A World on Fire

                As I make my way through the Yukon headed towards my final destination of The Atacama Desert I watch the cloud of smoke in the distance grow larger and larger, its massive size is like something out of a post apocalyptic disaster movie. I think back on the two travelers I met last night while I debate whether or not to take the fork in the road that will take me away from the fire or closer to it. One man was my age 30 from China named Yu Yang and the other was a 42 year old German man named Roland Kock. 

                Yu Yang was on the end stretch of his journey from Patagonia to Anchorage coming the opposite direction I was headed and Roland was a journalist who promoted travel in Germany. Although they were both seasoned travelers with plenty of adventures behind them their viewpoints on the world were polar opposite. I had jokingly stated over the campfire last night that I was more worried about my motorcycle filter than my lungs.

“You are stupid, you can just replace the filter” Roland said in his refined German accent.

 “You can’t always fix a machine but you can always heal your body” Yu Yang replied with his eastern wisdom.

I talked with these two men into the late hours of the night until the northern lights danced in the clear sky above us. We shared new foods and drinks as well as new ideas and philosophies from our respected homelands. Both men were very intelligent as I find most travelers are, for there is a lot of time to read and be introspective on the road. To take a quote from Roland  “You must read from the book of the world.”

At times sensitive international political subjects would come up but I felt no tension or unease. After all we are only travelers, what do we have to do with the affairs of world leaders and politicians. Even so each of us was proud of the places we came from and the cultures that bred us.

I wanted to bring up the subject of climate change and my plans of starting a library in the Atacama Desert to help preserve knowledge in the event that civilizations collapses but I feared that I might look like a madman, I feared that the truth would bring them unhappiness. How could I relay to them the fact that I have been tirelessly researching all things related to this issue for more than a decade? How could I convey to them that everything that I had delved into: politics, economics, history, science, technology, psychology, and even my own personal experience has led me to the conclusion that modern civilization will cease to be? Better to let them enjoy their lives to the fullest while they can.

Even though I felt like the big “CC” was too scary of a topic I was able discuss with them their views on environmentalism and understand their philosophies.

China has always fascinated me, I’ve done mush research and reading about the country but it was something different entirely to talk a citizen of China. I had always struggled to understand how China could pollute their beautiful landscape so much, how they could so quickly discard their rich culture and history? Yu Yang explained their logic; For so long they have cultivated their spirit and bodies but it hasn’t gotten them anywhere. Gone now is the age of spirit and now is a new age of the mind. Science will take them forward into the future and new discoveries will solve their problems. This excited me because I’ve always been passionate about science, I started to talk about Thorium and it's amazing potential but I quickly realized it was a much too complicated subject with our language barrier. 

I hope that one day China will find a solution to save us, if anyone can do it, it’s the Chinese. But I fear that it’s already too late and the feedback loop will dump even more CO2 into the air and China will only continue to be exploited by powerful businesses looking for cheap manufacturing.     

            On the other hand Roland was very proud of his countries accomplishments in sustainable energy but I feel like this pride gives him a false sense of security. Germany is a very small wealthy part of the world and this means that they can make these changes rapidly when compared to other countries. Although the Germans are doing their part, the rest of the world will continue to pollute the atmosphere we all share. This reminds me of the economic principle of Game Theory or as it’s known in psychology The Prisoner Paradox. As it currently stands the more countries that give up fossil fuels those who keep using them gain a significant advantage. Germany may be mature enough to realize the danger and do what’s right but I it seems that most other world leaders are more greedy than they are practical.
           I ultimately decided to to take the long way around the fires but even still the air was thick with smoke. Word was that it was far worse closer to the fires, that it was dark as night and that the smoke was suffocating and inescapable. It's unfortunate that the beauty of the Yukon's mountains, lakes, and wildlife was obscured by this stuffy haze. I pitched tent by a lakeside and watched the wildlife continue on as normal. The sun shone a brilliant red as it made it's way across the sky and as it set I was thankful that I chose to avoid the path of the raging fires.