I was scrolling through my Google news feed and saw a BBC report about a water company warning that the drought could last until 2027[cite: 7, 8]. It brought back memories of 2021, when I had the privilege and great fortune of working as a freelancer for the Federal Environment Agency in Dessau. It was a deeply insightful and productive time, meeting so many fascinating scientists. One of them told me about the Helmholtz Centre establishing a "drought monitor"[cite: 7, 8]. It measures groundwater levels, particularly deep in the subsoil[cite: 7, 8]. And for years, especially in East Germany, that monitor has been flashing dark red[cite: 7, 8].
Looking at it today, that dark red color signaling deep groundwater depletion aligns almost exactly with the blue color of political elections—the AfD strongholds, especially in areas like Saxony[cite: 7, 8]. Perhaps there is a connection.
As a species, we took a wrong cognitive turn a few hundred years ago. All our scientific discoveries, our research, and everything we have achieved ultimately lead us to systematically destroy our ecosystems, accelerate species extinction, and burn even more fossil fuels. And our response as humanity to these issues—which scientists have been highlighting for decades—is pure cognitive dissonance: we bury ourselves even deeper in feeds and social media, numb our analytical thinking with cheap entertainment, and retreat into the so-called private sphere—without grasping that there can be no private life if the planet becomes uninhabitable.
I believe humanity will actually disappear in the foreseeable future. There is no guarantee that we will still exist in two, three, or four generations. It is entirely possible that we, as a species, will vanish just like all the other species whose extinction we are currently causing.
