OT - Gas to hit 4.00

[Kenneth Burgener]

On 6/11/2008 2:11 PM, Kimball Larsen wrote:
> This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking response.  One item that does 
> come to mind is an interesting (to me) question:
> Should we have a societal meltdown, which would go first - internet 
> based infrastructure or real-world infrastructure.  In other words, 
> which do you think we would lose first - internet access or grocery 
> stores with food on the shelves?
> 
> <snarky>
> You can take the food (I've got/can produce lots more), but don't take 
> my intertubes...
> </snarky>
> 
> -- Kimball


I would assume it would be a fairly close tie.  I heard once that 
grocery stores carry about 1, maybe 2 days worth of food.  But it only 
takes a hot summer to have rolling blackouts that take down the whole 
eastern half of the continent.

I think we have a fragile economy, and a fragile infrastructure, but I 
also think we are robust enough to pull through on most disasters.  We 
have came back as a country through a great depression, world wars, 
recessions, several wars, corrupt politicians, hurricane flooded states, 
terroristic attack (9/11), and full eastern rolling electrical blackouts.

I think as long as we stick together as a country we could probably 
survive many more disasters as well.  My fear is we will eventually come 
to a point where we will not stick together as a country.  I see us 
being ripped apart internally by a civil war compounded by either a 
natural disaster, or terroristic attack.  I see our country becoming 
more and more polarized each year (this can be seen in such things as a 
50%/50% split in presidential elections).

Kenneth