Throughout this course we have been reading short fiction stories about how global warming and climate change can/has impacted, in many negative ways, the world we live in. These stories have created a picture in all our minds, or at least in mine, of what our society could turn into with how global warming can affect the way we live day by day. Not only has it created an image in mind, but also, has influenced questions like how would our world react to such change? How would we sustain life? How would people treat eachother in such a world of panic and fear?

In the short story, “Diary of an Interesting Year” by Helen Simpson, we got the chance to experience what it could be like in a women’s position through world apocalyptic type situations.  “If we run out of beans I think he might kill me for food,” the main character states(112). In the story people were being abused, fighting or bartering over little amounts of food, and worrying if their children were going to be in safe hands if something were to happened. Scientists and researches have already made the analysis that over time our worlds water supply, food supply, electrical systems, and so on, will be affected meaning our civilization will have to be able to adapt or start preventing. As we all have seen in movies where the world is coming to an end and people are setting stores on fire and rioting like all sense of humanity is all of a sudden gone, makes me wonder if this will actually be a reality. When people are afraid and feel the need to protect themselves and the ones they care about it is natural to worry about yourself before anyone else. Which is a scary thought because if global warming and climate change does impact us in ways that creates starvation, homelessness, sickness, and so on, do you think morals and values will still be amicable to our society? 

I understand that over a relatively long period of time these changes to our planet will start and it won’t be a situation that pops up like a Jack n the Box, but what if our nation or even world can’t help fix what has been done? Will people look out for just themselves or will global warming and climate change bring the world together if it started having detrimental affects? It is a optimistic outlook thinking about how people are taking the seriousness of global warming into account already. For example, the largest protest in New York that filled the Manhattan streets with people and caught attention from the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon and it included Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, who announced that he was committing the city to an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050(New York Times).

I did not know much about global warming and climate change until this class and came to conclusion that it is a frightening issue because there is no definite answer to any questions there are about it. Coming into the light about the problems our planet will have sparks the fear factor, but also the what is next question. What do you think is next?