MOUNT SHASTA

POST # 84


This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to spend time with my friend Guy Mcpherson, and a host of others at a venue in Mt. Shasta, California. The purpose of the get together was to watch Mike Sosebee’s film, “Somewhere in New Mexico Before the End of Time", which is a documentary that discusses the future we are facing as a result of climate change and fossil fuel depletion. Throughout the documentary, Guy explains to the audience, just where we are at and where things are headed, including the prospect of near term human extinction and the message is a difficult one to swallow, for many folks.

After the film was over we sat around and had a discussion about it and listened to input from the people in the audience. The concept of near term human extinction can be quite a slap in the face to many people when they are confronted with it, and the reaction can vary from one individual to another. What I saw that night, was still a great amount of non-acceptance of this possibility, and I suppose that is a normal reaction for many people.

Personally, I have accepted that this is where we are heading, and as each day passes, I become more convinced of it. Long ago I reached the acceptance phase regarding this subject matter, and I am comfortable with it. However, I understand that for many people, it is quite hard to accept, in light of how important we think our lives are.
It’s a difficult pill to swallow, to think that you are going on with your life, making plans, having children, studying hard to achieve some particular goal, etc. etc, only to be confronted with the idea of near term human extinction. They didn’t tell you about that in grade school now, did they?

Ah, but life is always full of surprises and some are good, and some are bad. As I heard someone say many years ago, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you deal with it that counts.” I guess that holds true here,
but I think that many people are having(going to have) trouble dealing with the future that is looking more and more like it will be a rather short one.

If that wasn’t enough news to round out an evening, the topic of Fukushima came up as well, and from what I have heard, things are looking pretty grim over there. Nothing like a little nuclear meltdown to add some more spice to the concept of near term human extinction. Perhaps I would have been wiser to stay living in the southern hemisphere after all, and I guess that before the end of this year, I’ll know the answer to that question. Between now and then they are going to attempt to try to move the multitude of highly radioactive spent fuel rods out of the precarious location that they are now in, to a safer place. It’s an operation that has never been attempted before and if it is unsuccessful, then the results could be catastrophic for many people around the world, in the northern hemisphere especially. It wasn’t an evening for the faint of heart.

In spite of the news, I’m glad that I had the opportunity to be there and meet some like minded individuals. They’re hard to come by when discussing these sorts of topics. And on a lighter note, it was interesting to spend a few hours in Mt. Shasta village, as it seemed to me like I had time travelled back to the ’60’s. I spent some time at a cafe called “Yaks” on the main street prior to the film, and the music was Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young and all the other greats from that time period. It was both strange and enjoyable at the same time.

I had the opportunity to meet Mike Sosebee, the film's producer/director, for the first time, and of course I had the chance to spend a few precious moments with Guy Mcpherson. He’s a very busy man, yet he always seems to have more than enough time to just have a chat. For that I am grateful. And I count myself very fortunate to count him as a friend.

Happy trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer