The International Writers Magazine: One World

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Save Your World • Tabytha Towe I wrote this piece after much research and learning horrible consequences that I never even thought could be so detrimental to our future. It was written in 2006 so now in 2008 it has expanded more and become worse but now people and organisations are starting to care about our planet.

Oh what a day! Hanging out with my girl friends nude on the beach, I can’t think of anything better. We have been blessed with the weather this summer. It really has been beautiful these last, few days. The sun shinning, swimming in clear water. It’s the life you’d hope for. You would hope it would be there forever. Sure the sun made for a gorgeous afternoon, the hot rays sizzled nicely into a great tan; except for the fact that heat waves are actually burning our flesh, our water sources become more scarce in dryer atmospheres and that our ozone layer doesn’t protect shit anymore, (and you think 30 spf does wonders?!) Sure the water I swam in was cold and refreshing, felt amazing, but oh, except for the layer of oil floating on top that was running off from a spill nearby, which actually makes that an oil spill-over spill- killing many birds and other wildlife.

Unfortunately, with human population growing (10 billion in 2050) there is no such thing as a simple way of living, there hasn’t been for over a century. Only certain tribes and perhaps the Amish actually work and live peacefully, earning their survival, supporting each other and sustain an appreciation for what they are given.
Politics…sex industry…logging…sewage plants… religion… capitalism… corporations…oil…business…hunting…chicken factories…drug labs… government… media…war…fur…child labourers everything that rules us rather than guides or helps us, brain washes us, corrupts us, transforms us, makes us greedy, makes us lazy, makes us ungrateful, makes us competitive, makes us unforgiving, makes us invincible, makes us selfish, makes us anxious, makes us afraid, makes us blind, makes us inhumane, makes us naïve, makes us destructive, makes us servants of our own fate. Makes or breaks us. Doesn’t make sense, doesn’t make the world better but a vicious cycle. What about the fucking life cycle huh? Unfortunately, with so many of us, what else can we do?
A lot more, that’s what!

IN LESS THAN 20 YEARS FROM NOW:
Our ozone layer will deplete ever more and thus, we will eventually die from over -exposure to the sun. Global warming is quickly and very dangerously affecting our environmental health, burning our earth, turning lakes into droughts, melting our beautiful glaciers that are extremely important to thousands of species and are exceptionally necessary for our survival above water, I might add.

More of our sacred creatures from this earth will be hunted, tortured and ridiculed for sport, fur, teeth, entertainment, meat and thus money, farmed meat will become artificial or eventually diseased. Many animals will starve to death or be too weak to survive in their own wilderness that is ever vanquishing (ie: rain forests, glaciers) only to vanish into extinction themselves, and that means forever you know. Already 90% of our big fish like the mystique shark and tuna has become extinct in just 40 years due to humans over fishing, taking more than their fair share, ruining the food chain of the sea which also balances survival on earth. That really pisses me off!

In the East (ahem, like China and Pakistan) the ratio of women will be less than 40% to men, because over 10 million females have been aborted this far in under 2 decades, and then woman will just become property of rich men, as if we are brothel generation (I can’t even say CIVIL in regards to mankind anymore) and then there will create more useless fighting of ‘ownership’ over our own mothers. *Even today a female regardless of age is raped and/or beaten every second around the world.

In less than 20 years, billions of people will die from disease, new viruses and cancer, much of which comes from daily consumer ‘goods’ that are in fact full of harmful ingredients. 12 million kids in sub Saharan Africa alone are orphaned from HIV/AIDS. A lot of places -such as Botswana for instance- the men still don’t believe they are responsible for HIV and AIDS because it must not be sexually transmitted, it’s a demon or a white man.

Every 3 seconds a child under 5 will die from inadequate food and clean water sources, lack of vaccinations and medication. In less than 10 years our own goddamned air will no longer be fresh or free, it will be tainted with chemicals and pollution and toxic waste as in the soil and our skies, condensing into scarce water and dead earth. Watch, we will soon be taxed on air.

