Climate Crisis Be Damned

 

 

        Ben often looks over my shoulder when I'm writing.

    "Wow that's a dark," he notes, referring to my post about visions of the future.

    "Well the train is headed to a cliff, I'm just sounding a warning,"

    "We can still enjoy the view," he counters. A light bulb turns on in my head.

    "You know what, screw it, I'm going with the climate crisis deniers and look on the bright side," I announce cheerfully and get a can of hard cider from the fridge.

    "They are doing us all a favor by ignoring the evidence so let's keep trashing the environment," The can makes a spritzy sound as I open it.

    "Let's see, this was the hottest year ever recorded, every country was alternately on fire or under water after flash flooding and you think there's an upside to this?" Ben is taken aback by my change of attitude.

    "You betcha, it was so damn hot this summer I skipped watering the yard, stayed inside with the air conditioner on full blast and smoke from the wild fires gave us some great sunsets," I say with enthusiasm. Ben is horrified but recovers to see what I'm doing.

    "Denial is a great way to deal with unpleasantness but these deniers need to step up their game with some effective PR if they want to convince the rest of us of their delusions. God knows the corporate rats will gladly help with wild conspiracies since they benefit the most from pretending it's not the end of the world,"  I say with a wink. Ben gets it.

    "Yeah, that recent flooding in New York City was just advertisment for Hal's Sporting Goods. 'Now's the time to buy a boat, canoe or kayak.' " Ben says using his best salesman tone.

    "Exactly, the whole doom and gloom the media pitches is overrated. These folks need to sell the advantage this new climate brings. Isn't this warm weather great, your kids don't have to bundle up for Halloween. Also, encouraging people to walk, bike or use public transportation is an Orwellian plot to control you, not a way to save the environment," I sniff with mock contempt. Funny how these poor souls think they can wish away environmental collapse. History has shown it's not the first time it's been attempted.

    "Great, when humans are done with self destruction, the flora and fauna can flourish without their meddling," Ben says with supreme confidence.

    "Amen brother," I salute with my drink.