“This week, in our Focus on the Environment,” said the news reader, staring amiably into the camera, “Stephanie White investigates one woman’s determined battle to save the world.”
The view changed to a close-up of Ms White’s face, set against a backdrop of shifting green leaves.
“In a complex world we sometimes struggle to know what is right. I have been fortunate to find one woman who not only knows what is right, but is also prepared to risk everything to act on her beliefs.”
Annie shook her head. She did not remember seeing that filmed. Her anxiety began bubbling over. How would she appear to the viewers?
The scene changed to Stephanie interviewing Annie.
“How do you begin your conversations with people?” Ms White asked.
“Hello. My name’s Annie. What are you doing to save the world?” Somehow it seemed a natural thing to say, yet at the time Annie had felt awkward. She was glad the camera had not registered her nervousness and uncertainty.
“How do people react to that?”
“Some agree. Some disagree. Most are happy enough to talk to me.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Almost every-one agrees that climate change is the biggest challenge our species faces – yet not enough is being done. Despite climate summits and agreements, scientists predict warming of between five and six degrees before the end of the century. That will be catastrophic!” The camera angle changed slightly, focussing on Annie as she spoke. “It’s no use waiting for governments to act – they’re too slow. If the world is going to change it will be because everyday people make choices, change their actions so that the world can change. I think people understand the need for action, but don’t really know what to do. I’m trying to point out that there is already something every-one can do – stop being consumers; stop being a part of the destruction.”
“One person changing their habits won’t do much.” The camera rested briefly on the interviewer as she spoke.
“No, but if ordinary people act together we can effect great change. One drop of water seems insignificant, but enough water, over time, can wear away a mountain.” The camera zoomed in closer to Annie’s face. “The reality is that government decisions are influenced by business interests. They want people to spend. If people stop doing that, if they boycott unnecessary consumption, there will be a downturn in profits that will send a real message – one that will prompt changes that should have happened years ago.
“Scientists talk about a point of no return, but I believe there is a tipping point in the human consciousness. In the past people have talked about revolution – instead we should be looking to the evolution of humanity as we take responsibility for the problems caused by our own ingenuity. We have used technology to rise above the natural world – now we must use our knowledge of right and wrong, the morality that sets us apart from other animals, and act to save the world.
“We value our right to freedom, but with it comes a responsibility to do no harm. Right now we are harming ourselves and others, both now and in the future.”
“Thank-you for talking with us, Annie.” The shot showed the reporter’s serious but friendly face. “Do you have any words of encouragement for the viewers out there who want to help?”
The dappled green background framed the close-up of Annie’s face. “Each and every one of us, individuals and corporations, must take responsibility for stopping the damage – that means stopping our over-consumption. When people act together they are immensely powerful. We can save the world!”
In her lounge-room, Annie was pleasantly surprised. The news item had treated her respectfully; she sounded sensible and reasonable. I hope I don’t have to do that again, though, she thought. I don’t think my nerves could stand it.
Her voice was hoarse and painful as she called out to people, “Cease your sinning! Repent – the end is nigh!” Then the flames came closer, tortured souls whose hands grasped at her and seared where they touched. There was pain in the fire, burning.
Annie was falling, falling . . .
When she woke, Annie was glad she could remember so little of the dream.
In the days following her appearance on the news, Annie experienced a new phenomenon. Whether or not she was talking to someone, people who were passing by would stop briefly, smile and offer words of encouragement.
Occasionally someone who she approached would pull a face of disgust and refuse to talk to her, but the response was overwhelmingly positive. Perhaps this is working, she quietly hoped.
Annie saw him from a distance. She was surprised to see him walking towards her with such determination.
“Good to see you, Adam,” she greeted him. The person who faced her had a grim set to his face that he had not shown her before.
“It’s real, isn’t it? We’re headed for disaster unless we can stop!”
Annie looked at him and took in a breath. There was a black humour in seeing another person reach the same horrible certainty that had haunted her for so long. “I’m sorry. It hurts, doesn’t it? When you realise how bad this all is.”
He looked back, helpless. “Yes. But it’s all true, isn’t it? Global warming, human destruction of the environment . . .”
Annie understood. “You want someone to tell you it’s all been made up, don’t you? A hoax, for goodness knows what reason.” She paused, all humour gone, leaving only sadness. “Sometimes I just so wish that I was wrong, but people who know better than me, the scientists, 97% of people with qualifications that suit them to make the judgements; can they all be wrong too?”
“My daughter . . . what have we done to her? What have I done to her?” Adam stopped speaking as a sob rose from his gut and choked him. “My wife is pregnant,” he whispered when he was able.
