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Long Range Planning
New -- 11 February 2011
When I speak of "long range planning", I mean... L O N G - R A N G E - P L A N N I N G! Not in time spans of years or decades... more like multiple generations. It's planning for one's descendants... not to mention the descendants of your friends, relatives, acquaintances (FRA), and a whole lot of people you've never heard of, those you know nothing about, and probably never will. (Possibly, you might not even want to know about them... the ungrateful bastards!) In some case, your efforts will be for those kids who are still in the planning stage and in the twinkling in the eyes of your great grand kids. Obviously, then, this is not the kind of planning where you receive any direct benefits. And that point turns out to be somewhat critical. Suddenly, your time and expense are being utilized to benefit the future, the same future where your name will most likely be forgotten! Well... except perhaps for a few weird notations in someone’s genealogy... one of those places where a family tree has an * on one twig, as if the current generation believed that some family member's DNA may have gone seriously astray. What we're talking about here is the kind of planning where the goal is more altruistic... perhaps even in the sense of thinking of the welfare of the human race... and when you've long since left the race. Terry Pratchett, in his novels, The Dark Side of the Sun and Strata, includes within his delightful stories the plausibility of humans going to great lengths to ensure that the human species, in one form or another, survives despite the fundamental uncertainties of life in a chaotic universe. Maybe one or two planets inhabited by humans or near-humans are toast at some point, but if the species is somehow flourishing (and/or struggling) on enough planets... widely separated for obvious reasons... then the odds for a species survival are almost acceptable. [Curiously... or not so curiously... key players in one of Pratchett's stories are an ancient race known as The Jokers. That name says a lot.]
Being limited as we are... at this point in time... and assuming that the human species is not already strung out across the local spiral arm of the galaxy (and thus the local bunch on this particular planet have completely forgotten about the larger scheme of things by their most distant ancestors)... Then it comes down to our doing some long range planning so as to hopefully ensure that portions of the human race survive here on the earth. The idea is to plan for survival, even when the universe decides to throw Earth a curve or spit ball, comet, asteroid, shower of rocky junk-mail, burst of deadly radiation... or whatever. Or where some other clever calamity pops up to make April 15th totally and absolutely irrelevant. Keep in mind that i’s not like the next time... will be the first time. Pre-Ancient History In recent decades, evidence has begun to accumulate to make a strong case that there were civilizations going about their daily chores prior to the current crop... i.e., those beginning with the Sumerians, ca. 4000 BC. For example:
The question which was be asked, of course, is what became of those civilizations? Did they meet their makers prematurely? Perhaps more intriguingly, did they leave bits and remnants behind for much later generations to mull over and contemplate? Were there in fact survivors who re-started the civilizing process? One possibility, for example, are the Annanage (aka the Anunnaki), as described by Laurence Gardner. They were the patrons and founders, teachers and justices, clinical technologists, agriculturalists and kingmakers. They were “governing masters, and were the very first beings to be documented as gods.”
