It's coming. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it. Will humans be ready? Today I want to outline my thoughts on the Ice Age planning. It won't be quick, thank goodness. But, the key is seeing the signs. *sigh* The old adage of "hindsight is 20/20" takes on a very depressing twist.
Of course, at what point do you shift from warning to planning to implementing? And who's doing this now? *Deep breath* Okay, okay. Enough drilling you. You probably don't know these answers any better than I do.
The ice age, when it officially is declared, will last at least twenty thousand years, minimum. It will creep up on us. The weather will become weird, with each year more extreme and recovering less than the last. Deserts will start to reforest, Amazon will change into a desert and those countries north and south of the equator will began to transform into permafrost wastelands.
Two or three generations later our descendants will look around and go, "Hey...uh oh."
Now, I'd like to keep a positive mind (shhh...quiet) and believe the best in humanity (SHHHH). Our ingenuity, perseverance, and...okay, face it, the need to self preservation will drive us into survival mode. So, what do we need to do?
First, cover the basic human requirements: food, shelter, water, warmth/heat. Okay not too bad. Already there is science being developed to regenerate food: through cloning, algea based growth, and hydroponic vegetation techniques. And there are viable architectural drawings already created by futurists for civilization domes...just waiting for good incentives and approved permits. Having icicles growing on your local politician's bum should rush those along easily enough. It'll be tight and we'll have to factor in the thickening ice sheets, so we don't end up buried. As for water...we can just develop a water system that processes all the ice outside. Easy peasy!
*Groan* Oh yeah, social infrastructure. Every city needs to run smoothly. That means things like energy, transportation, communication, waste processing, financial, manufacturing/business, and cultural.
All right, we also have well established alternative energy techniques such as solar panels and exploratory techniques, such as capturing movement energy (where floors are built with energy capturing technology). Transportation, same thing, we have energy efficient transportation systems and vehicles. Waste will be a little more difficult, but I think with the right vehicle and processing system we can overcome that with a little effort and a huge decomposition campaign. With the whole green movement in the last few decades we should have that down like rock stars.
The biggest issue I see humans facing is the financial, business and cultural aspects of a new Earth. Financially we'll break, completely. Those who are poor will get poorer and those who are richer will get richer. That's the way of human nature, unfortunately. Hopefully, society will immerge from this without ruining the safety of their shelter and infrastructure...and throw us into some kind of dystopian and/or utilitarian society.
Unfortunately for them, humans have populated the System enough to begin fighting over territory with the neighboring outer government. Now, the two are heading to war. Their father, a corporate dignitary wouldn't have it any other way. Due to the fact that the story is set in space, I didn't get a chance to explore the Earth society, but the excerpt does give us Nettie's departure from the planet.
Excerpt
The discussion died away and after a small pause, Nettie again looked out the window. Windmore City's dome began its simulation of sunrise in the distance, cascading yellow to burnt orange from the base of the dome up. The temperature dropped to a crisp and cool midfifty to complete the program. The tall glass buildings, in reflection of the dome, turned from blackish silver to various hues of red, pink, and orange.
Hard to believe, just beyond the protection of the dome was frozen land. Earth, a barren ice ball for over five hundred years, stayed in a state of constant blizzard. The domes recreated the old surface, but it wasn't real. No one could even be quite sure of its accuracy.
*****
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Hope you liked the excerpt. If you want to learn more about me, stop by my blog: Adventures of a Sci-Fi Writer or email me at ambernorris2000@yahoo.com
Duty and Devotion is available at Desert Breeze, All Romance Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo, and the Apple iBookstore.
Image sources:
Ice Age Planet Image source: http://www.uclick.com/widgets/ew/080530/ew080530a.html
City Dome Image http://viralideas.net/1609/houston-dome-project-a-controversial-concept/
