It's the end of the world as we know it.

So I came home today to check my RSS feed.  Here's the first few stories I saw.

• Google Inc. shares fell $25.20, or almost 7%, to $346.01 and put in their lowest close in more than two years. 
• On Monday, Russian equities suffered one of their worst daily losses ever -- the RTS index plunged 19.1% and the Micex index tumbled 18.7%.  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday that the government has decided to allocate 950 billion rubles, or about $36 billion, in subsidized credits to a number of Russian banks for a period of no less than five years 
• U.S. Stocks Battered; Dow, S&P 500 Close At 5-year Low 
  
• British officials could announce a financial bailout plan for its troubled markets as early as Tuesday evening, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Tuesday. The plan could cost up to 45 billion pounds (about $78.64 billion). 
• Speaking to the National Association of Business Economists, Bernanke said, "The combination of the incoming data and recent financial developments suggests that the outlook for economic growth has worsened and that the downside risks to growth have increased.” 
• the Energy Information Administration projected that the average household fuel oil expenditures will be about $2,388; nearly $450 more than last season. Homes that use natural gas will also spend about $155 more than last year. 

And some good news:

• Crude prices will likely average $126 per barrel in 2009, according to a monthly report from the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration released Tuesday. 

Add to this the fact I'm reading Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America and I just got done reading The Post-American World, and I'm starting to think it's the end of the world as we know it.  And that ain't no song.

All of these stories were posted within a few hours of each other.



We have no reason to fear for ourselves...but fear for our children, we should.