Today on Behind The Lines, earth is front and centre.I had the idea for this piece when thinking that if you don’t like where you live, you move. Then I thought ,well, that’s all very well if you are a person of means in a relatively free first world society but the chances are globally is that you are not. 40% of our planet’s population live on less than $5.50 a day.
The phrase how the other half live is rooted in that uncomfortable knowledge.
“What did we destroy to create?”-Rainforests, coral reefs and other life supporting ecosystems are the short answer. Billions of possible futures is the longer one, and for what?.
“Was it worth it?”-Yes I am thankful for my decadent western lifestyle but not when it is rooted in children mining for the batteries that power our smart phones or electric cars. Just a couple of a long long list of examples that should mean we all sleep a bit uneasy at night. But we don’t. We all sleep very easily and eat very well on parts of the planet that are not literally and figuratively on fire.
The way we are living is unsustainable-most of all for the planet we call home-“This rock in the ether was yours”.
I think wether we like it or not, there is a day of reckoning hurtling towards us unless we choose to change. Sea levels rising, extraordinary temperatures and potentially deadly pollutants from rapidly receding resources have already indirectly led to armed conflict and the displacement of millions.
Maybe this Christmas, we give a little bit more to those who need it, and a bit less to ourselves and anything that fuels the fire that can burn down all we know.
We live on a unique, beautiful blue marvellous marble floating through space.
It’s one of a kind for our kind.
There is no “new build”.
Algo.
Algo Poetry-Behind the Lines 