Annie put her arms around him, trying to comfort. Adam leaned into her embrace, his head on her shoulder as he wept. Is this how a mother feels? Annie wondered, trying to think of a way she could help Adam with the pain of his epiphany.
He broke from her arms and wiped a carefully folded handkerchief over his face. “I’m sorry,” he said, agitated by his intense emotion. “I didn’t know who else would understand.” Adam looked around at the gardens and the city beyond. “This is all wrong isn’t it? What have we done?”
He began to turn from Annie, then looked back to her. “I can’t stay here. I have to go home. Where will you be tomorrow?”
“I can make sure I’m here if you want to talk.”
“Yes. Please. I’ll see you then.”
Chapter Ten: What are you doing to save the world?
This morning, as she caught the train, Annie talked to herself sternly, hoping to pre-empt the voices. Despite their misgivings she allowed herself a dubious luxury, buying a morning paper to read during the journey to town.
The front page was one colour photo, flames soaring into the sky with fire-fighters in the foreground, reduced to insects by the overwhelming inferno. As horror washed over her, Annie closed her eyes. She could no longer see the distressing photo; instead it was replaced by a haunting image – a car burning as she watched, helpless to save the driver.
She opened her eyes to the crowd that still surrounded her on the train. Their eyes were cast down to their books or newspapers, or closed as they listened to music or the radio on their personal isolation devices. A few were conversing on the noisy train.
How many of these people had been affected by Black Saturday? Did they even remember? Or had they lived through some other chaos or tragedy?
Annie knew that, fortunately, it had been a relatively small part of the community that had been affected. It meant, however, that most people did not truly understand what it meant to find yourself in the midst of disaster. They could not understand the terror of flight; the anxiety of refuge, surrounded by smoke and sirens. They could not understand the wrench to the guts when you returned to
find your home devastated. Friends dead. And the mourning in holocaust forests, silent: plants, animals and birds destroyed by the inferno.
Memories of the weeks following the fires flashed past. She remembered how humbling it had been when members of the community had stepped up and taken care of her, providing shelter and clothing, linen that they took from their own cupboards. And what pride and hope she had felt to see how powerful people can be when they act together with goodness in their hearts.
As she began turning the pages of the newspaper there were more unsettling images of the recent fire: burnt houses, injured wild-life, aerial photos of devastation.
“No-one should have to live through that,” Annie muttered under her breath. The man sitting next to her looked briefly over, then returned to the book he was reading, hoping to avoid human contact on this crowded train.
But they will, thought Annie, and worse. Except, when all the community is affected there will be no-one left to take care of those who suffer.
If global warming continued there would be more bushfires; more floods and other extreme weather. More and more people would be affected – and there would be fewer resources left in the community to help the survivors rebuild. Compassion gripped Annie, a mourning for those who would suffer in the future for the selfishness of the current age.
Yet she also knew how much people could achieve when they worked together. If only she knew how to nurture that community action: if only she knew how to motivate people to make the sacrifices that would save the future.
But how do you reach people? How do you explain the facts to people who don’t want to hear?
“Just keep trying,” Annie muttered, causing consternation in the passenger next to her, who huffed and tried to move further away.
“Hello. My name’s Annie. What are you doing to save the world?”
The woman looked at her, startled, then looked about. “Where are the cameras?”
“No cameras,” said Annie. “Just me. Trying to save the world.”
“You’re crazy,” said the woman, and scurried away.
“Hello, I’m Annie. What are you doing to save the world?”
“I’ve had a vasectomy.”
For a moment only, Annie was speechless. “I’ve been talking to people about what they’re doing to tackle climate change.”
“You do realise,” insisted the surprising gentleman, “that the main reason people are having such an impact on the environment is that there are too many people? The best way to reduce our carbon footprint is to have fewer feet.”
“Yes, that’s true. But we also have to make changes to the way we live. The world’s population is continuing to increase . . .”
“Exactly! People in wealthy countries all seem to think that population control is an issue in the third world, not here. But if you think of the earth as a spaceship with a limited capacity, all population growth is bad.” He warmed to his theme. “We keep pointing at the crowded areas, saying that the people there need to exercise control; whereas, since our quarters are spacious we think we can keep breeding. But every birth adds to the total load on the life-support systems.”
“Controlling population is certainly a long-term goal that will help us create a sustainable future . . .”
“Good. You understand. Have you had your tubes tied yet?”
Now Annie was lost for words. This man was right in what he was saying about population pressures on the environment, but . . .
“Thanks for asking my advice,” the strange man said. “If you need my help you can find me in the Yellow Pages. Good-bye.”
“Oh dear,” said Annie to herself. “That was just weird.” Wondering how much she shocked people when she spoke to them, Annie decided to stop and have lunch. She needed a break.
“Hello. What are you doing to save the world?”
