What's all the hubbub about the solar eclipse

[putnam6]

A year ago I would have run to ATS to share this; I’m now proud to make this my “home” forum. 

First of all, I’m firmly in the camp of not caring at all about the eclipse. It will be just another day for me, albeit one where I avoid potentially crowded areas. I live in rural extreme northern Vermont and we are expecting around 250,000 people to come to my area to see the eclipse. You read that correctly, not 25,000.

Those who know me from ATS also know I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a fairly recently-retired fed. Thus, most of my friends are or were in the federal government as well.

I was chatting with someone who is still employed by the government just now when the individual dropped a bombshell that I’ve never heard mentioned. This person commented how my wife and I are some of the most calm people they know when it comes to the eclipse. Almost everyone in the area is in some sort of panic, whether it be fear of widespread crime, power outages, or natural disasters. 

I shrugged my shoulders and told this person that we simply don’t care because we are both lifelong preparedness-lifestyle types and being prepared for anything means we panic at nothing. This individual then sort of smiled and said something to the effect of, “I know why you’re not in a panic, and I know why I’m not and (person we both know well) isn’t in a panic either.” I thought the comment was odd and I asked what they meant. The reply was chilling because this person still works for the government and certainly knows a lot more than was being revealed. 

The response was, “what will people do if the eclipse doesn’t happen? What if nothing close to an eclipse is observed? Quite the opposite of panic, I’d say. So don’t expect any panic that day”. I asked for further details and all I got was “you’ll see”.

 
Well shit, now Im have to watch, LOL. Respectfully HITF is the moon not going to transit the sun? And if you don't think that would cause a bit of concern, I believe some of the government idiocy got stuck to you before you left. 

Thats the problem with large groups there are always some that freak over any deviation from the norm. 

Maybe it's social media and everybody is too plugged in, but people will wonder what happened to the moon. 

I read somewhere humanity would be screwed without the moon. We'd have a hard time adjusting 

https://nineplanets.org/questions/what-w...s-no-moon/
 

The change in the Earth’s rotational speed and a change in the Earth’s tilt would also affect the Earth’s weather patterns. If the moon slows down the Earth’s rotation, then the moon also affects the wind and wind speeds on our planet. Without the moon, we would see an increase in wind speeds. Winds could become much faster and much stronger without the moon.
Additionally, we might see a change entirely in seasons. The moon affects the angle of the Earth’s tilt. Currently, the Earth sits at a 23.5-degree tilt. This means our planet leans slightly to one side as it sits in space. The tilt creates what we know as seasons and changing weather. Without the pull of the moon, this tilt would change. Either the tilt would become extreme, leading to extreme and severe seasons, or the tilt would decrease, and we would see almost no seasons at all.
The moon influences life as we know it on Earth. It influences our oceans, weather, and the hours in our days. Without the moon, tides would fall, nights would be darker, seasons would change, and the length of our days would alter.