So, the gas crisis has finally forced people to be frugal with energy, which is good, but it is a little worrying that it took the threat of a beef shortage to drive us to it. (Yes, yes, I know other industries are affected too, but you wouldn't think it from reading the papers.)
Mind you, I was all nonchalant when the beef drought loomed, but when someone told me that pork might be in short supply as well, I started to see the seriousness of the situation.
Also, I'm sure the Bad Guys appreciate us telling them exactly where our emergency supplies of diesel are (thank you very much, Mr Carpenter, why not just draw them a map instead?)
My worry is that as soon as we're back to 100% production, everyone will start turning on heaters and lights in an orgy of relief. But wait, this may not be such a bad thing after all, because environmental contrarians have been predicting for years that we may be heading for another Ice Age, and not global warming at all. In fact, some are implying that trying to stave off global warming may accelerate said Ice Age.
Now, all I know about environmental contrarianism and impending Ice Ages, I learnt from the movie the Day After Tomorrow, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid. (I also learnt that a shot of penicillin can cure septicimaea after it's been incubating overnight, and some people will go back for a passport that they left behind in a taxi, even when faced with a six-storey tidal wave and the impending extinction of mankind, which, one would assume, would go hand-in-hand with the impending extinction of immigration control.)
In any case, it painted a very bleak picture:
*SPOILER ALERT*
Wolves escaped from zoos and terrorised people on ships (the ships sailed in to New York city on the tidal wave and then froze in place). A nice man fell to his death. Quite a few tax manuals got burnt. The Mexicans got to say, "Ha HA," à la Nelson Muntz, as they closed their gates to the hordes of US citizens trying to cross over into their warmer climes.
I did draw some comfort from the movie, though. First of all, the cute dog didn't die or get eaten. Secondly, when Dennis Quaid (who plays maverick climatologist Jack Hall) shows his Map of Impending Doom to the disbelievers, Australia is definitely out of icicle range.
New Zealand ends up with a half-and-half kind of deal. Sorry, guys.
*END OF SPOILERS*
I saw the movie while on holiday in London. I was visiting my cousins, having a fantastic time, and enjoying the futuristic enhancements that the British had added to the movie-going experience (at the snack counter, you had a choice of salted OR sweet/caramel popcorn). And then I saw Jack Hall's giant, scary map, and wished I was back in Australia so the wolves wouldn't eat me.
After the movie, we trudged quietly back to the car, full of our own thoughts. Thoughts like, "If J over there goes first, because she's the skinniest of all of us
and doesn't have as much body fat to keep her warm, would we become
desperate enough to eat her?", "Do I have enough books to make a nice
toasty bonfire for 48 hours?" and, "So, are we supposed to not drive the car back home? Or should we drive home and take the long way and turn the air-conditioning up*?"
It was one of those unusually cool summers and everyone had geared up for hot, sticky weather, only to be disappointed. There was an eerily cool breeze blowing. A portentous breeze. I shivered.
P.S. If you would like to know how to survive an Ice Age, Phil here has a nice little website all about it. (Disclaimer: I don't know Phil, he was just the first guy that showed up when I Googled "How to survive an Ice Age".)
* This was just a hypothetical. We don't actually believe in being wasteful.