[Click the landscape photo above to play music by the author. This is my final composition of theme music for my writing here at Wattpad. Future recordings will be available only to subscribers (it's free to subscribe) to my YouTube channel. See my Wattpad Profile page for the link. Thanks for the encouragement a comments on my writing and music. I look forward to your "Thumbs Up" votes at YouTube as well. Stay safe and stay well. Continue to enjoy the rest of this book and my other collections.]
It isn't love if it doesn't care for others and for the planet. It's only a mockery of love, blind self-indulgence.
A dire warning was recently issued in the journal BioScience on the 40th anniversary of the first world climate conference. This warning was endorsed by 11,000 scientist from 153 nations, and by all the planet's scientific academic and professional organizations, except for one: petroleum engineers in the United States.
This timely and urgent report may be summarized thus: All sentient life on Earth faces untold suffering due to the climate crisis unless we undertake major transformations world-wide. To quote:
"We declare clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency. To secure a sustainable future, we must change how we live and interact with Earth's ecosystems.
"The climate crisis has arrived and is accelerating faster than most expected. And it is more severe than anticipated, threatening natural ecosystems and the fate of humanity."
The climate crisis is directly linked to our excessive consumption of natural resources. This has been know for decades. And yet this fact has been dismissed and laughed at, especially in the United States, and especially by the half-humans that go by the name Republicans, from George W. Bush to the vile and pathetic excuse for a human being that I refer to as Darn Old Dump. Despite 40 years of global climate negotiations, with few exceptions, we have failed to act. Especially worrisome are the specters of irreversible climate tipping points. These climate chain reactions could cause the collapse of ecosystems and of human society with frightening speed. Because of these tipping points large areas of Earth could become uninhabitable in the near future.
From the report:
"We urge policymakers and the public to understand the magnitude of the crisis, realign priorities and track progress."
And yet there are encouraging signs:
Decreasing birth rates in many countries.
Increasing solar and wind power and fossil fuel divestment.
An awakened and motivated youth movement.
We have no choice. We must do more. We have to:
Use energy far more efficiently, and apply strong carbon taxes to cut fossil fuel use. Air travel, for one, should be priced out of existence except for emergencies.
Stop the growth of human population–currently adding 200,000 people a day–using ethical approaches such as longer education for girls.
End the destruction of nature and restore forests and mangroves to absorb CO2.
Eat mostly plants and less meat, and reduce food waste.
Shift economic goals away from endless GDP growth to instead sufficiency for all.
The good news:
The good news is that such transformative change, with social and economic justice for all, promises us all far greater well-being than business as usual.
The surge of concern among young people is growing and we must encourage it in every form, from global school strikes to protests demanding draconian lawsuits aimed at polluters.
The alternative is out-of-control pollution and global heating, and the mass extinction of most species on Earth, followed by the end of humanity. If you think this is hyperbole you're are misinformed.
Each of us has a moral obligation to use whatever platform we have, like Wattpad, to sound the alarm. It is more important than ever that all of us at this site speak out.
So who are you? What are you? Are you a force for destroying life and the wonders and joys of human love, a slithering devil, cyclically fighting on the side of death, if only through your inaction and indifference? Or will you join the angels and add your voice to the demand for change?
You need to decide what your life means. iI you choose to stand for something, then you need to live as though your very life, and every life, depends on it!
If you still refuse to act, then the word "love" will ring hollow each time it passes your lips or leaves your pen. Unless you write with a purpose then here at Wattpad, every romantic story and poem you post will be a shallow act of self-satisfaction.
Don't fall for selfish charmers who only care about themselves, selling a snake oil of lies and making a religion of greed. Not in politics. Not in art. For God's sake stop writing about bad boy billionaires in pajama bottoms, as though such creatures are to be admired! As a writer, grow a conscience! Have something to say, or shut up!
Love is only as love does. What will love lead you to?
Please share this collection with others. I do not write for profit, except in spirit. To paraphrase Confucius, "Small souls love what fills the purse. Great souls love what fills the heart."
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Valentine's Day Every Day
PoetryVerses our hearts might sing, had they voices. Highest ranks, #1 in Book of Poetry, #1 in Deep Poetry, #1 in Mantra, #1 in Enlightenment, #7 among nearly 300,000 poetry collections at Wattpad.
