by Zachary Steigerwald Schnall

I know that I haven’t been the best lately.

I never have time to separate my plastics,

I leave the lights on when I’m not home,

and I keep forgetting to bring my reusable

bags to the store. It’s not that I don’t want

to keep the planet clean, it’s just that I’ve got

other things on my mind. They say that the end

of the world is coming, but all I can think about

right now is the end of the week. And I’m not seeing

anything bad happen when I keep the heat running, except

for the longer bill. But where are the hurricanes? The droughts?

The floods? The weather’s fine as far as I can see. Will my car exhaust

sink Miami? Will this cup of coffee be the one that snuffs out life on Earth?

Now, I’ve heard about the tipping point, and I’m willing to listen to both sides.

So maybe it does exist, and it is invisible, and we’ll only know we’ve passed it once

we’re past it. But – and hear me out – for all we know, couldn’t we already be past it?

And if we are, then what’s the point? Why cut our consumption now? Why not live our

lives to the fullest? Maybe we will sink into the steam. But for now, let me buy my children

trinkets from halfway around the world. Let my mother take her long showers. I’ll foot the bill, and

we can share in the social costs we’ve incurred decades down the line. I’m not saying that I agree with this

theory, but it seems just as reasonable as yours, and that should justify a second hamburger every now and then.

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