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Featured Artist
David M.
"The earth grows hotter, forests fall, oceans rot, and wealth piles into the hands of the few. The poor are turned against the poorer, while tyrants wage their wars. The world paints this as normal. I paint because it is not."
All work below is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 by David M. https://www.instagram.com/david_from_here
Discussion of the climate crisis is often fixed on the year 2100. This framing creates the illusion that conditions will worsen until the end of the century and then somehow stabilize. But that is not the case. The effects of climate change will extend far beyond that date—for centuries, even millennia.
Our actions today will shape the lives of future humans as distant from us in time as we are from the first people who built settled communities in the Neolithic age. The world of 2100 still feels barely imaginable. The world of the year 12,000 is as unfathomable to us as our present reality would be to someone living in 8,000 BC. In the span of only a few generations, humans are unsettling the Earth’s climate system on a timescale that stretches far beyond comprehension.
A large fraction of the CO₂ we emit will remain in the atmosphere for tens of thousands of years. As a result, global temperatures may remain at levels never experienced since the dawn of human civilization for the next 10,000 years. Over that same span, global mean sea level is expected to rise by 25 to 50 meters. Even under low-end emission scenarios, cities in low-lying coastal regions—such as New York, Tokyo, and Shanghai—are likely to vanish beneath the sea.
Ghostly Figures
Untitled
The Western mode of storytelling often follows what Joseph Campbell called the hero’s journey: a cycle of struggle, transformation, and resolution. In this familiar pattern, obstacles are overcome, balance is restored, and life returns to “normal.” Countless films, novels, and myths are built upon this structure.
But climate and ecological collapse resist this script. There is no single obstacle to defeat, no return to stability, no final triumph. The crisis is ongoing, disruptions feeding into one another, consequences unfolding over centuries and millennia. Perhaps we struggle to grasp this because we are shaped by stories that always promise a return — a return to balance, to order, to the familiar — but the crises we face offer no such homecoming.
The Thin Veneer
Untitled
66% of all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning and industry since 1750 have occurred during my lifetime, in just the past 43 years. We tend to believe that the climate crisis is the result of many generations of humans since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The truth is that the bulk of the crisis has unfolded only in recent decades—within the lifetimes of many of us. The consequences of our inaction will shape the lives of generations to come. They will, rightfully, blame us because we knew everything and did nothing.
Discussion of the climate crisis is often fixed on the year 2100. This framing creates the illusion that conditions will worsen until the end of the century and then somehow stabilize. But that is not the case. The effects of climate change will extend far beyond that date—for centuries, even millennia.
Our actions today will shape the lives of future humans as distant from us in time as we are from the first people who built settled communities in the Neolithic age. The world of 2100 still feels barely imaginable. The world of the year 12,000 is as unfathomable to us as our present reality would be to someone living in 8,000 BC. In the span of only a few generations, humans are unsettling the Earth’s climate system on a timescale that stretches far beyond comprehension.
A large fraction of the CO₂ we emit will remain in the atmosphere for tens of thousands of years. As a result, global temperatures may remain at levels never experienced since the dawn of human civilization for the next 10,000 years. Over that same span, global mean sea level is expected to rise by 25 to 50 meters. Even under low-end emission scenarios, cities in low-lying coastal regions—such as New York, Tokyo, and Shanghai—are likely to vanish beneath the sea.
Ghostly Figures
Untitled
The Western mode of storytelling often follows what Joseph Campbell called the hero’s journey: a cycle of struggle, transformation, and resolution. In this familiar pattern, obstacles are overcome, balance is restored, and life returns to “normal.” Countless films, novels, and myths are built upon this structure.
But climate and ecological collapse resist this script. There is no single obstacle to defeat, no return to stability, no final triumph. The crisis is ongoing, disruptions feeding into one another, consequences unfolding over centuries and millennia. Perhaps we struggle to grasp this because we are shaped by stories that always promise a return — a return to balance, to order, to the familiar — but the crises we face offer no such homecoming.
The Thin Veneer
Untitled
66% of all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning and industry since 1750 have occurred during my lifetime, in just the past 43 years. We tend to believe that the climate crisis is the result of many generations of humans since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The truth is that the bulk of the crisis has unfolded only in recent decades—within the lifetimes of many of us. The consequences of our inaction will shape the lives of generations to come. They will, rightfully, blame us because we knew everything and did nothing.
Discussion of the climate crisis is often fixed on the year 2100. This framing creates the illusion that conditions will worsen until the end of the century and then somehow stabilize. But that is not the case. The effects of climate change will extend far beyond that date—for centuries, even millennia.
Our actions today will shape the lives of future humans as distant from us in time as we are from the first people who built settled communities in the Neolithic age. The world of 2100 still feels barely imaginable. The world of the year 12,000 is as unfathomable to us as our present reality would be to someone living in 8,000 BC. In the span of only a few generations, humans are unsettling the Earth’s climate system on a timescale that stretches far beyond comprehension.
A large fraction of the CO₂ we emit will remain in the atmosphere for tens of thousands of years. As a result, global temperatures may remain at levels never experienced since the dawn of human civilization for the next 10,000 years. Over that same span, global mean sea level is expected to rise by 25 to 50 meters. Even under low-end emission scenarios, cities in low-lying coastal regions—such as New York, Tokyo, and Shanghai—are likely to vanish beneath the sea.
