The Iceberg

It was another Thursday evening in NYC, and One United Nation Plaza sparkled with shimmering lights. All the delegates entered the building for the summer-climate summit and sat on their assigned seats. 

Everyone seemed on edges.

I was the guest speaker of the year. 

Though the air conditioning blasted off, the room felt hot as if the sun had fallen from the sky. 

I modestly walked to the podium. The stage was scarily huge to stand on as I had never been there before. But I mustered to hold to my grip and stood tall and tapped on the microphone.

Before I gazed at my talking notes, I paused and cleared my throat, heart pulsating like a drum. 

It was one of my latest speeches I was giving in front of the most powerful forces assembled from every country in the world; poor or rich.

Ladies and gentlemen, I signed and began to speak to the cold audience, searching for a sign of life in the room. 

All eyes focused on me, silence choked the room.

My name is David Weiss, and I am a scientist in the Climatic Industry. I had been to this same location a few times before, talking about the same topic.

I saw how with the opening line I grasped the attention of everyone in the room. Before I’d lose a chance boring them, I quickly continued.

For the past twenty-five years, I have dealt with the most challenging weather changes in my life. And looking at the current pace and trends, I can certainly tell you, we’re lucky if we’d survive another decade. Our concrete studies have shown us that the level of Carbon dioxide is getting higher at a fast pace due to the fuels we burn to the car emissions and deforestation of clearing trees. 

I sensed dismay and confusion from their eyes as if they were invited to a wrong crowd, or they’d never heard of another lunatic scientist preaching the same theory before.

The next slide on the presentation made sure they paid attention to what I had to say. It entailed the worst natural disasters ever recorded in history about the correlation of global warming and the melting icebergs in the Arctic, which killed many lives.

I wished I could’ve been as gentle as them politicians, telling the urgent yet unexpected news softly and assured them that everything was fine, lying through my white teeth, of course. Unfortunately, I’m a scientist and I base everything about life on mathematics and data, therefore, there wasn’t any other way of dicing and slicing the truth and breaking the ice to them.

It was my way of making sure that they were a bit shaken so that they were listening attentively. 

I continued.

As you may be aware, it’s obvious that our Mother Earth is dying quicker than we’ve anticipated; and we must get consensus and be on the same page in finding solutions to solve the imminent threats facing the survival of humanity. Global warming is real and the fate of humanity lies in the minds and shoulders of individuals gathered here today.

I wasn’t sure they fully grasped what I’d said but the room went wild with cheers and applause. 

My fellow scientists had warned me this would happen though; the leaders of the world would pretend to get behind our suggestions but later rather discard our findings in the trash-bins.

On the other hand, I couldn’t help but feel bad for their negligence or pure numbness to reality. But amid the crowds, there were a few good men and women who truly wanted to change the world. However, the toxic political waters they were swimming in left them with repercussions and obstacles. Complacency and silence yet are still their only way out.

I keep the pace going over the PowerPoint and snippets of videos to justice my points. 

I returned my eyes to the audience. I hoped to find a few selfless souls.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as you’ve witnessed in the previous videos and presentations, Global warming is dangerously affecting all of us in different parts of the world. The glaciers are melting at a high rate. Deforestation is causing CO2 to linger in the air and, in a few years, it’ll make this beautiful planet uninhabitable.

I paused before concluding my speech, and then I continued.

The science community, including myself, is urging you to pass a resolution. We must act now decisively to save future generations.

In the grand scheme of things, we shouldn’t become extinct like dinosaurs had because we’ve refused to acknowledge the fact that we have a problem on our hands that is an imminent threat to our survival.

I’d been talking far too long when the last PowerPoint slide popped on the screen. It was time for questions and answers. 

I saw many hands raised, very good news because it was my first time seeing such a reaction to my speech. 

I was tired, and it was getting late and darker, but I tried my best to explain and respond to every question that came across. I wanted to seize the opportunity. If it meant saving the world, it was worth sacrificing a night of sleep.

midnightink 7-21-2020