COHL WARREN-HOWLES

COHL WARREN-HOWLES

100 YEARS

With its familiar sound and computerised voice

he said

‘I believe the increasing risk of being wiped out

is high.’

The renowned theoretical physicist with brilliant brain in

his head

said, ‘Disaster, sudden nuclear war or asteroid strike from

the sky,

or climate change, a genetically engineered virus and

over population

could mean Humankind has no future if we don’t forge new life

in space.

With technological possibilities of plasma rockets and

human hibernation,

we have about 100 years if we want to survive, we need

to embrace

the ability to free ourselves from the constraints of a

dying planet,

or we will watch its cataclysmic end as we continue

to devour

the resources from this ball of basalt rock

and granite

our mass extinction grows closer hour

by hour.

Mother Earth is ending our tenancy and

calling time.

We humans are fundamental particles of nature, a

mere collection,

the unsustainable rate at which we plunder

is a crime,

is this the final preparation before

our rejection?

But we will not be able to establish yet or

self sustain

colonies in space for approximately 100 years

at least,

therefore we should be so careful in this period

and refrain

from our continued aggressive behaviour, it should

be ceased.

Coupled with the fast pace of technological growth we

may obliterate

ourselves by nuclear or biological war and our

impending doom,

for all nations to form one world government’s too late,

our fate

is becoming increasingly precarious, may this planet not become

our tomb.

The development of Artificial Intelligence could spell

the end,

the daunting challenge for us is two fold as

we create

technology to enable us to leave our earth behind and

to ascend,

the peril that may be unleashed as

A.I.mutates.

We’re already developing battlefield robots to make the

killing decision,

without the need for humans being involved in

the loop,

how long before a thinking machine masters and has

the vision

to become self protective and leave humankind out of

its group.

So depart we must with this current rise

in robotics

as humans we are limited by our slow

biological evolution,

we are responsible for creating the demise

of antibiotics

and our hopeless ability to end

our pollution

Let us hope we have time enough for science

to achieve

the ability for our species to escape this world and

to address

the daunting challenge ahead of us as we plan

to leave.

The countdown’s started,  Farewell Mother Earth, sorry for

the mess.’

THE DEVIL IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA

The water lapped gently at the gold shoreline

sparkling as the sun lit it’s surface,

the sand was washed, it was soft and fine,

as they stood in Summer’s warm embrace.

The seabirds swirled in the breeze above their heads,

silhouetted against the azure blue of the sky,

the waves spread seaweed out like threads

washing strands ashore, where it was left to dry.

It was an idyllic scene and a perfect day

as they stood together, hand in hand

in the warm air, just beyond the sea spray

with their bare feet in the soft yellow sand.

But here lurked an invader that lived in the sea

that was challenging nature with its size,

it lured in creatures, that sheltered secretly

out of the sight of large predators eyes.

Mussels, anemones, clams and seaweed

gathered in the depths by this enemy,

innocently together, as they came to feed,

on this ominous foe with its coat of debris.

This adversary though, did not itself decide,

to violate the ocean and take control,

as it lethally spread itself in the tide,

it had no motive or clandestine goal.

Trapped in a vortex, in the ocean’s waves

swaths of plastic spun, where the winds converge

circling and menacing, the blameless it enslaves

with its evil grasp, to then submerge

into the depths like pepper in a stew

in the water column, it hung suspended,

increasing in size, this monster grew,

its lethal reach becoming extended,

as another refuge truck of plastic is dumped.

And every minute of every single day,

into the sea it’s thoughtlessly pumped

and soon it will outweigh

the fish population in a matter of years.

Our shameless disposal of our disgusting waste

should bring all of humankind to tears

and for our negligence, we should be disgraced.

Our irresponsible, rabid, plastic consumption

on our health, is having an impact,

but we carry on polluting with our stupid assumption

there is no problem, let’s not overreact!

Every piece of plastic that’s ever been made

since the early nineteenth century’s still here,

do we not think that we have totally betrayed

our planet that we should all hold so dear?

And now it has entered our very food chain

we should all be filled with concern,

as we are now consuming fish that contain

plastic and we’re at the point of no return.

The world’s oceans are drowning in our waste,

do we think that this will all disappear,

this is a problem that we have never faced

and it will be here for hundreds of years.

Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and even heart disease

can be caused by plastic in our meals,

as we continue unabated to pollute the blue seas

this sickening dilemma relentlessly steals

our paradise that we are here to safeguard.

