Can We Ignore It Any Longer?

• Sophie Stockdale, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2022

Brightly coloured wrappers, their intoxicating presence, lying intertwined through the dry, lifeless grass. Numerous by the thousands, but invisible to the eye. A man I can see, dropping a small burden onto the sad concrete path, totally oblivious to the dangerous contribution he’s added on top of the world’s weakened shoulders.
Can he ignore it any longer?
Around the corner, many stations are full of running vehicles, a disgusting shade of grey filling the atmosphere with so much carbon dioxide that I’m choking, my tired eyes watering. An anxious woman staring blankly at the petrol tank, the thought of going clean with electricity skims her brain, but fuel runs through her veins, burning a hole in her pocket.
Can she ignore it any longer?
Lonely jellyfish lay basking out on the hot sand, evaporating in the burning sun with nowhere to go. Look out toward the ocean, turned brown with unthinkable sewerage, a straw stuck up a turtle’s nose and whales consuming plastic bag after plastic bag. Beaches are abandoned, because coral bleaching deters snorkelling tourists and the sea is thick with black pools of oil.
Can they ignore it any longer?
Nature struggles to grip the thin rope called Planet Earth but humanity tugs it back harder than ever, tightening it with the tension that could collapse us all.
Is the younger generation expected to save us all from the giant painful footprint left behind? Is equality promised to us only if action is taken, but not naturally considered into society? Is entitlement assumed by those higher on the leader board we call life? Are majestic animals thought to be lost amongst the dying pages of history, but just caused by a fault?
Why is it ignored?
Yet, everybody goes about their day, walking up and down those dark, polluted streets, like the smallest chore has the slightest of significance. Although, every now and then, I take a step back and observe the people that call this country home, and the burning question still crosses my mind.
Can we ignore it any longer?