The United States is currently suffering through one of the worst droughts in history. Affecting 14 states across the south from Arizona to Florida, the lack of rain after epic spring flooding is taking its toll. Water levels are at all time lows across much of the affected region, crops are struggling just to break through the dried out soil, and wildfires are churning away in the southwest. With the low water levels, farmers are having a hard time just watering the crops they get to grow. One farmer who runs his pump off of diesel paid over $88K dollars for two months alone. With crops not surviving, ranchers in Texas and surrounding states might be moved to sell off their cattle early due to lack of food for them. With both cattle and crops suffering, the inevitable will happen, our pockets will suffer come fall time. The drought this year especially for Texas has been record breaking. From February till June, Texas saw so little rainfall that it shattered a record set back in 1917, almost a hundred years ago. In general for the affected region, a drought like this hasn't occurred since the 1950's. While not as bad as the combination of natural and economic circumstances that coincided during the Great Depression, we are coming pretty damn close. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about the drought. As many a sign in the south now reads, "Pray for Rain".
So in this time of record breaking droughts, political instability, and economic woes, what can we do to survive and make it through. Granted, most of us will be just fine, but still, there are many out there who will struggle even more to put food on the table with higher prices and thus have a harder time providing for their families. The way I see it, there are two options. The first is start your own garden. Even if it is a small, corner garden or just a few vegetable plants in a window in your house, it is the easiest way to provide a little extra food at a very low cost. Vegetables alone are pricey at the supermarket and if you can grow your own for a minimal cost, then it will shave off a few dollars every week that you can put towards something else. Most of us will be unable to grow everything we need to survive in our back yards, but every little bit helps. By providing a little for ourselves, we allow extra to be had for those who are unable to grow their own food. People might complain that its too much work to have a garden. Not really, unless you consider watering your garden daily too much work. For the most part, (unless you get crazy with fertilizers and other gardening methods) having a garden is pretty simple.
The second option as I see it is to help those who are in need. There are many ways that we could help. Personally, if you have been reading this blog for a while you would know that I volunteer at a soup kitchen to help feed the homeless and hungry every week. Not everyone wants to volunteer their time or effort to an activity such as a soup kitchen, but what about buying some extra canned goods at the store and bringing them to your local food bank. This act alone can help to feed extra people. And if that is not your style either, what about donating a little money to a charity that works with the homeless and hungry. There are many ways to make a difference in people's lives and there is an option that can suit everyone. If everyone pitched in just a little bit and gave something either of themselves or their resources, we could have a huge impact and help out hundreds if not thousands of people. In this time of economic stress that is still affecting many countries throughout the world, we would all do well to help out those in need. Now is the time when we need to step out of our comfort zones and become concerned with more than just ourselves. The world and everyone in it is interconnected whether or not we want to believe it. If enough people go homeless and hungry, everyone is affected. We can only stay detached from the world so long before it consumes us. So today, consider the options to help, either start a garden or donate some time a service, or if your really ambitious, a little bit a both. The world isn't going to end tomorrow and if we want to see prosperity return, we all need to chip in and help each other through.
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