Ice Cold Rage

Cold harsh wind raged against my face and I burrowed deeper into my furs. On normal days I loved the wind, even now I still do too, as the caress of the wind against my skin always reminded me that I was alive. It reminded me that humanity and our planet were still alive, that we still had air, and that people could survive even in the harshest conditions. The cold usually didn’t bother me either as I was used to it. We all were. The frigid climate was a norm now. However, today the wind felt just a touch colder and the weather just a bit crispier and chillier. The climate was changing once more. It was becoming even more freezing. However, at least this time it was a natural change.

I was standing on the top of a mountain, observing the world that surrounded me. In all honesty, it was beautiful and the view from up here was breathtaking. Snowy mountain peaks and clear blue skies. In the distance, you could see valleys with skyscraper cities and busy streets. It was beautiful and yet not what it once was. There was just a tad too much white wherever you looked.

Thousands of years ago the Earth used to be even more beautiful. It was green and luscious. The Earth used to be carpeted in large forests and jungles with variety of animal and plant species in them. It had savannas and deserts with oases. The Earth used to have coral reefs and other natural wonders of the world. It also had plains and the mountains used to look just a little bit less white. Back then the Earth used to be filled with color. Well, not anymore.

I caught my reflection on the icicle that was hanging from a lonely spruce tree at my side and frowned. My long white hair was tied into two intricate buns with some loose strands framing my face caused by the wind. With my almost white pale skin, I practically blended in with my surroundings. Even my eyebrows and lashes were purely white. The only thing giving my face a touch of color was my slightly pink cheeks which appeared every now and then due to the cold and my eyes that were still quite unusual because of my heterochromia. One was pale icy blue and the other had a slightly violet sheen to it. I didn't think I looked half as bad or anything. In all honesty, I knew I was considered to be quite conventionally attractive. The main issue I had with my reflection was that I lacked color. Everyone did. Just like rabbits used to be evolved to shed their colored furs for winter to become white and blend in with their environment we humans also shed our pigmentation in order to survive. In the distant past people used to have different shades of tan skin, different colored hair and eyes, but not anymore. Now we were all pale as the snow that surrounded us. Throughout many generations due to natural selection we humans as species evolved to produce little to no melanin in our bodies to allow them to absorb more sunlight and UV radiation which helps our bodies produce vitamin D that’s crucial for us to function properly. And thus due to the lack of melanin in our bodies, we became pseudo-albinos.

Nowadays we humans are all modern-day Sami, Inuit, Chukchi or whatever other word one can think of to call it, but the nature of the fact stays the same.  We have the technology and science and all the information from thousands of years ago. We have electricity and live in modern apartments and yet as a society, we had to adapt more primitive ways into our lifestyles. We have to be hunters and huntresses in order to attain furs that keep us warm and use mainly sleigh-based transportation because of all the ice and snow that surrounds us. Why? Because we are living during a man-caused ice age that’s been going on for millennia now.

There’s an age-old saying “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Well, I believe our Mother Earth would certainly agree with that. Thousands of years ago when our planet was still full of life and greenery, when it still had a large variety of different countries and cultures, and when all seven continents were still fully intact humans took our Earth for granted and thus brought her ice cold rage upon us all.

Everything started a long time ago when people who knew the ways of science discovered that human activity was affecting their climate and hence the natural order of our planet. The main problem with the climate change was its aspect known as global warming. This phenomenon caused even more complications, like, the extinction of a variety of species, the melting of glaciers, and so on.

At first when this issue was brought into daylight humans as a society tried to stop it. They started utilizing reusable energy, made many CO₂ emission regulations, began recycling and using sustainable materials, as well as regulating fertilizers and pesticide usage. They did everything to try and stop the greenhouse gas accumulation in our atmosphere because it was the main reason behind the rising temperatures. And it worked at first. Even if all these adjustments didn’t reverse all the aftereffects of global warming, they did stop their progression. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.

As the human population continued to grow these regulations and adjustments stopped being sufficient. People needed more food, thus bans on fertilizers as well as pesticides were lifted to grow crops more effectively. Deforestation reached its peak as humanity needed more space for agriculture and housing, hence fewer trees meant that less CO₂ was being absorbed from the air. More cattle also meant more methane was released into the atmosphere. Even more things that were harmful to the environment were being ignored as well. And when the situation on Earth reached a point where there weren’t enough resources left to sustain all of its population, people began raging wars.

Bomb droppings, fires everywhere, air full of exhaust gasses and thousands of people dead not to mention the situation only got worse and worse by the day. As this terrible devastation ravaged the world the climate change got completely forgotten which eventually led to the fall of humanity. People missed the signs that Arctic glaciers began melting again and at a rapid speed and when the melting was finally noticed humans tried everything they could to stop it but were unsuccessful as it was unfortunately too late.

First came the coastal flooding caused by the rising sea levels. Many of the equatorial regions became submerged in water leading to the loss of land and thus millions of people lost their homes not to mention the food shortage which only got worse. Then came the extreme weather patterns that brought out tropical storms, droughts and intense rainfall as well as monsoons leading to the destruction of rainforests and coral reefs. And finally, the oceanic currents were disrupted which turned out to be the most calamitous part of it all. As the Arctic ice began to melt huge amounts of fresh water began pouring into the North Atlantic Ocean. Hence the Gulf Stream was significantly slowed, as well as it became a lot colder leading to obstructed warmth distribution and the extreme weather cooling for the continents. During this millions of people’s lives were lost. Some were taken by the extreme weather, others by the shortage of resources, famine and diseases. What was left of humanity had to migrate up North and adapt to living in higher altitudes. That was what led to our current situation as the ice age began and humanity’s advancements were set back for thousands of years.

And now here we are. Millennia ago Earth gave humanity everything they needed to survive but mankind took it for granted. Our planet gave them everything but being ungrateful children that they were, our ancestors devastated our planet and now we were atoning for their sins. Millennia ago our planet was lush with trees and now we were surrounded by ice, suffering the wrath of the frigid weathers. For millennia we, the descendants of our kin, have been paying and suffering the consequences for their mistakes and actions, but after so much destruction caused by human hands, I believe we deserve every second of it. Even as the Earth’s vengeance doesn’t seem to have a limit, as now after thousands of years of surviving the ice age of human making we are also on the brink of a new natural ice age caused by the periodic changes in our planet’s orbit around the Sun, I still believe that the Earth’s anger for all the pain that the human race brought upon it is fully justified and that it serves us as a lesson to treasure what we have before it’s too late.