As a child I was taught

That the fossil fuels would run out in the next 50 years.

And as that child I ought

To protect the world in which I live out of fear.

But, eight years later

As we eat our way through new specifies of fish

And as we set the record for fastest new car,

Our path to progression fails to address, perhaps,

The ever looming threat that our world may collapse

Under the weight of human nature

To nurture first our needs, then maybe our earth,

A worth so great it can't be bought or sold

But we're selling ourselves out of the game

Played by all humans and won by none,

Because who wins when we run out of energy and it's not just "those kids in Africa" without water.

This is our fight.

 

But people fear the words "green" and "global warming"

As if a warning of impending disaster isn't enough

To destroy the notion that it's "not our problem".

A secret brushed under the mat,

It matters not if we should but rather how

And although we may have the world in our hands,

What happens to diamonds when they're dropped in the sands that cover our footprints

Left behind in a world of "in-the-moments" and "so whats".

But in what moment did we stop to think

As we sink down into a pool of devastation,

A nation more focused on technological speed,

Do we technically need more oil to breathe?

To fill our lungs with fuel and swim to the edge

Before we're pulled down by coal and emissions.

But how will we surface if the water level keeps rising

And when will we rise and accept its OUR problem too

And why do we still think the scientists lie

When we've had record lows and snow up to our thighs?

Or soaring highs leaving counties in drought?

Even the western world will battle for water without

A plan of action.

 

It's not just our children or their children that follow

That watch Venice sink lower each year,

As we pour self centered mindsets into our oceans

And burn materialism for our cars and homes.

And where is the harm in recycling our trash or cutting our waste

No effort is wasted when it's our health we embrace.

And we face the fact that our facts are right

And so what better time to fight?

Because human rights only matter if we have a world to support them

And winning the wars we wage requires sustainable resources,

Before the wars we fight are our desperation for water

And we battle to stay alive.

A life determined by who breathes and who doesn't

But soon oxygen will be as precious as gold,

And this time it's not the wealthy who will grow old;

It's the intelligent, the aware and the determined

But even those traits require a breeze

From the trees we cut down to make houses and money,

We'll drown in our greed before we choke on CO2

Which in a few years time won't be hard to do.

 

So let's for once forget political orientation

Because both the left and right,

Or if you're somewhere in between,

Might claim to be different

But in the end, where are those differences, if we have nobody to fight for.