YULIAGORBACHENKOFORHARPER’S BAZAARDespitehorrifyingnewsymptoms
ofa globalsicknesswe’veignored
fortoolong,climatescientist
JoëlleGergissaystheapocalypse
is not a done deal
s notveryoftenyoufindyourselfon thefrontlineof
istoryin themaking.Therealisationthatwelivein a time
hen everyone, everywhere is needed. Although some-
mes it canfeelhopeless andoverwhelming, theworst
ingwecoulddorightnowis losehope.
Asa climatescientist,it’smyjobtomonitorEarth’svital
e carefully chartchangesintemperature,icecoverand
rainfallpatterns,justlikea doctorornursetendstoa patientin
theircare.Unfortunately,thingsarenowchanginga lotfasterthan
manyscientistseverimagined.Justlikea patientinintensivecare,
Earthis ina raceagainsttime.
Increasinglyit is becominghardtobearwitnesstotheevents
nowplayingoutseasonbyseasoneverysingleyear.Aseachday
passes,inescapabletruthskeepbarrellingthroughmein anintense,
visceralway.Evenif scienceisn’tyourthing,anyonepayingatten-
tionwouldagreethattheworldis nowchanginginwayswecan
nolongerignore.Justthisyearwewitnessedtheunprecedented
burningoftheAmazonrainforest,70,000peoplemadehomeless
byHurricaneDorian—themostpowerfultropicalcycloneon
recordtostriketheBahamas—andusuallyfrozenareasofthe
Arcticmeltedtoanextentthatthreatenstoaltertheverystability
of lifeonourplanet.Hereat home,wewatchedcatastrophicbush-
fires in Queensland and New South Wales ragethrough the largest
EMERGENCY
ON PL A N E T
EARTH
remainingstandsofsubtropicalrainforestin
the world. Although these moss-drenched
rainforestshaveclungonsincetheageofthe
dinosaurs,searingheatanddroughtsawthese
preciousrelicsburn.I neverthoughtI’dlive
toseethedaywhenI’dbewatchingthelastof
ourancientrainforestsgoupinsmoke.
Somedaysit’shardtowatchthenewscov-
erageof allof thelossanddestruction.I recoil
withthatintensefeelingyougetinyourbelly
whensafetyfallsaway—thesickeningfree
fallofknowingthat,everything,intheend,
has its breaking point. Asthings begin to
accelerate,I’vecometo realisetheonlyway
forwardis nota detourthroughdenial,but
straightthroughtheheartlandofgrief.
Thenaturalworldis wherewegotoreflect
andplayandconnect,likeananimalfeeding
fromitsmother—primal,urgentandvital.
Whenyourealiseallthatsustains usis atstake,it’salmosttoo
muchtoprocess.Thereptilianbrainwantstotakeflightandavoid
confrontingtheunthinkabledangerbearingdownuponus.
Justlikea doctordiagnosinga criticallyillpatient,asa climate
scientistI facethe confrontingtaskof beingthebearer ofbad
news.WhatI dois akintoaskingeachpersontositwiththehor-
rorandgriefofhavingtoimaginetheprospectoflosingthevery
lifeforcethatmiraculouslysustainsusall.I havetotakepeopleby
thehandandgentlyaskthemto staywiththegravityof whatI have
tosay,andwhatit meansfortheirfuture.Andjustlikea serious
healthcondition,whenyoucatchthingsearlyenough,appropriate
treatmentcanpreventit fromprogressingintoa terminalsituation.
If youactearlyenough,therearethingsthatcanbedone.Tumours
canberemoved,lifestylescanbechanged,livescanbesaved.
WhileI readilyadmitthattherearesomethingswecannolonger
save,I believeallis notlost.Andtherearemanythingsstillworth
saving.Ouractionsnowwillshapefuturelifeontheplanet.Putting
thebrakesongreenhousegasemissionswillundeniablyhelpto min-
imisethelevelof dangerousclimatechangewewillexperience.
If nothingis done,theworst-casescenarioseesupto 50 percent
ofalllifeontheplanetdisappearbytheendofthecentury.Sea
levelrisewillinundatetheworld’scoastalcities,unleashinga tidal
wave of refugees. Our summers become a living hell, where54 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU December 2019