Beyond The Fall - 1

By Ali Al Yousifi

             This post was inspired by Elizabeth Farrelly’s essay in Monument magazine (August/ September 2012). As opposed to the now common writings warning that the world is heading towards an environmental disaster, Farrelly’s essay is a beautiful and uplifting description of Australia post a hypothetical environmental catastrophe, or what she calls “the Great Change”. The year is 2050, and Farrelly optimistically sees Australia as a sustainable and vibrant urban utopia amidst a world in ruin.

             But if global warming does turn out to be the devastating monster it’s being advertised as, what would Kuwait look like in 2050? Can it possibly be a bright future?

THE FALL (part 1 of 3)

The first fusion reactor started generating power for the Euro-region’s shared electricity grid in 2024. Finally, a truly sustainable alternative power source to fossil-fuel was found. The world celebrated. The price of oil fell from 186$/ barrel to 33$/ barrel in two weeks. Kuwait’s economy collapsed.

But the rapid building of clean fusion power stations around the world came too late to stop the growing horror of global warming. Climates that have been stable for millennia shifted, seas rose, and desertification became uncontrollable. Although some hot and arid regions, due to changing wind patterns, became more hospitable, Kuwait’s climate shriveled to become hotter and drier. In the summer of 2029, temperatures hit 67^oC.

Dwindling arable land, reduced rainfall, and failing crops lead food stocks to become priceless. Countries unable to produce their own food failed to convince breadbasket neighbors to sell their produce. Nearly all worldwide food production was consumed locally. Kuwait used all its meager resources to import food from regional countries such as Iraq, Iran, Jordon, Syria, and Lebanon, but imports decreased with every passing year. Even the wealthiest Kuwaiti families often slept with empty stomachs.

Although political and social unrest never ceased in Kuwait since 2012, 2030 brought new levels of internal turmoil when the United Nations, desperately trying to reverse the effects of global warming, banned all trading in petroleum-based products. Kuwait lost its only export.

Struggling to find food, water, and basic amenities, Kuwaitis started looking to more suitable places to live outside Kuwait. Mass immigration, first of expatriates and then of Kuwaitis, left many parts of country’s urban landscape empty. The population fell from 3.5 million to just under 400 thousand. Most towns were ghost towns.

Many thought Kuwait’s population would continue to fall until there would be nothing but vacant concrete boxes, but it didn’t. And although things looked gloomy for the remaining few, there was still hope.

To be continued…