The Earth in the Year 2870 - #PlanetOrPlastic

2870

Slipping Slippers step, Barnes went to the mailbox and brought out his subscribed daily newspaper. Groaning, he sat down at the table covered with bread and milk coffee. His bones and joints crunched, they were not what they once were. 

Although his habit was to start reading a newspaper from the back, this time the front page captivated his gaze.

"Disaster Occurred", was the headline.

Underneath, the text began as follows: "Global warming continues to melt the ice on the polar ice caps. Something reveals itself in the melting landscape of the ice. Something huge."

Oh dear, they made it exciting today. And he put the newspaper on the chair next to him. 

Until three years ago, this had been the place of his beloved Anja. No day passed that he didn't think about whether he would meet her again after his life. It would be fine and lasted only a moment, but like every human, he was not sure of the eternity.

Before he read on, he smeared his bread with olive oil margarine and sprinkled salt over it. Then he bit off with his eyes closed and enjoyed his favorite taste. A sip of coffee washed the last chunks out of his mouth. 

Rustling, he took the newspaper and read on: 

"These are mountains of so-called plastic. According to eyewitness reports, a malodorous stench emanates from these accumulations, making recovery difficult. Scientists have discovered that in the last heat phase of our planet, the polar ice caps were as free of ice as they are today. Because of the lack of worldwide legal regulations, disposable packaging such as bags or bottles of drinks ended up in the garbage. While some tried to reuse these substances, there were others who transferred this debris to the sea, where it drifted with the currents to the poles and formed islands. The next Ice Age covered everything and preserved it until today.

What should we do with it?

Inaction like eight hundred years ago doesn't get us anywhere. Marine researchers triggers alarm. First seals and penguins have already been badly injured, some even killed, by this dubious forced inheritance.It is time to act."

This article spoiled Barnes's good mood. At that time, did people only have clay in their skulls? How could they produce so much useless stuff?

He wanted a time machine.

He would have told people in the past what happened now. Either they laughed at him or actually started to stop producing their plastic. Then he wouldn't be sitting on the largest garbage dump in the universe.

He would ask these people two questions:

What do you want?

A Planet or Plastic?