A Futurist's view of another end of the world prediction - September 23rd, 2017. Briefing From Futurist Chet W. Sisk

A really good Futurist is a person who combines the skills of a Trend Analyst with the inquisitive mind of a Journalist. As a Futurist, my job is to look at trends, ask where they are taking us collectively, then ask questions about the who, what, when, where and why of those trends. As part of this task, I personally read a little bit of everything I can get my hands on --- including those tabloid-like articles and videos that sensationalize end of the world scenarios. While they are mostly "fake news", there is always a grain of truth you can glean from their work.

The prophets of panic are back at it again. They are now saying September 23rd is the new date for the end of humanity. This time, however, there are plenty of geological, social and political events giving these predictions traction. Here are just a few of them....

• The historic heatwave that just ravaged Eastern Europe.
• Historic flooding and mudslides in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sierre Leone and Niger.
• A massive earthquake off the Mexican coast.
• Record radiation from the sun due to unusual sun spots activity.
• Bigger and more intense hurricanes striking the United States
• Political instability in the US, Syria, Venezuela and 15 other places around the globe.
• Historic fires in California, Oregon, British Columbia, Washington, Greenland and Tunisia.

And all of this over the past 60 days. I could go on, but you get my point. I am going over historic records to see if there is precedent for this time, but nothing found so far.

Now, before you run off to a cave with a backpack of Spam and a shotgun, allow me to provide more nuanced points of what's happening from a Futurist's perspective.

This is what rapid climate change looks like.  Some of you may want to punch the climate change deniers in the neck, but may I suggest you refrain from violence. That energy would best be used in creating climate change adaptation models of living. Besides, if there were people to be angry with, it would be the captains of industry decades ago who had the data that said these things would happen if we didn't change our ways. They chose, instead, to bury that data for the sake of profit. That's what's called leadership malfeasance.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/is-climate-change-causing-hurricanes-to-be-more-severe_us_59b47b...

Advanced technology combined with climate change are creating unstable societies. When people don't know what's going on and respond in fear, they turn to anyone with a large microphone who says they can solve their problems. This, in turn, creates a cycle of disappointment and frustration when the person with the large microphone can't actually solve the problems. In fact, they exacerbate the crisis by delaying people from taking meaningful action that could make a difference. There are two distinct things happening in our world at the same time:

a. New technology is challenging the concept of job, so humans will have to rethink what to do with their lives.
b. Climate change is challenging our current way of existence. It, in fact, is creating an extinction level event unless, as Darwin put it, we learn to adapt.

At the very time humanity needs bold and visionary leadership that can lay out a path going forward, we tend to produce people who address our small needs in fear, This is the great test for our time. If we don't pass, there will be a skyrocketing number of unstable governments. https://www.treehugger.com/green-food/climate-changes-global-food-supply-will-become-increasingly-un...

Change is opportunity in disguise. The model of civilization that has been used around the world for the past few centuries is simply not sustainable or morally tenable. A regenerative model may be the only way forward. This model allows us to recover some of the things that worked from the old way, but not become beholden to them. It introduces technology, vision, spirituality, connectedness, diversity and creativity as equal partners in re-defining civilization.  The current crises all provide us with an opportunity to dismantle racism, income inequality, food insecurity, environmental violence and exploitation all at the same time and replace it with something else. http://wiki.commonstransition.org/wiki/Toward_Regenerative_Society:_Plan_for_Rapid_Transition

So, the bottom line question is --- will we see the end of the world on September 23rd? I would submit, we've already seen the end of the world as we know it. We are now in that delicate transition period seeking to figure out who we will be going forward as we emerge from the womb.

Yes,

Chet