Over ninety percent of seabirds, have in their gut

plastic from our watery junk yard,

we must stop our addiction to plastic now,

but

the greatest threat to our planet is our belief

that someone else will save it,

will we watch it all through the tears of grief

and as guardians we are so unfit.

Their empty bottle lay on the wave lapped scree

as they turned to leave the gold sands,

the sky was blue above the turquoise sea

and they’d finished topping up their tans.

Just one little bottle won’t make any odds

is probably what they were thinking,

let’s face it, it’s in the lap of the gods

and they left paradise unblinking!

THE SUFFOCATING PLANET

In England’s green and pleasant land

a situation has got out of hand,

air pollution’s reached an all time high

with poisonous, particulates, in our sky.

Our filthy air, is now a crisis for health,

but this hasn’t crept up with stealth.

With our diesel cars and use of fossil fuels,

children are banned, in our schools

from the playgrounds, by the busy roads

where dirty trucks, with their heavy loads

and idling engines, whilst parents wait

to collect their kids, outside the school gate.

Via Public Health England, we’ve been advised

to avoid strenuous activity, or our health’s compromised,

as London’s toxic air, has now breached

the legal limits for the year, it reached

within the first five days of 2017

Nitrogen Dioxide levels, are quite obscene.

They’re pollution alerts, at bus stops and roadsides

and river pier stops, as Nitrogen Dioxide

fills the air, that we all inhale,

this requires a solution, on a national scale.

Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor’s vision

has advised, that he, has made a decision

to make London, one of the world’s most clean

and for our future, we must go green.

He wants to make, cycling, an easier choice

and introduce clean buses and also to voice

concerns about Heathrow’s third runway

and to start to bring back, the car free day.

He’d like to make the capital, the first National Park City,

as to deprive our kids of space, is a real pity

and to use planning powers against Fracking, to prevent

all the pollutants, that with it, are sent.

But this is not just a problem for the UK,

other countries, must also have their say

in how we stop, this global pollution,

we must work together, to find a solution.

Cities in China, environmentalists have fears

that to bring levels down, will take many years,

but in Paris, they have already begun to see

that when levels are high, public transport is free

and Freiburg, in Germany, has gone so far

as to forbid, its people, to park a car

and encourage them to use, electric buses to get home

and leave their vehicles, outside the low emission zone.

Oslo, is building forty miles of new bike lanes

and authorities in Zurich, are using their brains

by capping the number of parking places

and Helsinki’s converting its ring roads, into green spaces.

Delhi is considering, on demand mini buses,

whilst others like Brussels and Dublin, discusses

plans on banning diesel cars from their highways,

let’s hope this all starts, a great global craze.

So we must stop this perverse, fixed incentive

for the purchase of diesel cars and be more inventive

and encourage the use, of alternative means

for our daily transportation, in our machines

and with other measures, we can assist

in helping this planet, where we all exist.

It shouldn’t be too hard, to come to grips

with thinking ‘greener’ and consolidate trips,

for work or shopping, we could use a car pool,

which would save us money and certainly save fuel.

Simple measures, like keeping our car tyres inflated,

as carbon emissions are higher, when they’re slightly deflated.

We could use cold water, instead of using hot,

I agree, this alone, will not be a lot,

but if we use, water based paints, means we produce less oil

and we plunder less resource, from the earth’s soil.

We should buy, EPA certified, stoves that burn wood

and to reduce, reuse and recycle, which would be good.

If current policies carry on, the world will exceed

levels of greenhouse gases, through our ignorance and greed

and air pollution, will be a bigger killer, than dirty water

and poor sanitation, think of the millions, it slaughters

and our health will be harmed, by each year’s delay,

surely humanity, doesn’t want our children’s children to pay

COHL WARREN-HOWLES

COHL WARREN-HOWLES: She lives in Stratford upon Avon, England and has a blog called Currently in Rhyme, where she covers events across the world, in rhyme.  She has written a book entitled The Silent Scream, which is about ALS/MND.  Her mother language is English.

Present happenings, in the nations of our time

Realist, idealist, she puts her thoughts in rhyme.

In this world of changes, that moves so very fast

She tries and capture things before they have passed.

Her interests are varied, but just to name a few

Her words in her posts, will also give a clue.

She’s a fan of Eckhart Tolle and the words of Mervyn Peake

And current world affairs, of which she will speak.

She loves stone circles and places in history

The Law of Attraction and things of mystery.

She’s a lover of images, especially black and white

But it’s the current world affairs, of which she writes.