Is the Smoky Haze the Future
This week, the east coast was blanketed by a smoky haze stemming from a forest fire in Canada. The air of the NYC metro area was filled with smoke, individuals' breathing was hampered, and one could not see the outlines of NYC architectural marvels. I was reading the NY Post this morning. Yes, I read the Post. Been reading it for over 20 years, and my routine is to read the Post on my iPad every morning while riding my exercise bike. Heck, it makes me look forward to my mornings. The article talked about the smoky haze and made a reference to Blade Runner.
For those who know me, I really enjoy Sci-Fi Movies. I even wrote an article on it in the Top Sci-Fi Films in Urban Planning. For those who have never seen the original Blade Runner or Blade Runner 2049, it is a must. The opening sequence of Blade Runner is so memorable, with the flying cars and the soundtrack of Vangelis illuminating the scene of the skyline is enthralling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fu7jN2_2pE
What Blade Runner depicts a future that is dying. The movie is filled with dark skylines, robots known as replicants being murderers, urban decay, and never-ending rain. The only thing showing the advancement of society is the flying car.
So, unfortunately, this got me thinking. Will our society's future be filled with a smoky haze and become a dying society? Why do you ask? Well, of course, environmental change. Just do a Google search, and you'll see endless reports and comments that environmental change is killing the earth. Without profound change, this will happen. It's scary to think this. The implications of climate change are evident, from superstorms to melting glaciers, forest fires, and the lack of water. These are only a few of the many impacts climate change has on our society.
So what can we do? Awareness is the first step. Awareness has been more prudent. But actions are needed, not just from individuals but from the powers that be, the elected officials who craft, implement policy, and make agreements with other countries. Some countries taking the lead in environmental protection are Norway, Switzerland, and Japan.
As with Blade Runner, apocalyptic futures are a popular theme in Hollywood and, I must admit, one of my favorite genres. Heck, one of my favorite songs is Apocalypse Now by Muse. The Last of Us on HBO was one of my favorite apocalyptic series, where a global pandemic destroys civilization with a rampant disease that infects humans turning them into zombies aptly called the infected. Could this happen, where the human civilization morphs into zombies because of a biological disease? I hate to say this, but yes. I'm not a scientist, I'm an urban planner, but with the evolution of diseases as evidenced by COVID, anything is possible.
I hope I'm wrong; with environmental protection actions to help limit environmental change, the evolution of zombies doesn't become a reality and is only produced in the tv and movie studios. The smokey haze resulting from the Canadian forest fire is a scary reminder of the impacts of environmental change on our civilization.