Long Range Predictions

I grew up knowing that at any given second the world could explode in a nuclear holocaust. So I am accustomed to looking at death of civilization as we know it. So after this election, I promised to look again at the whole world view. Among my friends, I have known for uncanny long range predictions, so here are my latest long range predictions:

1) Global Warming: For the next years, this will manifest as strange weather - more hurricanes, more drought, more hail and more tornadoes. Due to lack of the freeze, our state will start having pest problems that we never had before. Due to the huge number of catastrophes, everyone can expect less government help and less humanitarian help. Count only on family, friends and neighbors. If you live on a flood plain, then move!

2)Energy Shift to Wind and Solar: Simply put either our economy totally shifts to wind and solar or we go back to the stone age. Any place going nuclear will fail, because nuclear takes a long time to get going and uranium supplies will soon also reach the peak possible supply, becoming super expensive. Coal will become more and more toxic to mine and to use.

3) Government Bankruptcy: The Republicans have truly trashed government. It will take extreme skill to keep the basic government going. The stadiums are going to become the uber symbols of government waste. War is far too expensive to indulge in. Here in Minnesota, we are going to start really feeling the negative payback of the Pawlenty years. However, Pawkenty will smile and duck all responsibility yet again. We need a miracle where the focus of state government shifts to a green local based economy. Pawlenty's green tax giveaways are a joke!

4) Plagues: With globilization, the economic worldwide crisis, and with more global warming disasters, some form of health plague will hit. My best guess is influenza. The first stupidity will be attempted isolation when it is already too late. Airlines will then basically stop. Then governments will go into reverse globalization to prevent another world-wide plague.

5) Universal Government Single Payer Health Care: After a version of the plague, health care will truly go universal with one insurance pool. Since most of the weak or sick will have died off, it will not even be an issue. The fear of another version of the plague will make basic universal health care seem essential.

6) Drinking the Koolaid: Basically the wingnut personality will go ever further off the deep end than what we see now. Since this personality cannot accept the consequences of their own beliefs and actions, they will try to vilify anyone and anything else. And they have stockpiled AK-47 assault guns. So news will feature the gone-crazy episode of the week.

7) The Suit will become a Fashion No-No: At social affairs, the suit will become a fashion no-no because it will symbolize greed and the Wall Street cause of the current economic crisis. The rejection of greed will become the rejection of the suit. Display of ostentatious wealth will be replaced with wind turbines, solar panels and obvious reuse/recycling/repair use.

8) Unearthing the Buried Patents: Suddenly the oil and gas companies will reveal their long buried patents and started manufacturing exceptionally fine batteries,

9) Small Business: Once health care is no longer a barrier to small business, then small business will take off. Even people who work full time will have hobby businesses. Businesses will flourish in repair and reuse. With more use of mass transportation, delivery is going to be an important business.

10) Cooperative Values will Replace Competitive Values: Small barely surviving communities are more cooperative. Just look at Alaskan tribes or Mongolian tribes as examples. Because of severe weather, we in the midwest have always had a strong urge to cooperate. Well cooperative values will become more valuable that competitive values.

OK, what are your long range predictions?