- Y2K In the News

- The Possible Economic Consequences

- Y2K Citizens Action Guide

- The President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion

________________

RETURN TO CWS EMERGENCY RESPONSE MAIN PAGE

_________________

The Y2K Computer Problem
What's All The Fuss About?

(Bob Barnes, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pastor and Church World Service volunteer Disaster Response Specialist offers the religious community practical suggestions and a Biblical/ theological framework for preparing for and responding to a potenial disaster stemming from Y2K computer failures.)

We are beginning to hear a lot about the Y2K "computer bug" and the disaster that could come as a result.  What exactly is going to happen next December 31 at midnight?

The experts confidently say "we don’t know what will happen."  We have never faced the problem before.

The problem lies in hundreds of thousands of  so called "embedded chips" installed in just about anything that does anything.  Problems may be as little as your digital watch stopping or as major as your pacemaker shutting down.  Some believe computers in your car may keep it from starting while others fear the computers which control aircraft and railroads may result in planes falling from the skies and trains crashing head-on across the country, and perhaps around the world.  Some predict your bank account readout may be delayed while others expect a collapse of the world economy.