"In the year two-thousand..."

Surely, every generation finds itself in the middle of some pretty huge changes that gives that generation an identity in history.

Despite the inherent vagueness of the definition of "generation", everyone believes and understands they are part of some sort of generational bond with those around them.

In my (our?) case, the newest change might include this recession. Despite it's temporary nature, it could likely affect how the global community interacts from here on out. I'm not even going to get on with Information Technology. The speed of the expansion of modern technologies makes me want to laugh and puke at the same time--kind of like being on one of those carnival rides that demonstrates centrifugal force. I'm proud to say I almost got through high school without the internet or cell phones. Currently I'm getting along fine without an iPhone.

What might be a bigger phenomenon defining this generation is climate change and how we respond to it.

I just read this strange article about the future of farming (published by The Columbus Dispatch; found at Columbus Community Gardening). Is it possible that farms of the future will in fact be massive, self-contained greenhouses? My gut reaction at the end of the third paragraph was that this was a total environmental catastrophe waiting to happen. Apparently it's not: energy-neutral, sustainable, water conserving, fertilizer reducing, production-increasing, worker-friendly future farms... It is Biodome come to life.

Currently, family farms seem to be disappearing--not due to the climate, but other problems. At best, big, trend-conscious cities are experiencing a spurt of small farms peddling organic, heirloom, free-range goodies--which is sort of a throw-back to pre-War agriculture. But these hip farmsteads, especially, won't survive severe climate changes that scientists are predicting.

Farming (or "raw food production") can't die, but it's apparently possible that farms and Agri-Culture as we know them might. Obviously farms have changed a lot over the years, and I'm not a big fan of what are known as "conventional" mega-farms that, collectively, are the monster of the Industrial Agriculture Revolution. (Fun fact: agriculture developed roughly 10,000 years ago.)

So, it occurred to me that the end of farming might be impressed upon my (our!) generation. I can't really say how the disappearance of a farm might affect my daily life other than I pass them on the highway and I appreciate the aesthetics of their seasonal variation; I take comfort in the fact that farms have a potentially positive ecological relationship with the surrounding natural environment as they might benefit animals and watersheds, to say the least. Also, while I've decided to not pursue a life in the Country, I care about the preservation of Rural America which is part of my identity in many ways.

And consider this: if farms are being replaced by greenhouses because of the climate, how soon will neighborhoods turn into big, climate-controlled bubbles?

(Photo Source)