August 3, 2062
Day 3 of Emancipendence! Three Days to go before the Big 100! And the Three Day Jamaica IronMan kicks off. The contestants have to dive Port Royal Sunken City; swim Kingston Harbor; climb Blue Mountain Peak; Bike to Montego Bay; then run the South Coast back to Kingston – without using any technology invented since 2012 — No power bikes! No jet packs! No MegaPower Energy Boosters! I wonder what we would do without these elixirs and unguents—die young or live very poorly I suppose! Certainly, without these inventions I would have suffered Alzheimers altogether and my hearing would be long gone. But here I am – a living 100 heath junkie! Old age truly is not what it used to be. Nonetheless, I am not going out today – The Ozone Index is too high – it is a six. I don’t breathe so well beyond a level four and I hate wearing those oxygen jackets and I don’t like using the public oxygen cafes – not to mention they cost. Too many $C dollars!
It so bad that despite the fact we have done well as a country, we can’t control our own air, since climate management is the purview of the Global Climate Control Committee and none of the Caribbean Eco-Management Ministers sit on the Committee this year. Hence, our Weather Police have to constantly be monitoring our clouds otherwise unscrupulous pirates will try to steal them and sell. You know we Jamaicans have to really Thank God! We are a blessed land. It it were not for our trees where would we be? Back in 2012, the original goal had been 500 trees for Jamaica 50 by the students and alumni of Clarendon College. But by 2013,it ended up with 5,000 trees being planted in Clarendon by schools, churches and many households. As competitive as we are, Alumni from Trelawny Schools and Hanover Schools decided they would not be outdone and started their own projects. Next thing — the vision went viral – every parish!. By 2020, Jamaicans had planted over 500,000 trees of every kind — legacy trees like the flamboyant, poui, frangipani; fruit trees – breadfruit, naseberry, custard apple, star apple; spice trees- pimento, nutmeg, vanilla, coffee. Scientists say that were it not for the tree canopy in Jamaica – we would not have this cloud cover and we would have to live on oxygen supplements. But still our clouds can’t fully mitigate the dust blowing in from across the Atlantic. So today I will stay inside and work in the Village’s hydroponic vegetable garden, feed the fish, and watch the Olympics on our ancient Holovisor. Jamaica has a shot at the gold in the Archery contest! And the Jamaicans in Second Life are starting a Global Anthem Wave in honor of our esteemed Track and Field Team! Imagine Five Million SmartComms pinging ‘One Love’ at the same time! Respek due! Or as the young people say, ‘That’s Pingged!’ We lickle but we tallawah fe true!
QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION:
What if Jamaica were to engage in massive tree planting project to re-green Jamaica? What if hydroponic food systems were a staple of Jamaican households? What if oxygen became a commodity? What if Weather Control were a UN Function?
