Okay, this piece might be a bit gloomy for some, but writing it was strangely therapeutic. It’s inspired and provoked by Debbie Urbanski’s An Incomplete Timeline of What We Tried. A rough timeline of notable moments, told from the future, in reverse order. Here we go:
Small pockets of human settlements endure on, connected via primitive telecommunication technologies
Earth enters a post-Anthropocene geological period, an era colloquially known as the Dead Earth Ages
Efforts continue to hold back the desertification rapidly expanding across Europe
Music continues to be a uniting force for all communities
The age of commercialism ends. Trust in digital currencies is dead. Humanity predominately runs on a gift economy.
The Internet fragments, but artificial intelligence is ubiquitous
90% of energy comes from renewable sources
Debates on whether the climate and ecological collapse could have been averted rumble on quietly, painfully
World population estimated at 2.5 billion
Participatory budgeting grows in popularity
All investments into fruitless space exploration are stopped, following the launch of four envoys on a one-way expedition to explore new frontiers, three of which are reporting serious difficulties
Stand-up comedy acts continue to thrive. People agree that laughter is excellent medicine
Online trust and participation reaches an all-time low, with difficulties in verification, separating reality from fiction
In some regions, resilience is fought through an era of co-operation, marked by strong civil society movements, cooperative business models, food sovereignty and collective action
Global food shortages cause widespread, devastating hunger and human loss
Google’s parent company, Alphabet goes into administration
World population estimated at 3.5 billion
Those few who purchased apocalypse bolt-holes are disappointed
Sunken cities are remembered: including London, Miami, Shanghai, Mumbai, New Orleans, New York, Guangzhou
Money is no longer printed
Human’s role in inducing climate breakdown still debated
China leads an effort to inject sulphur dioxide particles into the atmosphere to induce a cooling effect, with mixed results
A coalition of countries begin marine cloud brightening and creating ocean mirrors
The world cup is cancelled
Another war breaks out: cyber warfare shuts down major banks, hospitals and food supply chains collapse
Advertising bans for high-impact consumer goods in the public sphere
Organisations say we need more evidence to understand what’s happening
A movement builds for all golf courses to be regenerated into farmland
Incentives for having one or no children
Rapid decay in the efficacy of antibiotics, now the greatest threat to public-health
Another global pandemic hits, borders are shut down, some for good
Children have identification implants, igniting protests
Every school grows food
Permaculture design enters the school curriculum
Farmers work collaboratively with farm bots, achieving highly diverse, zero waste, cropping and harvesting systems
Water wars
Launch of the World Council for Deep Adaptation: focused on strategies that build resilience, relinquishment and restoration
Religious leaders urge compassion for all those that have been displaced
Class action lawsuits launched on Amazon and six other global retailers for systematic climate complacency and denial
Laws restricting seed saving and commons overturned, Bayer-Monsanto appeal
World shortages declared in lead, copper, zinc, antimony and indium
National food policies push for radical increases in crop diversity
One billion people displaced due to climate change
Food systems start to re-localise
Conscription for community and land regeneration work days, enforced for all adults
The three day work week
Food rationing begins
Plain packaging for confectionery food products
Nationalism is a new political force in multiple countries, replacing globalism
Six hurricanes occur in one season, wreaking devastation on communities and supply chains
People debate regenerative capitalism vs socialism
Rapid increases of methane detected from melting Arctic permafrost and deep-sea methane hydrates
Facebook becomes a community-owned business
A ban on private car ownership comes into place
Redundant car parks turned into housing
Advertisements for flights are banned
The last orangutan passes away
Progressive taxation on frequent flying for leisure and business, helps subsidise low-impact travel solutions
Landfill mining is big business, driven by the search for rare earth metals
The last coral reef collapses
Incentives for businesses that promote the sharing economy
Sea turtles declared extinct
Efforts to manage human population debated
The first year of an ice-free Arctic
Insect farming for animal feed booms
Large-scale wilding and projects spread across national parks and marginal, unproductive farmlands, to repair soils and slow the rate of ecosystem collapse
Heavy incentives for net positive building retrofits
Water rationing begins
A meat tax is introduced, then withdrawn
Global climate crisis declared by government pacts concerning the unstoppable positive climate feedback loops detected
A ban is imposed on major food and agricultural company mergers and acquisitions
Fossil-fuel vehicle scrappage scheme introduced
Every new home must be carbon-positive
Chocolate and coffee prices rocket, now 40x more expensive, a rare luxury for the few that can afford it
Global financial markets crash
IPPC and UN agree to use the term climate breakdown
Bans on plastic straws, single-use cups and non-biodegradable glitter
A funeral service is held at Parliament Square, publically mourning humans having wiped out tens of thousands of animal species
The first new deep coal mine in 30 years is approved, but construction is never completed