End Days? What's Going On? Media Hype or Hope Life Will Go On?

 Is It Really the End of the World?

By Cal Orey

 Hurricane Ian, Flooding in the East to Drought, Wildfires, Earthquake Alerts in the West, Food and Oil Prices Soaring, and the Russia-Ukraine War…

You see, war is not the answer

For only love can conquer hate

You know we've got to find a way

To bring some lovin' here today, oh (oh)

--Marvin Gaye

In the Bible it points to famine, earthquakes and war that ends the world. In the film “Soylent Green” end days were based in 2022.  Nostradamus predicted the world would end in 2023. People around the globe are experiencing Earth changes and challenges between good and evil. So does it mean we’re nearing a ticking clock for doomsday?

Well, if you go back in time events like these have happened before. The threats we’re facing in 2022 are similar to events that happened before. Take a peek at the past and present checklist of four doomsday happenings.

Big One: The San Andreas Fault in California and New Madrid Fault Zone in the Midwest have been concerns since 1800. California did experience a great earthquake in 1857 at Fort Tejon (in the desert) and it is overdue for a repeat. Ditto for New Madrid region which affect seven states. There were twin great quakes in 1811 and 1812.

2022 Doomsday:  This year not much is rocking and rolling in the Midwest. Sure, there have been some earthquakes--and alerts on our cell phones--but nothing like what could happen in the future. Yes, the West Coast has been shaking but not the Big One yet.

ü          Recession: In 2008 yes, we did get hit with a major recession. Inflation hit hard and that came with rising prices at the grocery store to cost of living. Folks in the computer industry and building industry were affected, whereas, younger people ended up moving back home with parents.  The doomsday Great Depression in 1929 hit farmers who were coping with bad soil—people dealt with lack of food (such as flour, sugar, butter like we lacked during the beginning of the pandemic) and jobs were scarce.

            2022 Doomsday: Financial experts believe we already are in a recession or on the brink of one.             Unless you live in a different world you have seen the signs. At the gas pumps seeing more than             six dollars a gallon are happening in many states—even eight dollars in California. Food costs                are soaring. And the word is orange juice (only one superfood) is going to be pricey in the                       coming future because Florida’s orange crop was challenged due to Hurricane Ian and its wrath              of flooding.

      War: Baby boomers know their parents faced World War II. Japan knows it, too. The atomic bomb caused disastrous effects with lives lost to people in Hawaii coping with cancer from the radiation fallout. Also, boomers recall the Cuban missile crisis which came with fear of the atomic bomb. We were close to WWIII but in the nick of time it did not happen, and we all forgot about air raids and bomb shelters.

2022 Doomsday: Nowadays, as Russia continues to play “War Games” with Ukraine it is causing humanity a lot of hardship on both sides. Everyone knows if nuclear strikes begin there may be no stopping. Is it possible a nuclear winter could be ahead of us in 2023? Nobody knows for sure. But articles are showing us several likely nuclear strike targets in the U.S. if the Russia-Ukraine war escalates, and NATO gets involved.

Wildfires-Air Quality: Dangerous air quality is nothing new. Smog in big cities due to increasing population and man-kind. After the 1980 Mount Shasta Volcano eruption ash polluted the air. Wildfires in the nineties on affected the air in the Western states but it was more of summer seasonal hardship—not year-round.

2022 Doomsday: In mid-October the Pacific Northwest including Alaska fell victim to a dozen wildfires. Both Oregon and Washington, especially Seattle—it was noted as having the worst air quality in the world—made international news. Climatologists to firefighters know wildfire season is now a year-round challenge not just a summer threat. And yes, man and climate change are to blame.

 Meanwhile, the media is on a roll with doomsday articles titles similar to “How to Survive a Nuclear Attack” and “Seattle Has the Worst Air Quality in the World”… As an intuitive, I sense we will be challenged and endure more natural disasters and man-made stuff that nightmares are made of in the future. For now the best self-reliant thing to do is be aware, prepared (stock your pantry, first-aid kit, and get a list of things to have in case of an emergency). And stay out of harm’s way. Your mantra: “What if it all works out in the end?” Repeat as needed.

Armageddon? Or Not?

In the sixties we dealt with gas rationing, the great Chile and Alaska earthquakes and tsunamis. On into the seventies we endured political craziness with Watergate. On into the eighties we worried about the AIDS crisis that wasn’t just a gay thing and we never did find a cure-all vaccine. In the nineties we wondered if Y2K was going to wipe out our computer industry and put us back into the days of typewriters and no telecommunication. These happenings are unforgettable. However, the world is still here. No, we cannot control a lot of events like these, but we can learn how to cope the best we can and realize humanity is strong and resilient. The bottom line: Live life to the fullest because nobody knows if or when the world will end or even if our planet will fade out.