The Figure of the Day: Leaders' conference in hell
In recent years, with a naivety that embarrasses me, I thought we would change our lives. Global warming had been proven beyond doubt, the Doomsday Clock left no room for uncertainty, leaders' conferences multiplied, UN experts spoke with one voice, and storms and cataclysms doubled in the last decade, while protocols in Kyoto and Paris reassured us. My optimism was embodied in my desire to be a father. I had four children because I believed in and wanted the future, knowing that hope is always stronger than fear. There was no reason not to believe: with an imminent risk of life on the planet dying out and the human race facing extinction, our survival instinct would do the rest. But reality is imaginative. Knowing all this, aware of the risks, able to anticipate the tragedy and offer a sign of courage and preservation of the species, we chose to carry on as if there were no tomorrow. Perhaps there really isn't. I am no longer talking about wars; those are inevitable because of who we are. I am talking about oil, about the fossil fuels that are destroying the planet. We now know that all wars are not just driven by our inherent greed. They are driven by the greed for power built upon what will kill us in the short term. Drowning in crude oil in the strait of hell. Suffocated, yet happy and flush with the cash that magnates and 'Musks' can use as bargaining chips with the Devil over a morning of drinks and sulphur. Good luck with that.
