by Sally Breen
Suburban News
Things that make me lay awake at night, or topics not to discuss at a dinner party.
Don’t we have enough to worry about without having to worry about the “comeback of Pangaea?” From a recent article in “New Scientist,” I learned that the first supercontinent, called Panagea, (when all the continents were clumped together) formed 300 million years ago. Pangaea wasn’t the first supercontinent, nor will it be the last, because our continents are halfway through another cycle of movement. This is less than good news, since this new supercontinent will have plenty of life, but none of it will be human life. There won’t even be any evidence that humans ever existed. I don’t suppose you want to hear about why the tectonic plates drift apart,and then reform?
Oh, let’s not forget to worry about the new superbug, MRSA, Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus? Hospital patients are especially susceptible. These bugs evolve faster than scientists can find antibiotics to fight them. Stay well!
Just to make sure I don’t sleep at all, I can always focus my sleepless thoughts on the bird flu. A United Nations report on October 24th reports that the world is not ready to protect itself from this potential avian pandemic, and that millions could die. If it strikes, who will want to go to school, or to work, or to church? Will we want to order our groceries brought to our door? Does Windham have a committee that is looking into prevention or guidelines to use when the first victim is identified in Maine? Are our Windham doctors ready?
Nuclear weapons are never far from my thoughts—the ultimate in environmental disaster. When will Iran have them? What about North Korea? Our president is pushing Iran into a corner. Will we try to bomb and occupy Iran, like we tried doing in Iraq? Or what will happen in Iraq when the U.S. finally has the courage to pull out? Who in Windham is working to stop this madness? Who will lay their body down on the highway alongside mine to prevent anyone from trying to locate a nuclear waste repository in the Lakes Region area?
Peak Oil!! Some people have still not heard of it. A German-based group, Energy Watch, released a study on October 24th stating that global oil production peaked in 2006, much earlier than most experts had predicted. It predicts that production will fall now by 7% a year. So I think I’ll buy a burro to ride to the grocery store. No car payments, no gasoline to buy, and lots of good manure for my gardens.
Time to take a sleeping pill. And if you see me at a party, let’s talk about our children and grandchildren!
Sally A. Breen
48 Lantern Lane
Windham, ME 04062-4414
(207) 892-8391 (home)
(207) 712-7566 (cell)
