A Future Without Day or Night
Matthew Evans
1/27/2014
Every item that man consumes must be manufactured; and these products are
often constructed from materials that are created from environmentally hazardous substances. When the Industrial Revolution began, the smog from the new factories started to clog the skies of Great Britain. As manufacturing moved to the United States, and now to Asia, the pollution followed. It seems that wherever man deems worthy to produce his goods, that area will be doomed to the same pollution that was found in previous industrial nations. As man has an insatiable appetite for the products of consumerism, the day may come when a permanent grey fog envelopes the entire planet, illuminated by an endless megalopolis that represents both the best and worst aspects of our politico-economic system.
The basis of our modern civilization - natural gas, oil, and coal - will eventually force us to wake up to a day where one looks out on the vast expanse of our power plants, refineries, smokestacks, and open pit mines, and be unable to tell difference between night and day. Carbon dioxide will permeate everything in the world, acid rain will fall (as it already does in countless cities across the planet) and supplies of fresh water will dwindle. This future can already be seen in Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Delhi. Rapid industrialization may produce a “rising tide” of prosperity, but people often forget that the tide can recede in the face global warming, air pollution, and the other assorted detritus of civilization.While the average American may still live a relatively pleasant life in this future (due to our nation’s power and prosperity), one will only need to look to the continents of Africa, Asia, and South America to realize what everything we have been blessed with has cost us.
Sources:
Reuters. “Beijing Wages War Against Pollution As Mayor Prepares ‘All-Out Effort’ To Tackle Growing Concerns”. The Huffington Post. January 2014. Web. 1/27/2014.
Reuters. “China Pollution Wafting Across Pacific To Blanket US, Report Shows”. Fox News Online. January 2014. Web. 1/27/2014.
