Good Shoes Won't Save You This Time

When folk look back at our immediate past, present and future. How will they refer to us? I am certain we are living in what will be called the oil age, or perhaps the consumerist age. It will be renowned for bringing the world computers, genetics and the Internet. It will also be seen as the age where humanity, drunk on its new abilities came close to destroying itself.

International relations are dominated by the rich world’s oil needs and as India and China fulfil their potential we are going to find the global game of musical chairs becoming more frantic, with more losers than I care to imagine.

Just as we look back at appalling working conditions and slavery as horrid and inhuman activities of a blighted and unenlightened society so our children will look back and find our current lifestyles equally incomprehensible. Did they not see it? As they drive to work everyday, as they threw out yet more packaging, printed yet more paper – how could they be so blind? And they shall feel comfort knowing that they live in far more civilised times.

Why is it cheaper for me to take the plane than the train? Why is it cheaper for me to drive than take the bus? Why is it cheaper for me to buy a new one rather than get it repaired?

This world is screaming in agony.

I have been hearing a lot about ‘phase transitions’ of late. The basic theory is that there are critical points during a transition from a to b in which society, or a physical mass, collapse as its previous structure becomes unstable. For example why do revolutions occur dramatically and sometimes with few short-term stimulants? Why does water turn into ice at exactly 0 degrees centigrade and not before? Why doesn’t it gradually descend into a thick gooey substance on its way towards becoming solid? Why such a rapid conversion? Why at that point?

To think using the ‘phase transition’ paradigm allows us to see that society is a relatively strong structure – yet at certain critical points, at a certain critical mass this structure can buckle and our communities begin an impromptu and an often deadly dance as we seek out the most readily accessible alternative structure to provide us with the stability mankind requires.

Scare mongering is a very human trait but I genuinely believe we are approaching such a phase transition. One cool idea is that the Antarctic ice sheet is approaching a critical point upon which it shall slip into the oceans and melt within weeks. Not months or years or centuries. But in weeks. This would force the global sea levels up six or seven metres. Imagine. More than half of the world’s population are said to live in those areas. Imagine. Imagine the terror. The violence.

Yet ice sheet or not. The world is heading for meltdown.

Perhaps there is a way out. Perhaps humanity can outpace nature. What if we can reach our critical point before it can? What if our society was to revolutionise its ways - and to prevent the destruction of this world. The Green movement is strong. It figures in all democratic elections. Communist states realise its long-term consequences and are beginning to act. Religious nuts dig deep into their dusty archives to find justification for protecting God’s precious creation. Protests take place outside coal power stations, vegetarianism is a social norm and green bins now clutter our streets. Gains for the environmentalists have been very gradual over the past few decades. Yet I can smell blood. I believe society is tinkering on the brink of becoming sustainable. Greens are blindly fighting towards their critical point. We can sense it coming. One human sized ripple at a time - We are rocking the boat. Soon this disgustingly successful vessel of coal, oil and plastics will capsize.

And, together, we shall swim towards the next utopia.