“No-one can save the world. It’s too late.”
“Hello. My name’s Annie. What are you doing to save the world?”
“Go bother the captains of industry, why don’t you? They’re the ones causing the problem!”
“But we all take part in it. We buy their goods and use their dirty power. We all aspire to the wealth that they flaunt.”
“You reckon you can change the whole world?”
Annie was struck dumb by the accusation. He was right. Who did she think she was? How could she possibly hope to make a difference? She was crazy.
Yet there was compassion in this stranger’s next words. “It is all wrong, isn’t it? I suppose at least you’re trying. Good luck.”
When Adam approached her, determination in his stride, Annie was glad to see a smile on his face.
“Hullo. How are you?”
“Good, Annie, good,” he enthused, beaming into her face. “You’re right. People have to change the way they live – if we don’t, we’re doomed.”
“You’re happy, though. What’s happened, Adam?”
“I’ve started talking to people,” he began, then paused. He had understood her purpose and decided to join her. “I’m not ready to give up my job like you, but I’m talking to whoever I can because that’s what it will take.” As he spoke an inspired smile gleamed from the corners of his eyes.
“All the Green organisations are doing their bit to try to make people care, but it’s not enough.” He raised his hand, patting his chest above his heart, the universal gesture of self. “You’re right. Everybody has to take responsibility. I have to take responsibility. The first thing to do is to talk to each other and work out how to start – or rather, how to stop. How to stop causing the damage, so that we can prevent catastrophic harm to human society. I’ve begun a restructuring of my business, planning for a sustainable future instead of a greedy one. If we do something now, if we all work together, we can make things better.”
Annie gazed at Adam, stunned by the change in his attitude since they had first spoken. He was earnest as he explained. “I went to your web-site and I think you’re right about the bottom line, too. We do have to change the way we live. We can’t allow the media to keep encouraging people to expect a Hollywood lifestyle.” Adam paused before continuing. He had the courage to face and accept what was necessary.
“Companies, like mine, have profited by providing the goods and services people have been programmed to want. We have to be prepared to stop chasing profits for a time. Resources need to be focussed on restructuring according to a business model that isn’t based on expansion and consumption. We have to evolve morally - it is not right to demand increasing material wealth in a struggling world.
“I also agree with the three areas you say are critical,” concluded Adam. “Individual responsibility, corporate responsibility and government responsibility - but people have to accept that responsibility for us to have any hope of change. Most of the detail you provide about the actions we must take as communities are just common sense. Some of what you say is a bitter pill.” He stopped to take a deep breath. “My wife and I always wanted a large family, but I can see that we do need to control our population. An expanding population will eventually need more than the Earth can provide. We need, at the very least, to halt the growth of our population; but I understand why people resist being ordered to control the size of their families.”
He hesitated, the intensity of his speech giving way to a sombre passion. “My family is the reason I am here, why I want to try to help. I want them to have a future. I want to believe . . . I have to believe there is still a chance to save our world.”
“There always has to be hope,” agreed Annie.
“I have an appointment to keep,” Adam said abruptly, glancing at his watch. “I’m so glad I saw you here.” Impulsively he stepped forward and folded Annie into a warm embrace. “Thank-you.
“And I’ll be telling other people to start talking, too. When they work together, people are powerful!” With a cheerful gesture o
f salute, Adam strode away.
Annie watched him go, stilled by a familiar feeling; a feeling that was difficult to identify, it was so out of context. As the determined figure melted into the crowded street alongside the park, she felt something very like hope rising in her chest – a timid bird, gaining strength as it stretched its wings to soar above the earth.
She remembered students she had met, five years after teaching them. They were glad to bump into her, so unexpectedly in the shopping centre or park, and would tell her about their lives and ask if she was still at the old school. As she heard their stories of success, or resilience in the face of obstacles, pride would grow in her, that she had had the privilege of being part of their lives. That she had helped them on their journey.
There were tears of joy and gratitude in her eyes as she stood in the park that day and chanted, to no-one in particular, “The people, united, will never be defeated.”
After a deep breath, she added, “At least I’m not alone, crying in the wilderness.”
“Hello. I’m Annie. What are you doing to save the world?”
“Everything I can. Sorry. I’m running late. Good-bye”
“Hello. My name’s Annie. What are you doing to save the world?”
“There’s nothing wrong with the world.”
“Surely you’re aware of global warming. If the climate continues to warm, human beings will no longer be able to survive!”
“Why do you people want to scare us? Can’t you just leave us alone?”
“I want to stop it from happening.”
“Well go and talk to the government then. I can’t do anything.”
“Just take this leaflet. Look at the web-sites when you can.”
“Hello, I’m Annie. What are you doing to save the world?”