Boomers know how to adjust [might run out of food and water]

Capital Times ^ | 12-8-08 | Barbara Quirk

[SJackson]

If you were born from 1946 through 1964, you are a boomer, a member of the most intriguing population this country has ever known. A new study invites you to look into your future for an in-depth view of how you, and your diverse group of cohorts, are likely to adapt as you grow old.

"Boomers: The Next 20 years, Ecologies of Risk" is the title of a report from the Institute for the Future and the MetLife Mature Market Institute. It predicts some wondrous things as well as presenting some cautionary issues. Overall, it is quite a positive picture.

"Members of the baby boom generation will, as they have in the past, be resourceful and self-reliant as they age, forming economic, health, and social collectives and families of choice to adapt to the future." The report examines how this demographic will confront a longer lifespan, the widest rich/poor gap in recent generations, a global energy shortage, new economic realities, and a Web-based infrastructure.

"Boomers," the report says, "will distribute the stress and burden of managing risk across networks of people, some based on kinship and others on affinity or interest. They will plan more, work longer, and become more entrepreneurial."

Boomers have experienced multiple economic upheavals, periodic recessions, the oil shock and stagflation of the 1970s, the dislocations caused by globalization at the end of the 20th century, and the dot-com boom of the early 2000s.

"Now," says the report, "a confluence of events -- the credit crunch, falling home prices, soaring energy costs, and a weakening dollar -- is creating an even more challenging environment as they move into later life. These risks are not isolated but are interrelated, forming part of an 'ecology of risk.' Fortunately, boomers have amassed personal, social, experiential, economic and even spiritual assets that they can call on as they age. They will use these assets to craft distinctive ecologies of resources to respond to highly individual ecologies of risk."

Some of the likely key elements in boomers' lives in the next two decades include the fact that they face challenges and opportunities their parents never knew. Lifespan management, for instance, examines the critical question of how long boomers will remain healthy and productive. Then there is the personal wealth issue with the latest financial crisis, many boomers having seen declines in their net worth.

It is predicted that boomers may face the real possibility of a collapse of living systems in their lifetimes. Food, energy, and materials may well undergo disruptions as climate changes and water crises become realities.

"Finally," the report says, "the sheer number of boomers promises to stress all systems that touch daily lives, from retirement policies and pensions to health care, Medicare, and other services."

An interesting trait shared by many boomers is that they are still on a quest for success. Many who have encountered setbacks have shown great resilience in rebuilding their lives. "If the economics of aging demands a course change, they will likely reset their compasses."

As a result of their access to and experience with the powerful Web-based infrastructure for information, this generation is capable of creating new systems for everything from health care to politics to new forms of work. The report predicts that their economic and political clout will spur continued innovation in the marketplace, in government, and in civil society as all three sectors respond to the needs of an aging society.

External factors that will shape the boomers' world include the science of aging. Biotechnology is just beginning to have an impact on new approaches to disease prevention and treatment. Already there is a greater awareness that environmental changes are intimately connected to individuals' health status and quality of life. Cognitive fitness is a major focus of today's research that hopefully will provide the answers to extend individual ability to function independently.

How well will this generation live out their next two decades while the world is coming to grips with unprecedented challenges and opportunities? "Boomers: The Next 20 years" concludes, in part, "A blend of equal measures of creativity and control in these boomers drives a focus on crafting their personal worlds -- and expressing themselves through their crafts."

Barbara Quirk is a Madison geriatric nurse practitioner. Tandbquirk@aol.com

[VigilantAmerican]

That one was about affirmative action—the two on the elevator were a black male and a white female. It’s one of the best metaphors I’ve ever seen, and unfortunately many commenters thereon didn’t even get it.

[Fawnn]

I was watching Captain Kangaroo during the Summer of Love.

I was born in 1951 and during the Summer of Love era I went to DC to mock the trust fund babies turned hippies and their minions in their tent cities. And I toured the DC PD radio room while I was there.

Thanks Boomers, you were wonderful to this country.

Those who group all boomers into one stereotypical category obviously believe too much media propaganda.

[Niuhuru]

Besides, if they want to, pregnant women can abort their kids on whim if they think their ‘fetuses’ will take up too much needed food.