September 2022

13 Buckden Roundabout September 2022 Help the planet Prophecy or musical genius, probably neither but some very interesting insights to a Dystopian future? This pop 45rpm record composed by Rick Evans in 1964 (58 years ago) became a hit for the singing duo Zager and Evans in 1969 (ask your parents / grandparents). I can ’ t help but think, like all predictions and prophecies it can never be exactly right, but many parts of this pop song are spot on. So the first thing that is way out in these lyrics is the time scale. The lyrics moves forward in 1,010 year blocks. The way events are panning out, just a handful of years could be closer to the predictions in the lyrics below. “ In the year 2525, if man is still alive … If woman can survive, they may find ” Debatable that ’ s a long way out in time as a starting point, but lets go with it. Global Warming, pandemics, asteroid strike, volcanic eruptions, World war, etc, Some things seem out of our control. Global warming however can be in our control. While being a massive worldwide problem requiring massive worldwide solutions and global agreements, it is something everyone can play their part in by spreading the message and adjusting their personal lifestyle. “ In the year 3535… Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lie … Everything you think, do and say … Is in the pill you took today In the year 4545… You ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes … You won't find a thing to chew … Nobody's gonna look at you Well trying to find a dentist now is hard, think what it would be like in 2,523 years time! This is obviously also bad news for opticians. In the year 5555… Your arms hangin' limp at your sides … Your legs got nothin' to do Some machine's doin' that for you Automation, mechanisation, voice control, in 1964 there wasn ’ t even any TV remote controls In the year 6565… You won't need no husband, won't need no wife … You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too … From the bottom of a long glass tube The 1st test tube baby, Louise Brown was born in 1978, just 4,587 years ahead of this prediction! In the year 7510… If God's a coming, He oughta make it by then … Maybe He'll look around Himself and say … Guess it's time for the judgment day In the year 8510… God is gonna shake His mighty head … He'll either say I'm pleased where man has been … Or tear it down, and start again In the year 9595… I'm kinda wonderin' if man is gonna be alive … He's taken everything this old earth can give … And he ain't put back nothing This is the real punch line of the song and was truly prophetic then in 1964. NOW it is generally accepted as inevitable that the worlds resources are finite. They will run out and are not inexhaustible, as considered from the period of the beginning of the industrial revolution through to the end of the 20th century. Resources like various metals and minerals are running low, more difficult to find and less concentrated requiring more pro- cessing. Therefore recycling or re - using products made with those metals and minerals is a top priority! Fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas created over Earths 4.5 billion year history, formed from ancient forests and vegetation that have been previously locked underground (preventing billions of years CO 2 escaping into the atmosphere). Little wonder that unlocking all that CO 2 in just the last 270 years into the atmosphere (by burning fossil fuels) would risk tip- ping the delicate balance of Earth ’ s eco systems into a downward spiral. Now it's been ten thousand years … Man has cried a billion tears … For what, he never knew, now man's reign is through … LET ’ S WORK TOGETHER TO STOP THIS PART FROM HAPPENING …… STARTING FROM NOW But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight... So very far away, maybe it's only yesterday …. In the year 2525, if man is still alive … If woman can survive, they may find. Songwriter: Richard Lee Evans. Buckden Parish Council Article: Allan Jones Climate Change Mitigation Advisory Group