Hellscape 101

Photo by Chris LeBoutillier on Unsplash

The hellscape of our own doing is gathering speed 24/7 while governments and businesses do nothing to derail the catastrophe being unleashed upon the world. Words cannot describe but nature is beginning to as civilization moves ever further into the Anthropocene. 

No one is entirely sure how this horrifying experiment will end but humans like defined goals and so, in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, nearly 200 countries agreed to limit the global temperature rise to “well below” 2C, with an aspirational goal to keep it to 1.5C. The latter target was fought for by smaller, poorer nations, aware that an existential threat of unlivable heatwaves, floods and drought hinged upon this ostensibly small increment. “The difference between 1.5C and 2C is a death sentence for the Maldives,” said Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, president of the country, to world leaders at the United Nations in September.

There is no huge chasm after a 1.49C rise, we are tumbling down a painful, worsening rocky slope rather than about to suddenly hit a sheer cliff edge – but by most standards the world’s governments are currently failing to avert a grim fate. “We are on a catastrophic path,” said António Guterres, secretary general of the UN. “We can either save our world or condemn humanity to a hellish future.”

The Grasshopper

A grasshopper spent the summer hopping about in the sun and singing to his heart's content. One day, an ant went hurrying by, looking very hot and weary.

"Why are you working on such a lovely day?" said the grasshopper.

"I'm collecting food for the winter," said the ant, "and I suggest you do the same." And off she went, helping the other ants to carry food to their store. The grasshopper carried on hopping and singing. When winter came the ground was covered with snow. The grasshopper had no food and was hungry. So he went to the ants and asked for food.

"What did you do all summer when we were working to collect our food?" said one of the ants.

"I was busy hopping and singing," said the grasshopper.

"Well," said the ant, "if you hop and sing all summer, and do no work, then you must starve in the winter."

Photo by Malcolm Lightbody on Unsplash