Contrasts

Japan magnitude 9 earthquake of 2011, 10s of thousands dead.
Haiti magnitude 7 earthquake of 2010, hundreds of thousands dead.

All the facts aren't in yet, but I believe that most of those killed in Japan will be from the tsunami.
Haiti did not appear to be affected by a tsunami.

Japan rich
Haiti poor

This is analogous to how climate change will impact people based on their economic status.

Recessions can last decades

Japan has been in a crippling recession for over 15 years.
That's where we may be headed.

Japan's experience beginning in the early 1990s underscores the risk of getting into a long period of sustained disinflation. Japan fell into deflation in the mid-1990s and has yet to recover.

Mary C. Daly, vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, states her views on the current economy and the outlook.

HT Just Call Him Bernanke-sama - Paul Krugman

What do you think a gas shortage would do to our economy right now?

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Meanwhile La Nina has delivered the weirdest summer and fall I can recall in SoCal. It's raining again!