Sir Charles Leonard Woolley’s Sumerian excavations in the 1920s at Eridu unearthed the remains of the last Eridu ziggurat (dated ca. 2500 BC), and under this construction found seventeen temples, with the oldest dating back to proto-historic times. The implication was clear: civilization existed long before the Sumerian. The dates suggest periods “onward from around 10,000 BC. This was a time of emergence from the last Glacial Period and from the worst ravages of the associated Ice Age.” [ibid, pages 81-82] Gardner notes also recent discoveries in Israel of wild grain in use as early as 14,000 BC, “specimens of wheat and barley dating from 23,000 years ago, long before the last Ice Age.” [emphasis added] From Canaan and elsewhere, domestic agriculture appears to have “emerged several times in numerous parts of the world during the past 20,000 years -- possibly from as early as 50,000 years ago.” [ibid, page 84] Furthermore, Scientific American [3] has reported,
And as manipulation of crops goes, so goes the potential for interventions into human DNA. Gardner has written, for example, that it was the advent of the Flood and its aftermath which motivated the urgent and important in vitro fertilization work, leading to the creation of Adam and Eve. [Of particular importance is that Gardner has made an excellent case for chronologically placing the Flood before the time of Adam, ca. 4000 BC.] [ibid, pages 85, 134-126] Post Ice Age And it is precisely here where the foregoing aside into pre-ancient history becomes relevant to the subject of Long Range Planning. Gardner writes:
In other words, ancient history tells of a re-start of civilization... and effectively explains the otherwise inexplicable “sudden appearance” of numerous aspects of civilization in Mesopotamia c. 4000 BC. Civilization was given a jump start... and the jumper cables had the Anannage and possibly proto-historical ancestors of humans on the other end. An intriguing question that is not immediately answered is whether or not these "proto-gods” saw the cataclysm coming? With an ice age, quite probably. It also stands to reason that an ice melt would yield... surprise, surprise... a lot of flooding. And in fact, the Sumerian records do describe in considerable detail a preview of flooding... and where boat-building advice was liberally dispensed to such as Ziasudra. From high ground, “Shining Mountains” and the like, those with a degree of intelligent foresight could likely have been prepared, having already done a lot of long range planning. This leads us to the question of whether or not modern man needs to do some of his own long range planning. Possible Cataclysms of the Future Climate Change has gotten a lot of press of late... and regardless of whether or not it was those gas-guzzling Hummers that were responsible... the fact remains that when Nowata, Oklahoma sees an all time record low temperature of -31 degrees on Thursday (2/10/11), and 50 degrees on the following Saturday... something is going on!
Then there’s them darn sun spots and the fact that the long prophesized solar maximum of 2012 is likely to not only be something of a dud... but constitute a phase transition between the balmy weather of the last 90 years and the onslaught of another mini-ice-age... one akin to the 1620-1720 bit (where even royalty had to learn how to ice-skate). E. M. Smith [Solar Max 2014, then Grand Minimum for perhaps 100 years] has written:
He goes on to note other evidence from diverse sources that come to the same conclusion: that the “Transition Point in the phase diagram” has already been begun... and
The latter suggestion seems particularly relevant to the present discourse. It is also likely to send shivers up one’s spine... or any number of other bodily parts. But it doesn’t stop there. There is also the Gulf Stream which is considered essential to maintaining moderate temperatures in Europe. Note, for example, that the latitude of London, England (51.5 degrees north) is the same as the southern portion of the Hudson Bay in Canada, and slightly further south than Irkutsk, Siberia (>52 degrees north). The latter is located on the shores of Lake Baikal -- all of which is further north than all of Mongolia. Irkutsk is not exactly known as the Palm Beach of Siberia. It's cold there... except in the summer when it's downright... cool. The looming problem is the possibility that the Gulf Stream may be drifting into Never-Never Land -- essentially ceasing to exist as a carrier of warm water from the lower latitudes to the northern ones in the Atlantic Ocean -- and thereby creating a mini-ice age in Europe. Alternatively, the Greenland Ice Cap is melting, even if the rate is not fully known or appreciated [5]. Notably, if Greenland’s ice fully melted, the result would be a rise in the sea level of about 50-60 feet. Meanwhile, Antarctica may be making its own contribution to sea levels everywhere. NASA reports that it is more than just a matter of “melting”, and the seventh continent is “losing ice at an accelerating rate.” The key appears to be that “ice can flow without melting.” Furthermore, if all the Antarctica ice melted or left the continent by other means, the sea level would rise ~200 feet. If then