The Sea and Sky – A love story

Sky meets Sea

Love bloomed on the horizon, where the Sky meets the Sea. He’d gaze down at her and admire her strength, watching as his smile filled her with warmth and his tears filled her with sorrow. She’d laugh for hours about their matching outfits – how he’d go out his way to always wear the same colours as her – while he’d spend the evenings making her blush a crimson red: a couple with eternity stretched before them. However, it was night that was the Sea’s favourite, when she’d be blanketed in a canvas of stars, and could finally admire the Sky’s beauty.

Yet, one thing about time is that it’s unpredictable. As the years passed, the Sky watched his beloved fall sick. Her smile became feeble and forced and her movements became slower. The Sea was filled with poison that seeped through her waters; junk and disease slowly killing the life inside of her. The Sky continued to smile down at her, reaching out to shelter her with warmth. However, his touch burnt through her, melting the ice that was supposed to keep her cool and bleaching her corals white. He was helpless, left with nothing but rage- rage that thundered in clouds and blazed through fields. Death gloomed on the horizon.

Eco Living

I’ve already talked a little about global warming where I told you that in order to save our world, we had to reduce the release of greenhouse gases – something I’m sure you’ve already been briefed about in great detail. However, no one ever talks about how difficult it is to actually follow through.

A key way we’ve been told to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to either reduce our car use by using public transport or active travel such as bikes/walking, or to swap to electric cars. Cars are practical modes of transportation, it’s not just as simple as walking or getting the bus everywhere – especially when you have a job that requires a long drive or a work vehicle.

I, for one, use public transportation for one off trips into town. The bus comes to my neighbourhood once every hour, which is very impractical should I miss the one I was planning to catch. The reliability of public transport makes people cautious and uncomfortable using it. In my own experience, my bus has left early or not showed up at all so many times that I physically couldn’t handle the stress of catching it anymore – not to mention that quite often I’m forced into a small space with rambunctious year 8’s who believe they own the world. Instead, I will go out of my way, maybe even wait for hours, just to get a ride home with my parents or siblings.

With public transport out the question for many, the other option was electric cars, which, in their own right, are hugely overpriced and near impossible to maintain without proper funding to do so. If it was really so important to protect the environment, then people should stop worrying about finding ways to line their pockets and instead focus on making eco living affordable.

This is also applicable for organic and environmentally friendly produce. Much of our food has been genetically modified in order to maximise yield and product satisfaction. I’ll talk a bit about GM crops in a later blog, however the reason I’m mentioning it now is that technologically modified and overseas foods tend to be cheaper and therefore more popular in supermarkets. This makes locally sourced produce less popular and more expensive. By buying food that’s supplied from abroad, we unknowingly increase our carbon footprint by buying foods with higher food miles. This means, just a simple decision between organic carrots and Spanish carrots can make a massive impact on the amount of carbon dioxide that you’re responsible for releasing into the environment. If the government is really so stressed about this issue, then why make it so difficult to commit to an eco-lifestyle.

I’ve spent pretty much my entire schooling being told that our world is dying. Many of my peers feel helpless as we’re told it’s up to us, a bunch of teenagers, to reverse the mistakes of all our elders. These are some big shoes to fill. There are people like Greta Thunberg who are taking on this responsibility, yet I’m left questioning the futility of it all when I hear my classmates laugh at her efforts and have no energy to save our dying world. With the current state of the economy, no-one really has the money to work towards an environmentally healthy lifestyle, and I don’t think adults realise just how much this kind of attitude has affected the children of today. Many of us believe it’s too late to do anything– adopting our parents’ attitudes to the situation- and even if it wasn’t, we physically don’t have the power or money to fix things. We’re all told it’s not about stopping global warming, only delaying it. However, what’s the point of delaying the inevitable, especially when there’s only a select few with the means to do so?

Global Warning

Burning sun

In my last blog I talked about globalisation and its effects on migration. However, one thing I didn’t mention was global warming, which I believe can be just as much a push factor as any other human causes. We’re all familiar with this concept – the ever warming of our earth year after year – but how is it affecting our society? And is it all negative?