Our children will be the technology generation and higher pricing making cost of living impossible, will grow up with seeing more trees as paper, see houses only for those who can afford a roof over their head, seeing certain animals as rare (and I’m not talking about how you like them cooked,) seeing homeless on their lawn, see lakes turn into muddy puddles, see computers instead of teachers, see plants wither away….you get the picture. Or do we?

Try to picture a vital new age.
We will succumb to violence on TV and surrounding us in our neighbourhoods, schools, and in the news, the news which controls us by only letting us know what they want you to believe. We will succumb to cheaper and more messed up street drugs, to jealousy of one another, to unresolved anger, to emotional, psychological and physical abuse, to cholesterol, heart problems, to stress, to too cold or too hot weather conditions, to an overwhelming population that can’t handle living simply among the masses, to everything we whine about and don’t understand enough to alleviate these issues. There is so much good and unfortunately so much bad in this world that we must figure out what we can accomplish. Right and wrong, we achieve them both equally. I want to smell, feel, hear, see and do more of the good, it’s nice here, all aspects of life are worth it, aint it? Yeah, it is.El mar cura todo meaning "the sea cures all" ¬ that is, if the sea isn’t sick itself.

The US Congress actually admit (oh there’s a start,) disturbing reports that over population pressures and pollution are destroying our coasts and threatening human health. Marine biology and overall ecological integrity is at severe risk with increased erosion, depleting habitats, industrial waste, oil spills, diseases and over fishing. Did you know that 180 million gallons of American sewage gets dumped (no pun intended) every single day? It carries out to the ocean 4.5 miles, and this is called water treatment!?
Think about red tide; you can’t eat your oysters for a while, the horror!
Who are the little fish and fat cats really?

One of the places I work at is a seafood joint. Call me a hypocrite, I’m only half vegetarian, but I can only support my workplace because they don’t over fish, and they are Oceanwise, which means they only capture certain fish at certain seasons (ie: breeding time) so that they can’t ever go extinct. Oh yes and they are wild, don’t get me started on the harms of farmed fish! Naturally, another solution has been concluded but not conducted. If men don’t fish for even two weeks, at least, it will give time for the fish to rejuvenate, creating more for all walks of life that rely on them. Take a break for two weeks boys!

The livelihood for millions of species dependent on the shelter and food of the magical coral reefs are disappearing alarmingly and rapidly. With all this nutrient pollution, there is not enough phytoplankton for the little guys to eat, and hence, screwing up the food chain. That affects humans too, if we could even claim to have decent humanity to admit our mistakes instead of trying to conceal it, with shame.

1500 plus homes are permitted for construction each day on the US coast lines. Soon there won’t be any land to build from. 2000 acres of farmland lost forever, converted into development each day. You can’t develop something without having a place in which to do it, which means taking away from other areas, often other important resources (such as land and water! For fucks sakes the city I reside in there is construction to build new condos IN the water.) My father is a real estate agent for a huge company in downtown Vancouver and I must say he is fairly successful, inevitably the popular market is near surrounding water, going up to a million per tiny-box apartments for the retiring baby boomers from the 40’s, or for rich immigrants coming from their cramped lands. There is no room any more, everyone has to look towards the going up, where sky is the limit, right? NASA will try to send us to live on the moon soon, hopefully with all the billions of tax payers money on new satellites and rockets and what have you they will be able to save at least a few planets! OK I’m getting over my head, forgive me, I’m only human!?

