The Light of Hope

You woke up to the sound of thunder and the unrelenting pitter patter of rain. Sighing, you looked out the window of your small bunker, and, not for the first time, thought about how wrong the forecast had been. It always was. Today’s forecast called for blizzards and strong, frigid winds. Instead a humid thunderstorm was creating non-stop rain. Only this wasn’t your average thunderstorm or rainfall—this was flood rain. Though you guess it could have been worse. At least they got the wind part somewhat right, it was getting a bit windy outside. At least there wasn’t a tornado—yet. They seem to be coming more and more often these days without warning.

You sigh once more. Soon you will have to pick up everything and leave or fear for your life once again. Though this has become routine for us all. You remember the good old days where you would go out freely dancing in the rain, without a care in the world. It seems like a lifetime ago. Drip, drip, drip, on and on it went. Well, so much for camping out in a bunker near the city center. If you don’t leave soon, the whole district will become flooded, bunker and all! It seems like no matter where you go, or anyone goes for that matter, everything is the same. No food, no water, no proper shelter other than makeshift shacks and tents for camp, and the disasters! The horrid fires, scorching droughts, terrifying earthquakes, colossal tsunamis, and let’s not even talk about the acid rain—that’s just the worst. The frigid blizzards and avalanches, tornadoes and hurricanes in places where they should never be, the list goes on and on. No resources, nowhere that can be called livable, everyone just on the run all the time. But humanity was asking for this after all. Now that you think about it, humanity was given so many chances to right their wrongs, much more than we deserved. We ruined our own future. Instead of caring for our world, we just kept destroying it. We turned climate change into a climate crisis. That was already a wake-up call, but we ignored it and turned it into a climate catastrophe! We sealed our fate, and now we are just getting what we deserve. As the saying goes “You reap what you sow”. Oh no, you went off on a tangent again didn't you. Ugh, not again, stay focused, focused! Can’t be wasting time you can’t afford, time is precious! You immediately get up, pack your measly belongings in a heartbeat, and break a sprint, willing your legs to run fast enough to escape the oncoming flood.

***

Whoa, that was a close one! You were able to run fast enough to flee to the nearest district, which, although isn’t in much better condition than the first (since faring the disasters really took its toll), does not seem to be having a natural disaster at the moment. You settle down in a flat, open field, just right to set up a tent—sadly, you ditched the bunker back at the flood site (it was the most valuable thing you had!). You sit down once more, thinking “Where will I go now? When will I have to run next?”. It wasn’t a happy thought, but there wasn’t really much to be happy about in this world. Though you guess you were somewhat lucky. Despite becoming an environmental refugee after your country was demolished by non-stop hurricanes, as many countries were, you were somehow able to flee just in time to get to flee to the closest district. Most of the countries broke apart after the disasters, save for some lucky countries in the west and a few in Europe, and so environmental refugees such as yourself began referring to these areas as districts. Far too many died and are still dying, and some are stuck in districts with conditions much worse than yours. Think about those stuck in fires, or earthquakes, or acid rain for that matter. Though you’re not too much better off. For those who survive their local disasters, It’s kind of like a game of being forced to choose how you die time and time again, and just NON. STOP. RUNNING. You think about God, and what hell may be like hell. Is this hell on earth, you wonder? Is this how things are always going to be? You never asked for this horrible future! You sigh, for not the first time today. Then again, you could’ve done more. We all could. If everyone had done their part just a few short years ago, conditions still wouldn’t have been pretty, but it most certainly would never have gotten this bad. If only you all would had forced the big companies to stop using fossil fuels. If only you had all eaten more veggies instead of meats, to stop the harmful gases from the poultry and meat industries from being released in the air. Maybe even protesting, like how people protested in one of many Black Lives Matter movements to come after George Floyd’s death. The problem is, everyone was so occupied with their day-to-day problems and problems that were ‘trending’ that when the climate change trend was over, it was as if it ceased to exist. Everyone forgot all about it. The few people that did push for change were simply not enough. Oh no, it seems like a tsunami this time! At least this was somewhat expected—you are near the ocean after all. Time to pack and run once more!

***

“Okay, that wasn’t so bad”, you think to yourself. If this were you a few years ago, you would strongly disagree. You were so caught up in appearances and never really bothered exercising. Heck, the old you would never have lasted through a one hour run, let alone fare through simultaneous and unstopping natural disasters day after day after day. Now it’s either you running for hours at a time, or choosing death. Dying is not an option. At least, it isn’t for you. You are going to stick it out in this world, and do your best to change things before its too late. You believe that it’s never too late for change, no matter how impossible something may be. As the saying goes, “where there’s a will, there’s a way”. There’s always a way. There has to be. There wouldn’t be any point in living if there weren’t. Though sometimes you doubt yourself. Has humanity condemned itself to its own destruction for good? Is there really no way out of this nightmare? Finding a way means choosing a difficult, steep path, while dying or surviving just because there’s no other option is the mentally easy path. But you are willing to walk that difficult path and sacrifice ease for the sake of saving humanity, and for the sake of giving yourself a brighter future. Yes, you can see the light!

***

Wait a minute, why is it so bright all of a sudden? Huh?! How did I get in a warm bed? No natural disasters and a thriving city? That doesn’t exist in your time anymore! Ohhhh, you just had a very realistic dream. This isn’t the first time you’ve had this dream. Sadly, many people in your time do not support saving the planet and don’t believe in the climate crisis. But you vow to yourself that you will protect the planet, even if no one else does. Slowly but surely, you will find other likeminded individuals and protest for change. You will stand against naysayers even if no one else will. But there are others, have to be. We will unite, and stop the climate crisis from becoming a climate catastrophe. We will protect our planet at all costs. After all, together we stand, or together we all perish. You’ll do it for everyone. For the people. For the planet. But most of all, for the future of our world itself.

***

“And that’s the end of the story, students. This is our fate if we don’t make a change. Its true that where there’s a will, there’s a way, but the sooner we change, the less environmental hardships we will go through. Now it’s up to you to decide what you want to do. You are the future generation, and as such, will be the one’s living in the future world a few years from now. We’ve already witnessed the unpredictable weather patterns, and more natural disasters as of late. Whether you want to make this a climate crisis turn into a climate catastrophe or choose to stop this crisis in its tracks is up to you.”

“Change will take much time and patience, and sometimes you will feel hopeless. People will try to turn our current predicament into a fairytale, and one day the people in power may pretend that climate change ceases to exist, as some politicians already do. That being said, we can not always convince others to change their ways, but we can do our part. It may seem small, and may not seem to be making much of an impact, but if no one does anything then who will? One person is always better than no one at all.”

“To end off, I want you all to remember that this is our world. Earth is our planet. If we choose to abuse it, then it won’t take care of us either. Like us humans, mother nature has its breaking point. We must live in harmony with nature as we strive to do with ourselves. So my lovely students, are you with me? Will you help stop the human race from creating its own demise and protect our planet?”

Your whole class was cheering in agreement, chanting “SAVE THE PLANET! FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE!” You breathed a happy sigh of relief. Of course your students would say yes. They were always so eager to help the environment. Yes, this generation will light the way to a bright future. They will be the light of hope, guiding humanity, planet Earth, and the entire world itself away from the brink of destruction. “God, I love my job”, you spoke softly to yourself. You sure did love being a climate change professor!