one adds the factor that the Antarctica continent underneath the ice were to rise accordingly -- having shed most or all of this heavy ice burden -- this might increase the sea level even further. The major result is that a massive ice melt, flow, or conversion to melting ice bergs at sea in less extreme latitudes, could raise the sea level worldwide some 250 feet. Now.. did you ever wonder how much of human civilization resides at elevations of less than 250 feet (~80 meters)? A whole bunch! Billions. AND... virtually all of the sea ports in the world go under... making sea-going commerce severely stressed... if not non-existent. It’s becomes very hard to import food and energy under those circumstances. [See http://merkel.zoneo.net/Topo/Applet/ for a graphic way to show a bit of the problem.] Golly gee. This might pose some problems for civilization... and make the tradition of gods residing at high elevations (assuming the god is not fish-like and prefers water environments), all the more likely. Which is good, in that the rest of civilization might need some technological and other assistance in the event of a rapid, or even agonizingly slow increase in sea level. The "good news" is that this problem is slightly more gradual than some. For example... The Sky Is Falling Of all the future, possible cataclysms, one of the most popular is a large rock, comet, asteroid, or even small planet hitting the earth. This popularity stems from the fact that it's dramatic, tends to be extraordinarily fair in who gets wiped out, and is not easily dismissed, in that there is currently no scientific way to disprove the near-term possibility. In fact, there is also little or no motivation on the part of mainstream scientists to even try to disprove the possibility... if only because there are grants and funds to be had for scientists who can search the heavens for likely earth-shaking candidates. Basically, for anything coming in out of the blue... we’re talking:
These are quite likely not quite as unusual as we might like. There has also been a lot of talk lately about a giant “dwarf planet” or worse arriving for a brief encounter with the earth by... oh, say... 12/21/2012. The problem is that any large object, such as a planet... even a “dwarf” planet... would probably have been seen by now if it was trying to be prompt for the 2012 festivities.
On the other hand, if you’re not a conspiracy theorist, then there is also the possibility that the intruder from space is not visible because it’s too small to destroy the Earth... just large enough to wipe out 95% of the species and/or humans. There is also the possibly more likely scenario that a reasonable size rock has broken up into a hundred or so pieces and is, therefore, not easily detectable by normal means. Accordingly, what might be about to collide with the Earth is more of a “swarm” of meteorite showers that’s going to leave a pock-marked surface all over the Earth. In the latter case, recall Shoemaker-Levy when it impacted Jupiter, not once but 21 or so times? Or more recently by something no one (including, allegedly, NASA) saw... but left a “giant scar-like blemish” on Jupiter’s south polar region. As the MSNBC report noted:
So... how many rocks have to drop in on Jupiter... uninvited... before someone takes notice? Doesn’t the King of the Planets have “people” to take care of such gate-crashers? I mean... Really!
Jupiter, of course, is more likely, because of its much greater gravitational attraction, to attract comets and other cosmic debris. But the Earth is not a total slouch in that regard. Gardner, for example, notes that, c. 9600 BC, the Earth was emerging from the Younger Dryas Period (aka “the Big Freeze”).
Then there’s Tunguska... a similar event in... fortunately... the wilderness of Siberia in 1908 AD... that’s just over a hundred years ago. Folks... the sky is falling... or at least... occasionally... with a chance of high winds. Accordingly... the idea that it can’t happen here... on Earth... and at any time in the immediate future... is just pure fantasy. When we see Jupiter taking two hits in very recent years (and only 15 years apart), and the Earth taking hits periodically... and in historical times... one is obligated... under the rules of intellectual honesty... to recognize that life in the universe is just not all that stable, nor is it free from world-shaking events. And while, we wouldn’t want to cause any undo concerns, various aficionados in the rather esoteric science of Remote Viewing have seen in 2013 AD, a rather massive amount of too much water in unusual locations (e.g., approaching the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa), and additionally millions of refugees on the move... ostensibly in search of greener pastures, a land of milk and honey, or just higher ground. More specifically, The Farsight Institute reports:
... Now... none of the above future prognostications has to have any semblance to what is really about to transpire. In fact, the universe will very likely surprise us with something never even contemplated. Or not... just more of the old tried and true: flooding, meteor strikes, massive earthquakes, volcanoes erupting, and mini-skirts back in fashion.