Ghostly Figures
Untitled
The Western mode of storytelling often follows what Joseph Campbell called the hero’s journey: a cycle of struggle, transformation, and resolution. In this familiar pattern, obstacles are overcome, balance is restored, and life returns to “normal.” Countless films, novels, and myths are built upon this structure.
But climate and ecological collapse resist this script. There is no single obstacle to defeat, no return to stability, no final triumph. The crisis is ongoing, disruptions feeding into one another, consequences unfolding over centuries and millennia. Perhaps we struggle to grasp this because we are shaped by stories that always promise a return — a return to balance, to order, to the familiar — but the crises we face offer no such homecoming.
The Thin Veneer
Untitled
66% of all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning and industry since 1750 have occurred during my lifetime, in just the past 43 years. We tend to believe that the climate crisis is the result of many generations of humans since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The truth is that the bulk of the crisis has unfolded only in recent decades—within the lifetimes of many of us. The consequences of our inaction will shape the lives of generations to come. They will, rightfully, blame us because we knew everything and did nothing.
Discussion of the climate crisis is often fixed on the year 2100. This framing creates the illusion that conditions will worsen until the end of the century and then somehow stabilize. But that is not the case. The effects of climate change will extend far beyond that date—for centuries, even millennia.
Our actions today will shape the lives of future humans as distant from us in time as we are from the first people who built settled communities in the Neolithic age. The world of 2100 still feels barely imaginable. The world of the year 12,000 is as unfathomable to us as our present reality would be to someone living in 8,000 BC. In the span of only a few generations, humans are unsettling the Earth’s climate system on a timescale that stretches far beyond comprehension.
A large fraction of the CO₂ we emit will remain in the atmosphere for tens of thousands of years. As a result, global temperatures may remain at levels never experienced since the dawn of human civilization for the next 10,000 years. Over that same span, global mean sea level is expected to rise by 25 to 50 meters. Even under low-end emission scenarios, cities in low-lying coastal regions—such as New York, Tokyo, and Shanghai—are likely to vanish beneath the sea.
Ghostly Figures
Untitled
The Western mode of storytelling often follows what Joseph Campbell called the hero’s journey: a cycle of struggle, transformation, and resolution. In this familiar pattern, obstacles are overcome, balance is restored, and life returns to “normal.” Countless films, novels, and myths are built upon this structure.
But climate and ecological collapse resist this script. There is no single obstacle to defeat, no return to stability, no final triumph. The crisis is ongoing, disruptions feeding into one another, consequences unfolding over centuries and millennia. Perhaps we struggle to grasp this because we are shaped by stories that always promise a return — a return to balance, to order, to the familiar — but the crises we face offer no such homecoming.
The Thin Veneer
Untitled
66% of all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning and industry since 1750 have occurred during my lifetime, in just the past 43 years. We tend to believe that the climate crisis is the result of many generations of humans since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The truth is that the bulk of the crisis has unfolded only in recent decades—within the lifetimes of many of us. The consequences of our inaction will shape the lives of generations to come. They will, rightfully, blame us because we knew everything and did nothing.
Discussion of the climate crisis is often fixed on the year 2100. This framing creates the illusion that conditions will worsen until the end of the century and then somehow stabilize. But that is not the case. The effects of climate change will extend far beyond that date—for centuries, even millennia.
Our actions today will shape the lives of future humans as distant from us in time as we are from the first people who built settled communities in the Neolithic age. The world of 2100 still feels barely imaginable. The world of the year 12,000 is as unfathomable to us as our present reality would be to someone living in 8,000 BC. In the span of only a few generations, humans are unsettling the Earth’s climate system on a timescale that stretches far beyond comprehension.
A large fraction of the CO₂ we emit will remain in the atmosphere for tens of thousands of years. As a result, global temperatures may remain at levels never experienced since the dawn of human civilization for the next 10,000 years. Over that same span, global mean sea level is expected to rise by 25 to 50 meters. Even under low-end emission scenarios, cities in low-lying coastal regions—such as New York, Tokyo, and Shanghai—are likely to vanish beneath the sea.
Ghostly Figures
Untitled
The Western mode of storytelling often follows what Joseph Campbell called the hero’s journey: a cycle of struggle, transformation, and resolution. In this familiar pattern, obstacles are overcome, balance is restored, and life returns to “normal.” Countless films, novels, and myths are built upon this structure.
But climate and ecological collapse resist this script. There is no single obstacle to defeat, no return to stability, no final triumph. The crisis is ongoing, disruptions feeding into one another, consequences unfolding over centuries and millennia. Perhaps we struggle to grasp this because we are shaped by stories that always promise a return — a return to balance, to order, to the familiar — but the crises we face offer no such homecoming.
The Thin Veneer
Untitled
66% of all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning and industry since 1750 have occurred during my lifetime, in just the past 43 years. We tend to believe that the climate crisis is the result of many generations of humans since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The truth is that the bulk of the crisis has unfolded only in recent decades—within the lifetimes of many of us. The consequences of our inaction will shape the lives of generations to come. They will, rightfully, blame us because we knew everything and did nothing.
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