricity, access to cars or even to larger civilization. The government was rebuilding. Cell phones were expected to be back on line within two years, along with electricity provided by satellite feeds. The pony express was the active mail service, once a month. They rode only at night.

The news from Evoke told us they would beat the government timeline, and their sat system would be up in 60 days.. Everything was moving more slowly, these days. So many initiatives developed back in 2010 had begun to flower when major disaster struck. African Unity had finally made them a power center in the world market place. Now they were sending prosperity and supplies to those who once had been trying to help them. It was a new world, for sure. My rip rap machine was ready to go once I got the materials I needed and sat communication was restored. We were ready. We’d learn how to improvise, jury rig solutions and find resources out of seemingly nothing.

We would rebuild differently. But we would rebuild.