We Don’t Deserve the Earth by Kait Ferguson 

We don’t deserve the Earth.

From our most humble beginnings,

humans have gravitated toward nature

A uniquely innate feeling, characterized by things we know for sure:

nature is rich with resources. Nature is survival; nature is wealth

She is sustenance - nature is what has led us this far

Nature has provided for us more than we could ever explain

and though any attempts at returning the favor would be futile

the least we could do is try.

But we don’t -

instead, we have milked our home for all she is worth

With her water abundant, green fields sprawling

wildlife persevering while their homes are falling

We have stripped, mined, polluted with smoke and smog,

we have burnt, we’ve blown away, we’ve broken forests log by log

Methodical, calculated, we continue to take -

a well-oiled machine that was designed to break.

I have said it before, and I can say it again,

but the gravity of my words will never matter if you don’t listen.

We don’t deserve the Earth.

It should feel more impactful, more disturbing,

to say that nature has been changed on a global scale,

that 70% of our planet’s land has been altered by humanity alone.

That this is not a drill.

This is the only world we have.

Our home is something we all have in common.

We share this one living, breathing thing,

but we have swept it under the rug over, and over, and over again

and nobody, now, can say that they did not know.

Most cannot say that they tried,

and for those who have, I am so sorry

that your efforts have been overpowered

or dismissed

but thank you for doing your best,

and I’m sorry things are not different,

and thank you for trying to tell us,

and I’m sorry so many have not listened,

and thank you for your dedication,

and I’m sorry that we are losing our home.

I’m so sorry that it is too late.

It doesn’t have to be too late,

but we are running out of time.

To avoid total climate destruction,

we must half our global emissions by 2030,

and we must reach net zero emissions by 2050.

Less than eight years from now, our fate will be clear,

and hope or certain doom will be in front of us.

We do not have time to debate this.

There are things that you hear so often that they become bleak,

overused, redundant.

I am tired of hearing them too - but I’m more tired of nothing happening.

When nature speaks, listen to her:

Weatherize, plant a tree, speak up,

reduce water waste, shop sustainably, protect green spaces,

travel responsibly, speak up, compost what you can,

speak up, eat less meat, eat less dairy,

speak up, speak up, speak up some more,

volunteer, speak up,

if you can’t do anything else speak up,

and do not stop until 2030,

then ‘til 2050,

then speak up some more.

Our future may look terrifying,

but it doesn’t have to be.

We don’t deserve the Earth.