THE MODERN LIFE

Some time ago I wrote this, as an assay for a course. Today I found it in "my documents" in mi PC and I decided to post it in here. There you go.



THE MODERN LIFE

By Alejandro Rodríguez


People live in big houses, small flats, under a bridge or in pent houses. Some others live in farms, in cities, and even in high, snowy mountains. All those people are using natural resources all the time, even without noticing it.

Going to the supermarket generates a contamination due to the use of the car. Most, if not all, the food bought there is packaged and/or delivered in contaminating stuff. Back at home, the contamination goes on; now, when cooking the food. Gas is used to boil water, bake cakes, and prepare any recipe. After a great meal, let’s wash the dishes with that amazing soap advertised in T.V. It is really good, the dishes are immaculate but the water is dirty now; it’s plenty of soap and fat. Garbage, soap, fat, dirty, packages all going down in the river, looking for the sea.

Right now, a half of the planet is dark – the side I am – but there is light. The sunset has already occurred, but millions of light bulbs are on, giving light for the people to continue living lives that they built surpassing the nature frontiers.

Everybody knows what is necessary to produce that artificial light. Tons of water, big constructions, machines and wires; all working together. But is that light good or bad? There are millions of people – like me- enjoying the modern life inside a comfortable house, sitting down in a wooden chair, working in a personal computer (made of several materials stolen to the Earth) and eaten processed food (a cake and coke). To build the furniture that people use, millions of trees were cut; and also to build bridges, houses and the paper we use for the advance of our societies.

How would have been our lives without all that stuff? And, how would they be now? I imagine myself lying over the floor of my cave, the fire on in the center of it; just to produce some heat and light enough to finish the daily activities. I and my family just had dinner and we are packaging our stuff, since we are on the move, following the wind. We plan to arrive to the mountains by tomorrow night. We have to live there for the next four months; they will be our shelter. We will be able to find food and fresh water there.

Tomorrow morning, before dawn, we will be leaving in the companion of our animals. We will walk the entire day and when we get there, we will have to look for a new cave. I will take out some food from the collected through the journey; turn on a bonfire to prepare food for my wife, daughter and me.

I go back to real life. I am still in the dining room, writing these words, and wondering about how different our lives would be if we had not created such amount of electrical and technological stuff. And, how different and preserved the planted would be as well?

Could we do something? Do we have enough time to stop the damage we began? Would we be able to do so? Is there a way to stop it or to go backwards? May be. I think it is possible, but not easy. It would require great sacrifices and efforts from the human kind? Are we will to change our life so much?