If you’ve been keeping up with the news lately, as I have, you’ll notice the huge heatwave that’s taken Europe hostage and is wreaking havoc in beautiful countries such as Italy and Spain. By heatwave I’m not talking about the 40C weather that raged through the UK last year. No. I’m talking about a heat that’s even over 50C forcing people all over the countries to remain in homes rather than attend their daily dealings. The kind of heat that may compel people to flee their homes in the future.

For those who dream of a hot summer in beautiful places, this weather may sound ideal, but it really is just one giant red flag for our dying world. I, myself, went to Spain last year with my school for a swimming trip. It was beautiful and hot, just what we’d paid for, but it was already nearing unbearable heat at just 30C let alone 50C. If this continues, then many places may become inhabitable for humanity in maybe just 20 years’ time.

While this may be the case for already humid and tropical countries, other colder areas such as the UK may benefit greatly from global warming as will allow the growth and attainment of a wider variety of vegetation such as grapes, which I’d personally love to see happen. But this obviously would come at a cost for the rest of our planet. Now we can only try our best to prevent the effects of global warming by reducing the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Though I’m still left wondering, is it too late?

Migration in the News

migrant boat

Has anyone else noticed how much migration has been in the news recently? I certainly have; not to mention that my entire introduction to geography A-level was on the subject – the word ‘crisis’ often accompanying it. As a young adult myself, these kind of news stories always spark questions in my mind. It’s left me wondering whether migration is actually a crisis and why has it only become so in recent years?

If you really think about it, migration has been around for years, dating back to even the time of Jesus who was a refugee in Egypt as a child. It would be very difficult to argue that migration has only become a human occurrence in recent years when there’s historic evidence that suggests otherwise. However, I agree it’s impossible not to notice that in the last 100 years, the levels of international migration have increased at ridiculous rates. In the last decade alone, the number of international migrants has increased by nearly 60 million more people.

Now I’m left wondering why. What has happened in the last 100 years that could’ve caused this spike? Globalisation. What does this mean? It means the interconnectedness of different regions in the world. Simply put: our world is one metaphorical community. While being a nice concept, I believe globalisation is largely responsible for our so-called migration ‘crisis’.

I’m a legal immigrant. I lived in Ethiopia for 8 years as a third-culture kid. My family helped the people over there; however, we are all ethnically English. Now I wouldn’t really call this type of migration a ‘crisis’. However, upon our return to England, we had many of our Ethiopian friends repeatedly asking us to declare them refugees in hope they can gain citizenship in our country. There’s actually a term for these types of people – economic refugees, migrant workers who falsely claim reasons for migration is due to persecution and not personal ambition. I find it quite sickening: the thought that people will pose as victims to try to gain access to better countries, an event I doubt would come about without the effects of globalisation.

Honestly, this is a topic I struggle with. I imagine a battle between morals and law about migration. I fully believe that people from poorer countries deserve a better life, that refugees deserve safety, and that people should be allowed to want the best for their families. However, I also understand that the UK is a small island and cannot physically hold all the migrants that try to cross the English Channel as well as the fact that there are specific legal ways to migrate to other countries. It’s estimated that at least 45,728 people are believed to have crossed the Channel to the UK in small boats in 2022, an increase of more than 17,000 on the 28,526 who arrived in 2021. I guess this is where it becomes a ’crisis’ and I can see it getting worse in the future.

About Rosie

Flower bed pen

Before I really start my blogging journey, I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Rosie and while I’m only 16 I have a lot to say and already experienced so much in my life. For starters, I was recently diagnosed with autism – only earlier this year; however, not being diagnosed for the most part of my life has not stopped me from always trying my best.

I spent the first half of my life in Ethiopia where I experienced cross-cultural living and attended a Christian mission school. For the last eight years, I have attended a public Catholic school in Canterbury. These opportunities have given me a tolerance for different views and an understanding on how our culture affects our beliefs.

I’ve always had a passion for English which has led me to become a three-time published author in Young Writer’s competitions as well as always being top of my English classes. I’ve developed many literacy skills which has piqued my interest in reading a broad range of genres.

As a youth I hope that I can bring opinions and colours to people’s lives that they may not have noticed or considered before due to vast differences between my schooling and growing up than those of older generations. I hope I can keep you interested!