Photo by maki_shmaki

Wouldn’t it be comforting to know that the day our bodies no longer serve us and must be returned to the earth, their resting place might become ecological havens? Like the burial mounds of old, which dot today’s overused landscapes, we might feed native grasses and flowers, protect forests, and provide homes for rare species. Just imagine: Gone the rows of tombstones in perfectly manicured cemeteries… Let us rest wild among our nonhuman friends and, in death, repay our debt to them! Let the sacred and the ecological be linked once again for the benefit of us all.

Inspiration: Ancient homes for the dead can double as wildlife havens

A YEARs-LONG CREATIVE EXPLORATION OF THE CLIMATE THROUGH 100-WORD STORIES • WEEK 31

Photo by DESIGNECOLOGIST on Unsplash

The year 1816 is remembered as the Year Without a Summer. After a volcano erupted, global average temperatures plunged. Harvests failed, giving rise to food shortages, riots, and looting. Everywhere, people died. A young Mary Shelley, unable to enjoy outdoor activities while on holidays in Switzerland, wrote Frankenstein.

Perhaps 2023 will be remembered as the Year of Too Much Summer. The unhappy combination of the cyclical El Niño weather pattern and climate change has increased global average temperatures, leading to extreme heat, wildfires, and floods. Everywhere, people are dying. Who will create the masterpiece that captures the zeitgeist of this moment?

A YEARs-LONG CREATIVE EXPLORATION OF THE CLIMATE THROUGH 100-WORD STORIES • WEEK 30

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

White like a great egret or a swan
Head held high, feathers in order
Posing for the avid birdwatcher

White like polar ice sheets or fresh snow
Like the coldest days of winter
When your nose hairs freeze together

White like the very blankest of blank pages
Awaiting the writer’s worlds and words
Like the exhilarating innocence of newborns
Opening their eyes for the first time
Like the comforting softness of pillows
Holding weary heads in their embrace

White like the whitest paint ever made
Which keeps our warming Earth cooler
By reflecting sunlight better

Inspiration: Scientists Have Developed the Whitest White Paint Ever Made – So Reflective It Can Cool Surfaces

A YEARs-LONG CREATIVE EXPLORATION OF THE CLIMATE THROUGH 100-WORD STORIES • WEEK 29