Plan R
Extremely important in any long range planning is beginning the planning in the short term. In fact, one might even assume that such planning has already begun... by someone... somewhere... and for any number of reasons... some of which are enlightened, and some of which are positively Neanderthal. (Oh... by the way... the rumors in scientific communities about the Neanderthal species having gone extinct, have recently been found lacking.. as evidenced by the actions of a whole smattering of events that have made the evening news and involved politicians and certain celebrities.) For example, The Farsight Institute has observed:
In any case, the time to plan is NOW. If NEO (Near Earth Object) 2011OMG... or whatever its nomenclature will be... or is... If it upgrades its status from NEO status to CEO (Conjunct Earth Object, aka Chief Epiphany Orchestrator), then we need to have already done the planning, execution of the contingency plans, and are sitting in our easy chairs admiring our altruistic and prophetic Facebook page. There is always the possibility of our many-faceted sky watch simply failing to forecast or detect a looming problem. Or they already know its coming, and the reason that so many die-hard politicians are hanging on for dear life to their jobs... is that they want to be sure to be part of the “in-crowd” [pardon the pun] when it comes time to bury their heads... deep in underground, feel-safe, feel-good, well-provisioned, spacious vaults... thereafter to return as "gods" for the lucky survivors. It's simply that many governments who actually see something coming or lurking in the wings for a dramatic entry, might or might not tell anyone... well... anyone outside their particular circle. To avoid wholesale panic and/or a lot of people taking precautions to save their behind... many of those in the know would most likely restrict their prognosis for next Thursday to only those with “a need to know”, i.e. their buddies, those on the inside, and possibly those with the skills essential to maintain the elite in the style to which they have become accustomed. The problem remains that the odds-on favorite is for minimal or no warning... well... at least no warning for the vast population. What can be done? We know of at least one major seed depository. After all, humans will need something to eat... and seeds are a critical step in providing food. Thus the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in the frozen north. A related question is: Only one? Why not several? Just perhaps not tell anyone about the other seed depositories. No sense in facilitating a “run on the bank”! [Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun.] The great weirdness about Svalbard is that the location is just a bit too close to sea level. It’s like having the Internet Archival Depository located in earthquake prone San ?Francisco, or a “back up” Library of the world’s writings in Alexandria, Egypt (at sea level and surrounded already by societal stress and religious controversy). Come on, guys... if you’re going to place all your seeds in one vault (eggs in one basket), then why not locate said vault on: 1) high ground, 2) isolated from “civilization”, 3) in a moderately politically less active region, and 4) far, far, far from the maddening crowd? But then again, if you provide ONE vault or depository for the crazies to focus on in their quest to destroy whatever might save the day... then hopefully, those same crazies will forget about the possibility of other locations. Instead, the crazies spend their energies on the really challenge of doing their damage in the frozen north. Preserving seeds is cool, of course. It is rather in keeping with the well-established traditions of classical agriculture where preserving seeds is very nearly built in to our genetic makeup as humans. But what about technology depositories? Talk about secret. This could be the State-of-the-Art technologies that we don’t even want the world to know about... at least not yet. Technologies with astounding physics and engineering marvels that no one would ever trust to some lame duck politicians... quacks by any other name. Such technology might include: advanced propulsion systems, over-unity power devices, biological advancements to extend life by more than just a handful of decades, and other clever bits. E.g., Connective Physics and the like. Also see The Trends Journal, Winter 2011, and the bits about “Alternative Energy”. This is Technology with a capital “T”... that might better be described as Meta-Technology. Furthermore, if there was some meta-technology in the deepest, secret agencies of different governments, I can not imagine anyone with such