Like wheat farming in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle during WWI that resulted in the dustbowl of the Depression, the Romans soon learned that the resulting farms weren't profitable to work. Farmers fled the land for the cities. The Romans passed laws to keep the farmers on the land. These laws tying the poor farmers to the land formed the basis for the serf system of the Dark Ages that followed.

Global Warming

Global warming is reality. Ocean levels will rise. Low-lying countries will disappear. River deltas, like the Nile, will either be covered with salt water or salt water will invade the groundwater table making irrigation agricultural impossible. Since deltas are a major source of food production around the world, food supplies will diminish. Climatic zones will move North and South from the Equator.

While the North American wheat belt will go north, it will take centuries for the Taiga soil to evolve to the point where it can support commercial wheat production. As global warming continues and the population grows, the food production will fall. Within thirty years, there won't be any food exporting countries. The economic bubbles that are India and China will have burst and the struggle will be to feed people not to export goods to the West.

There are scores of environmental problems whose bills will become due in the next fifty years. We lack the resources and technology to meet the challenges of these costs. The Mother of All Depressions will be followed by a Multi-Century Dark Ages.

Your Family's Lifeboat Options

If you're over 50 years of age and without descendants, you need not worry too much about the future. You won't be around when things really turn bad. If you have a family and want to see your children survive the future, there are some steps you should consider taking now:

1. If you live in a country that is likely to have severe economic and environment problems in this Century, immigrate now. Canada or New Zealand should be your first choices. You should consider Australia, Western Europe and the United States. Immigration is difficult, but it is certainly possible.

2. Anyone under 40 years of age should have some skill that would be needed in a Depression where the local currency has become worthless. For instance, if your profession is in construction, agriculture or medicine, you have such barter skills. If you are a store manager or a bureaucrat, you should consider developing a useful hobby, like gardening, canning, or fishing, into a barter skill. You should encourage your family members to do the same.

3. Globalize to Survive. While governments discourage their citizens from moving assets offshore, it is essential to do it for the long-term survival of any family. If your children must move to another country, having the money to do so is essential to making a success of life in their new home. It's not that difficult to open an offshore bank account or create a foreign corporation. It's a wise insurance policy against an uncertain and probably bad future.

If you disagree with my view of the future, make a copy of this article and read it again in twenty years. If you believe that the preponderance of evidence supports my vision of the future and want more detailed advice on how to function in a world gone mad, email me at: Beowulfinvestments@Earthlink.net


He has been the Managing Director of Beowulf Investments [http://home.earthlink.net/