What We've Destroyed

I cringe at the idea of plastic never decaying. I picture landfills of detergent bottles, used up tupperware containers, and plastic cups piled up high into the heavens without end, left there to rot for millions of years. By the time the human race is gone those bags will still be there. Perhaps they'll come to life and form a race of their own. God knows they'd survive long enough to develop motor function.

I weep at the thought of an island of garbage floating through the ocean. Fish, their stomachs filled with shards of plastic, swimming until they're caught and fed to us as dinner. Coral reefs suffocating under a mass of old styrofoam cups and old grocery bags. Oceanic creatures dying because they can't get to the surface; because they're blocked by fishing wire and rings that used to hold soda cans. The human race, swimming in its own discarded filth.

I feel disgusted thinking about the fact that we consciously pump toxic fumes into our atmosphere, building a wall of smog so thick you can't see the stars anymore. That we are the source of the acid rain that destroys countless ecosystems. That we are perpetuating our own respiratory problems because big oil companies want to hold onto their money instead of investing it in natural sources of power.

I am sad that so many people think environmental issues are just for "hippies" who march through the streets holding signs and pour red paint on those wearing animal fur.
I am sad that so many people choose to look past the truth so they don't have to change their way of life and adopt sustainable products.
And I am sad knowing that some of the people who ready this will not take it seriously because they think we've got all the time in the world to fix what we've already so badly destroyed.