access to even consider telling the reigning politicians. Talk about some people who are NOT READY. In fact, it seems to be an almost foregone conclusion that there is a LOT of TECHNOLOGY that is being held in SECRET. This is where it really matters. And if it comes to it... when the world is really in a catastrophic state, then the technology will slowly be revealed... although mostly from the fruit of the technology, rather than the how and why of its physics. Hopefully, there are organizations today that are preparing for a world calamity, and where they can thereafter "rush in" and re-establish civilization. Sadly... or happily... depending upon your viewpoint, anyone really on the inside with a meta-technology is very likely taking a very LONG TERM VIEW, and thus the fact that millions of people may be suffering... or that billions may die in a world-wide cataclysm... such factors means very little. Rather, it is the idea that there may be those who are far more interested in the preservation of the species... instead of minor details like world financial collapse, a variety of wars (religious an otherwise), poverty and starvation in every corner of the globe, such petty annoyances as Islamization, or pretty much whatever. We would also need History Depositories -- there’s just simply no reason to repeat all of this crap again. We might want to include some thoughts or indicators of what we might want to avoid, or be sure to include in the next edition of civilization. For example, there are the Georgia Guidestones. The beauty of this one is that the "Guidestones" offer a very brief, easy to read and understand, instruction manual for planet Earth... in the event of global cataclysm. How thoughtful... of someone. A critical factor is the reaction of many alleged members of the human species to these guidelines for civilization following a world calamity. One reaction, for example, is that the stones are suggesting that what we need to do is to eliminate 95% of the population... instead of what to do if there is a massive population decrease through no fault of anyone. Of course... maybe "the plan" really is to do away with 95% of the population. Might be a good idea... but I do have some thoughts to offer on exactly who gets to be a member of the surviving 5%. Call me, or e-mail me. In some respects the Georgia Guidestones serve a good purpose in allowing us to gauge the reaction of others to what is potentially very good advice in the event of an Epiphany to end all epiphanies. ***** There is also the “real estate issue” of location, location, location. Where does one place such depositories. Well... for one... on high ground. Underwater bunkers tend to have a very serious down side [pardon the pun]. But we would also need geologically stable areas... as well as politically stable regions. The key here, is probably multiple locations. Do NOT keep in a single basket all of one’s eggs (and yes... there’s got to be a lot of double meanings there) One might also want to plan for... well... Rapid Response Teams (RRTs). Of course, “rapid” is more on the order of months or years... while the dust settles. And if a comet or asteroid leaves a big hole somewhere, we’re likely going to be talking about a LOT of dust settling for a long time. One need to think in terms of “The End of a World Age”. Ultimately, the only security one is likely to ever find... is likely their friends. See you on the flip side... pardon the pun. ________________________ Curiously, this essay was inspired by the late Laurence Gardner’s most recent book, The Origin of God [Dash House, Brockenhurst UK, 2010.]. I strongly recommend this book, even if you don’t have time to read it now. You can always take it to your shelter for some more leisurely reading while the Earth is being bombarded... with... whatever. You might also want to take copies of many of the Halexandria.org essays... so that I can tell you later... that I told you so! _______________________ References: [1] Steve Gagne, The Energetics of Food, Spiral Sciences, USA, 2006, ch 38, p 445... as reported by Laurence Gardner, The Origin of God, Dash House, Brockenhurst UK, 2010, page 82-83. [2] Laurence Gardner,The Origin of God, Dash House, Brockenhurst UK, 2010, page 80. [3] “Tapping Crops’ Genetic Wealth’, Scientific American, August 2004, pages 28-33. [4] “Health a& Science”, The Week, February 11, 2011, page 23. [5] “True Colors”, National Geographic, June 2010, pages 36-47 & 48-67. [6] D. S. Allan and J. B. Dellair, Cataclysm, Bear, Rochester, VT, 1997, chas 8-9, pages 191-95. [7] Laurence Gardner, The Origin of God, Dash House, Brockenhurst UK, 2010, pages 88-90.
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