20,000 beaches and lakes were closed in 2004 alone. It’s not safe for us and our families to swim anymore, so just imagine how unsafe it is for our marine wildlife to live in these waters. These areas were considered dead zones, (started from Co2 oxygen) and guess what, so many species are in the dead zone now. I wonder, how many more cars we have on the roads polluting our air each day? How many diapers are changed per child per day and how many plastic bottles thrown away that take over 500 years to decompose and only then send chemical toxins into our earth that we, must I remind you, grow things and eat things from? Use the 3 R rule: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, damned it! Take your own mug to the coffee shop. Turn off lights when you aren’t in a room where you require them on, or use alternative fluorescent bulbs that burn less energy. Save fuel, car pool, take transit, ride your bikes and skateboards; we can actually run cars on solar power, even vegetable oil if you convert your engine, try a hybrid vehicle. Buy produce from local farms, or else grow your own organic. Fold three squares of your toilet paper when you wipe your ass. Pick up your garbage. Smile at your neighbours. Plant trees. Adopt! I hate to sound so left but we have too many mouths to feed and many unfed as is, maybe we too should have a one (biological) child rule, and if you want more children, then adopt an orphan from Uganda, save an abandoned female baby from China. Turn the tap off when you brush your teeth. Rip the plastic coils open of six-pack cans to prevent birds from suffocating to death. Tell others they are lame if they don’t care about our environment! Volunteer to help out organisations that do good deeds but make them actually fun. Vote! Seize the day but remember tomorrow.

WE HAD BETTER BUCK UP OR ELSE WE FUCK UP.

I’m afraid we have already done one, and I don’t see much bucking up, though there is a chance. It’s not too late to start now. There are already alternatives to plastic materials coming in. There are new cars coming out with less gas emissions. We need to change, we need to help and work together. There is still a plentiful and splendid future ahead of us in this dire world, if we let it. Otherwise the Mayans were right in claiming that by 2012 we would have to start life over completely, because it will end then. FYI, the Mayans being the only ones who have had a correct calendar based on precise astrology known in history. That’s 6 years away 4 now) , and I tell you I have no doubt we can have a punctual, predicted Armageddon arranged. I’m not religious, where Jehovah’s Witnesses aim to scare you from the coming and Hell, but I’m not being overly dramatic and paranoid, only that I believe unquestionably that all beginnings have an end. Surely we can end this shit we are causing and start better without ending ‘it all’ at all.

I am deeply sorry. Sorry for, to and about this world we have created and continue to destroy. I no longer fear the future; rather I fear there won’t be one. Of course everyone’s a good guy if they confess their sins so that god can forgive them. But Mother Nature can’t forgive if she can’t mend her wounds. We dig at her soil, litter and slaughter her core, pollute her, take her for granted. We are literally brewing up the storms, hurricanes, earth quakes and tsunamis and they will repeat more so.My references of information come from the ever amazing National Geographic magazine (please read) and documentaries and other brilliant films (please watch)

An Inconvenient truth, The Corporation, What the Bleep do we Know: Further down the Rabbit Hole, Super-size Me, Baraka, Farhenheit 9/11, The Coral Reef Barrier, March of the Penguins, Deep Blue series, * up to date now very important doc called Shark Water, other great films that will astonish you like Tsotsi, Hotel Rwanda, The Constant Gardener and Blood Diamond…

Information comes also from using my own common sense and raging compassion and fear. Please, please, please, if you ever gave a single shit about this world we live in and other living things and the damage we have done and want advice on how to help clean up our act, check out these websites, I BEG OF YOU.
www.EPA.GOV.OCEANS/NCCR/
to find out more about our water damage, management and solution information
www.wspa.org Western States Petroleum Association for environmental remediation
*also see
www.climatechange.ca.gov to implement global warming emission reduction
www.kyotoregime.gov International agreements towards green house cuts
www.eRecycle.org learn how to rid of and reuse electronic and battery products that wont leak into our universal waste
www.westcarb.org sequestration (what is it you ask?) and greenhouse info
www.NGO.com non government organisations relieving suffering, exposing international awareness and making differences
www.fosterparentsplan.com to help aid, feed and teach less fortunate children
www.WSPA.ca (or WSPA.uk.) please subscribe and donate to the respectable World Society for the Protection of Animals
*also see groups against animal cruelty (to name but a few)
www.CAACE.com citizens against animal cruelty and exploitation
www.care2.com
www.HSUS.org
www.animalrights.net
www.animalaid.org.
www.faace.co.uk/news.htm
www.rootsofcompassion.org
www.ddal.org/animaltesting/
Banish our old ways, do not vanish our days. Cheesy, but catchy.
© Tabytha Towe Feb 2008

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