The future we want

Only darkness and despair can be found in the paths we take today. Our relentless struggle within ourselves has pushed not only us to the brink of destruction, but also the world itself to the ends of its endurance. We have sought to create a world befitting the greatness of humanity and in doing so we have done nothing but lay the design for our own imminent doom.

Decades of the world’s industrialization has crumbled the very earth that once fed and sheltered us. It has defiled the very rivers that once sustained us and the air that once gave the very essence of life to all things. Our unbridled desire for progress, efficiency, and profit has raped the earth of its natural beauty. Mountains have been brought down to gain its precious minerals. Forests have been ravaged to provide lumber and land for crops, leaving nothing for other forms of life.

The sky, the seas, and the earth incessantly degrade as we continue to mindlessly pollute and destroy everything around us. For the sake of progress, social and economic advancement, we have excessively siphoned every natural resource we have, consuming everything in our path. Is this where the future will lead? To the total and inevitable destruction of our world?

Progress has always been equated to economic improvement, yet most cannot help but only perceive this as the only viewpoint. Most often than not, as the economy grows in a faster pace, so does environmental degradation. China and Brazil, both of which are one of the highest emitters of carbon in the world, follow this vicious occurrence.

Brazil, once hailed for its rainforests and biodiversity, has demolished hectares of its forests to create more agricultural lands for both food and biofuel production. Thousands of species have become homeless, if not extinguished by its desecration. Its carbon emissions can be linked from its butchering as rainforest contain tons of stored carbon dioxide within the trees and in the ground itself. With this in mind, we cannot say that Brazil’s production of biofuel is environmental in nature. China, though becoming one of the biggest economic powers in the world in a short span of time, has become the most polluted country in the world. Its bustling and rapidly developing industry has created an underlying consequence to its environment. The lack of concern and awareness for the environment cannot only be seen from these places, but also all over the world. We concern ourselves too much on the cost of things rather than their value and consequences.

What will our children await when they open their eyes to the world we have built? Will they still witness the majesty and grandness of all that nature once beheld? Will they feel the fresh breeze in their faces, smell the fragrance of sun-drenched flowers of green pastures, touch the soft rich earth in their feet, or taste the cool and clear waters of the rivers and streams? Will they still see the elegant diversity of life in the world, or the purity of nature itself? Or will our children see only the end of the world as the abyss we have created consumes it?

It is not the fault of modern civilization why the world is becoming this way. We can never halt human civilization’s progress, for is in our nature to continually desire, to be greater, to evolve, to progress, and to achieve the impossible. It is the direction it takes that brings us closer to the folly. But like the numerous crossroads of our own personal lives, we can always choose where our desires take us. If the direction is the problem, then we must deviate from it. We must take the path leading to a brighter tomorrow, a tomorrow where the fruitions of our labours not only make us grow, but sustains the world, heals it, and makes it better. It is there, in the edge of our fingertips. We must take a leap of faith and grab hold of it.

Peace can be achieved between environmental sustainability and economic progression. All progress can be attained without the sacrifice of either one. The revolutionary advancement in our society has given us the means to achieve this. Technology has exponentially advanced over the years, providing us the capabilities unfathomable decades before. Cleaner energy, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and ocean wave power, can be easily harnessed today, providing near carbonless power generation. Sophisticated methods of agriculture are also available, more economical and environmentally viable, ridding us of dangerous chemical additives for higher yields and providing cheaper sustenance for all. Modern designs of automobiles, industrial equipment, and plants improve efficiency and even lessen our use of fossil fuel based resources, ridding our industries of the economic chaos fossil fuel markets ensue, increasing its yields in production, and lessening its environmental footprints. The ability to become sustainable is there, it has always been there. The world can be mended, but we must have the will to do so. There is a future out there that lies far beyond our own needs, wants, and yearnings. This is a future we must create in order to evolve past ourselves.

We must pave our way towards this because we crave to be better, for are we not human and dream to be greater?

The future must not only be built around us, but must be built around the world as well, for both our fates are intertwined. The weaves we build with the world define the future we w will live in. We must dream and yearn for a sustainable future: a future where the sky is blue and bright, the rivers pristine and pure, and the forest strong and tall; a future where the machinations of economic, social, and industrial developments coexist with our natural environment; a future where we can live, where our children can live, not just survive, but truly and wholeheartedly live until the end of time.

The path towards a grander and more beautiful feature await us in the horizon. A righteous journey has never been an easy one, nor has it been an uncostly one. The path is brimming with difficulty and peril, obstacles daunting and fierce. We must continue moving forward, for the fate of our children, our humanity, and our world. We cannot fail in this quest, because our failure is our doom, because if we fail here and now, no one will be there to save the world. Darkness and despair can be found on our current path, but the future is never set in stone. What we do today determines our fate, whether we find the light in the darkness, or vanquish despair from our paths. What we choose today defines what we and the world become. We need but the strength to take each step, the courage to face all odds, and the hope for a future more radiant than ever before.