MissConstrueApr 14

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/14/wildfire-cattle-ranchers-american-great-plains

Ok, I know I’m a ray of freaking sunshine with my constant good news, but this ties into what I was saying the other day about being prepared.

Herds have been decimated each year for the last 5 years. Literally, herd sizes are down almost 50%, that’s why #beef is so expensive. Cattle are hard to raise commercially. You really depend on Nature. And when she kicks you in the teeth with a mini dust bowl, you have to downsize, because there’s not enough feed to go around.

Losing this much grassland is going to behave a major, major impact on prices. Futures market=scary.

Start preparing to change your diet to incorporate more vegetable protein, especially protein you can grow; high protein include peanuts, chickpeas, red beans. Rice may be difficult to find, especially if we piss off everyone in Asia. potatoes are a nutritional staple and easy to grow even in bad soil.

#VictoryGardens for the win.

#climateChange

‘Nothing but tree skeletons’: record-breaking wildfires devastate US cattle country

Rising temperatures and extreme drought are driving more destructive spring fires across the Great Plains. This year, forces aligned to create the perfect storm in Nebraska

The Guardian
Show threadCompassionate CrabApr 14
@MissConstrue
This is a valuable conversation. It's not like big media is going to cover it. Not until they figure out how to make money from the topic.
There are reports of looming global recession. You'd think with recent inflation, and high housing costs that frugality topics would be trending. And yet, there's nobody talking about this. Not even on mastodon.
We should fire up a good hashtag for it. I'm old enough to have some frugality tips. What do you think?
Show threadMissConstrueApr 14

@Compassionatecrab I think it’s a good idea! My daughter and her fiancé have no idea how to budget, which I guess they don’t teach home ec as a requirement anymore? If I had realized they weren’t taught basic economics, I would have held a seminar or something.

Things like meal planning for a week, stocking a pantry, how to prepare basic recipes, nutrition, as it was understood then, these were all things I was taught in school. How to write a check, how to create a budget, how to stretch said budget. And even though my kid has watched me do it her whole life, I never thought to actively teach it to her until she was getting ready for life without me managing everything.

So yeah, I think there’s a knowledge gap that should be filled. Do you think something like HomeEconomics for a tag, or do you have suggestions you’d like to use?

Show threadCompassionate CrabApr 14
@MissConstrue
I like your ideas. I took home economics, too.
I think to start we could make some immediately actionable suggestions. Simple vegetarian meal ideas for meatless Mondays. How to save money using this, not that topics. Like replacing paper towels with washable rags as an example. Then build toward topics on full budgeting or weekly meal planning.
What hashtag though? Save money? Frugal? Recession? Something more catchy?
Show threadArtsea
@Compassionatecrab @MissConstrue Hi, your conversation came across my timeline. If you are open to it, there are several hashes started such as, #sustainability #Sustainable #sustainableliving that might fit your subject
Apr 14 at 6:53pmWeb
Show threadMissConstrueApr 14
@ArtseaGardener @Compassionatecrab Fantastic! Thank you.
Show threadCompassionate CrabApr 14
@ArtseaGardener @MissConstrue
Thank you for these! It's hard to believe I wasn't already following them.
The #sustainableliving posts are closest to our conversation.