Our Last Dance

As we reach the almost-end of the book, good old Squarzoni decides to squeeze in some last minute science. Most of this section consisted of qualified speakers talking about the more economic aspect of, and arguments refuting, climate change. However, there were a few things that did stand out to me. One of which, was a quote on page 407, which read, “there’s a point at which nature, which we’ve considered free and abundant, puts a stop to growth and reminds us that it exists in limited quality.” This quote was more or less chilling to read because it blatantly points out that there’s a bounding extent to which nature can develop. There’s only so much we can look for. Only so much to find. There’s only so much we can exploit. Only so much we can destroy. And something tells me that after all these years of exploration and discovery here on this planet, we’re reaching the end. I’m afraid that one day we’ll all wake up and realize that we’ve uncovered all the secrets. That we’ll be stuck here in this limited world with nowhere else to go; nowhere to run away from the mistakes and pain that we’ve generated with our own bare hands. Trapped in the misery of our own creation and buried in the graves of our own choosing.
Tiptoeing on a frozen pond doesn’t make the ice stronger. It merely increases the time with which we can stand on it. The Earth isn’t getting any stronger. It will not start sprouting trees that can absorb enormous amounts of carbon dioxide. The ozone layer will not one day, just up and decide that, “hey maybe I should stop warming planet Earth so much.” This is all we have. And all we can do now is tiptoe, desperately praying that the world doesn’t crack beneath our feet. Part of me is heartbroken, realizing that we will never be able to skate on this ice again. We will never be able to dance on it. And I can understand why some people would opt to keep dancing to their death. Because standing, helpless in fear is no way to live. But it is living, nonetheless. Sometimes I don’t know which option is more preferable.
But there is a sequence on page 405, that shows Squarzoni and his girlfriend driving towards a mountain. And he asks her, “Are we driving into that?” She responds saying, “If we go higher, we may get above the fog.” I really liked this dialogue because it made me realize that we’re all driving towards mysterious mountains in life-whether it’s the major issue of climate change, or even our own intimidating struggles. Looking at it from afar may make it seem impossible to surmount. And even once we start climbing, the world may seem like a hazy disaster. But we have to keep climbing. We have to keep driving. Because the higher we go, the clearer things become. And if we don’t give up, we may get above the fog. We may be able to feel the unparalleled sensation of standing on top of the world, and looking up.