{"id":516,"date":"2023-01-16T05:58:39","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T05:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/john-shirley.com\/blog\/?p=516"},"modified":"2023-01-16T05:58:40","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T05:58:40","slug":"a-fire-broke-out-in-a-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/john-shirley.com\/blog\/a-fire-broke-out-in-a-theater\/","title":{"rendered":"A FIRE BROKE OUT IN A THEATER"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. The clown came out to warn the public; they thought it was a joke and applauded. He repeated it; the acclaim was even greater. I think that\u2019s just how the world will come to an end: to general applause from wits who believe it\u2019s a joke.\u201d \u2014 Soren Kierkegaard, Either\/Or pt. 1<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many canaries in so many coal mines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve noticed only a small fraction of the butterflies we used to have, this summer. Last year, experts said butterfly populations have dropped by fifty per cent. Half. Around here it seems less than half. Honey Bees also\u2013very few here. There used to be a grand summer buzz of bees. Not now. Down 40% since last year, the experts tell us. Even the hardy, ubiquitous wasps are few. I\u2019m not fan of wasps but it\u2019s spooky when they vanish. Frogs are vanishing from creeks. I could quote dire statistics on sea mammal deaths. Whales, dugongs, sea lions. Salmon are dying from heat increases in the northern seas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The causes? Habitat loss, anthropogenic climate change, pesticides, too much land given over to industrial agriculture and meat mega-ranches, herbicides \u2013which harm more than weeds\u2013and other wonderful innovations of humanity. A new giant plastic garbage patch has turned up in the North Sea. Oceanic Dead Zones proliferate. Recently rain and snow has been found to be suffused with tiny plastic particles. Plastic particle pollultion is found s in \u201cextreme concentrations\u201d in the Arctic, I read. NINETY PER CENT of fish stocks are used up. \u201cBird population in steep decline in North America\u201d the headline says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all the same cause\u2013humanity. No, more specifically, human greed.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greed!<\/strong> Greed is behind the mindless use of pesticides, and herbicides; it\u2019s behind the fires in the Amazon destroying the forests needed to clean the air, and destroying the animals, the butterfly and bird habitats there; it\u2019s behind denial about greenhouse gases causing climate change; it\u2019s behind over-fishing and the over-production of plastics and the destruction of habitats needed for \u2026butterflies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We humans are interconnected with the animal world. I wonder who\u2019s next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me? You?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may as well take another Prozac and turn on the latest tragic superhero fantasy. What else would you do?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. The clown came out to warn the public; they thought it was a joke and applauded. He repeated it; the acclaim was even greater. I think that\u2019s just how the world will come to an end: to general applause from wits who believe it\u2019s a joke.\u201d \u2014…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA FIRE BROKE OUT IN A THEATER - John Shirley Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/john-shirley.com\/blog\/a-fire-broke-out-in-a-theater\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A FIRE BROKE OUT IN A THEATER - John Shirley Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. 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