Once humans go extinct due to climate change, other beings will live happily ever after, says Mother Nature

By Asitha Jayawardena

“Prince Charles has warned that the climate crisis would dwarf the impact of the coronavirus pandemic,” she said. “I think that he has recorded the message for the Climate Action Week in New York City yesterday.”

“Oh yes,” I said and, while standing up to make the handshake with someone I haven’t seen before.

“So, you are Mother Nature,” I asked while taking the seat.

“Yes, I am,” she replied and sat on the chair. “Maybe you will see me for the first time because I decided to show myself to the general public.”

“Why?” I was amazed.

“Now the climate crisis has worsened so much that, if things go on like this, it will be no time that humans go extinct forever,” she went on. “Other creatures will survive but humans, like you, will be gone forever.”

“Humans will be gone?” I asked.

“Yes, human beings will be gone forever,” she whispered. “This does not mean that the other living beings are gone too.”

“But how?” I wondered. “Humans should be there so that the other living beings will thrive…”

“Thrive?” she questioned.

“Yes,” I answered. “Thrive.”

“Let me tell you a story,” she adjusted on her seat. “When was Earth born?”

“4.5 billion years ago,” I said.

“Yes. Earth was born 4.5 billion years ago but the human beings appeared between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago,” she said. “So, roughly 250,000 years ago.”

I was silent.

“Now, take away 250,000 from 4.5 billion,” she suggested, “that is, from 4,500,000,000.”

I was busy, fumbling on the with the calculator. “It’s 4,499,750,000.”

“Yes, that is the duration when the human beings were absent from Planet Earth,” she proclaimed. “And the earliest animals were on Earth about 600 million years ago”.

“Wow”, I expressed disbelief.

“What do you think when 250,000 years ago, the first humans appeared on Earth, the other living beings were there for 600 million years,” she explained.

I had no words.

“The most recent wipe-out, or mass extinction, was 66 million years ago and that was the dinosaurs,” she went on. “An asteroid impact triggered the extinction of dinosaurs and other large reptiles while smaller creatures such as mammals survived.”

“Yes, I understand,” I replied. “Even after 66 million years, there was no sign of the human being.”

“Yes, exactly,” she said. “Once human beings go extinct towards 2100 or after due to unavoidable heat, the other beings will adapt to the conditions and survive…”

“And…?” I said.

“And the fauna and flora will be happily live together ever after” she went on, “until some asteroid will hit on Earth!”

“Thank you, Mother Earth,” I showed gratitude her. “You are…”

And an alarm went on and it was my alarm. When I opened my eyes, the clock read 5.30 am. Mother Earth was nowhere to be seen.