A Child of the 70’s Views Today

As a child of the 1970’s, I remember the first Earth Day. And that child within me is scared.

First, about fifteen years ago, I stopped reading National Geographic. The stories of extinction, threatened species and devastated ecosystems was upsetting to me.

Then came the 1980’s and 1990’s with warnings from the climate change scientists. As rapacious human behaviour for greedy corporate profit continued, I felt as if these dire warnings were going to come true.

The scientists said–I remember it clearly–that continued destructive human activity would cause great suffering to mankind on Earth. They said we would see devastating storms, global warming, disrupted weather patterns impacting flora and fauna in our ecosystems and virulent, deadly diseases ravaging human life. Starvation, deaths, pandemics, fires, floods, would become part of everyday life. Nuclear waste would pollute and poison. The oceans would spawn killing storms and flatten everything in their paths. But let’s lighten up with a human geography perspective a moment.

Predictions led to government systems that would fail to effectively cope with the ensuing panic and anarchy. The vacuum of leadership would become subsumed by geopolitical tensions leading to trade wars, rise of oppressive dictatorships. Well? What do you think?

I return to the small child who sang this song.

“Pollution, pollution, they got smog and sewage and mud. Turn on your tap and get hot and cold running crud.” “See the halibuts and the sturgeon, being wiped out by detergent. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly. But they don’t last long if they try.”

Well, the birds are dropping from the skies in New Mexico. Bees are dying in their hives. Poisons from GMO giants are killing and mutating our children. Bhopal. Syngenta, Monsanto, Round Up, salinization, fast fashion, the Yanomomá, COVID, Escherii coli, C-diff, Staphylococcus aureus, antibiotic-resistent diseases, oil slicks in Mauritius, the great trash patch. Do we have your attention?

Now I could talk about Armageddon, suffice it to say, it is well with my soul. I have used my time on this Earth wisely most of the time. My new song is “It is well, it is well, it is well with my soul.” So, maybe from writing I feel better but with leaving this world to the two young women I’ve adopted and raised, there is still room for doubts. What kind of world are we leaving them to inherit?

Please comment.