The world sneezed, and we shit our pants... The most terrifying thing about this has been the realisation of how close we are to social collapse, and how utterly underprepared we are for what's about to come. It was not toilet paper or canned food that we lacked the most, but rather resilience, community, some sense of social fabric, a semblance of cohesion or a unified approach.

The most damning thing to come out of this week has been noticing that the void in leadership we are witnessing in this country, is callous and careless at the best of times, but it will be catastrophic when we actually have to deal with something serious.

As I said, the world sneezed at us with an outbreak of something slightly more aggressive than a flu, and we got to see how thin the veil is that is protecting us from complete and utter social breakdown.

And this fear that simmers under the surface of our society, waiting to erupt into brawls for toilet paper, has not come from nowhere, it has been brewing for some time.

It comes from knowing full well how we failed to go to the aid of others when they have needed us; whether it was refugees seeking asylum, the barbaric slaughter happening at the hands of Indonesia in West Papua, or the homeless on our own streets.

It comes from the ineptitude displayed by the current prime minister and every single member of our government in the face of the recent bushfires and the helplessness we all felt watching the country burn.

It comes from a culture of intense individualism, pride of personal property and tenuously propped up nationalism that has been promoted and used to divide us and bicker amongst ourselves.

It comes from a complete lack of soul in our society due to the disregard and disrespect this colony has shown to the rightful custodians of the lands upon which we live.

And it comes from the fact that we have been kept so busy just trying to keep the lights that we haven't had a spare moment to consider the purpose of our existence and the lack of meaning in our lives.

This has all been brewing for quite some time. There's been a voice in our heads that we've been silencing for too long. That voice in our heads that tells us, this isn't quite right, the one we've drowned out with loud conversations about nothing in particular, or a glass or two of wine every night, or by yelling at cars in traffic or watching mind-numbing television shows about home renovations...

That voice begins screaming very loud, as soon as the cracks in the facade of our society begin to show.

While Yemen starves, we watch My Kitchen Rules, but the moment we think toilet paper might run out, we become worse than animals.

And the reason this week has been so terrifying is that nothing really happened. Nothing all that scary any. It's just virus with an average 2% mortality rate; a few thousand people have died, and many thousands more will surely perish by the time this blows over. And excuse what you might think as insensitive, but 25,000 people died today of malnutrition, and over 2000 people died by suicide today... Coronavirus isn't as devastating as our response has been.

Climate change, on the other hand, will continue to take millions of lives in the decades to come. But because of the difference in how we process slow-onset threats and immediate threats, that doesn't scare you as much as someone sneezing on you right now.

The thing is, there is still time left before the worst effects of climate change start wreaking havoc on global food supply and water resources. It's started already, but there is still time to at least prepare our hearts and our souls for what we are about to witness.

When scientists tell you that climate change is happening, don't argue. Don't question the consensus. Don't offer your humble opinion on the matter. The IPCC was formed in 1988, we've known this was coming for a long time, and even G.Dub Senior acknowledged it in 1990.

Climate change is happening, we are headed for a minimum 2-degree increase, and a possible 2-5 degree range by the end of the century. If you can't wrap your head around that yet, let me explain it to you like this...

Your body can withstand a temperature range of -freezing my face off, to well over hot enough to fry an egg on the roof of the car... BUT if your average body temperature goes up by 2 degrees that's pretty serious and you should see a doctor immediately. If it goes up 4 degrees, your cells are already dying and you will likely die or maybe survive with brain damage.

That's kind of the same thing with weather and climate... You see the weather can change, and it always will, and like the conditions your body can survive it's a wide range, but your average body temp or the Earth's average body temp, that you can't mess with.

So act now, not just to reduce emissions, go renewable, and sequester carbon, but also to build resilience, grow community, strengthen the fabric of our society, and dissolve the lines that have been drawn between us.

This thing called climate change, it's happening, and what we need now more than ever is strong community. People are scared and helpless, and while there is time, I urge you to act for the sake of humanity; help prepare for the convulsions we are about to face.

Because if this is how well-fed humans respond when they fear running out of toilet paper, I shudder to think what will happen when our crops fail and food supply becomes scarce.

- by Erfan Daliri

About the Author

Erfan Daliri is an author, poet, social change trainer and consultant with a Masters in Communication for Social Change. He has over 15 years of experience working with NGOs, community groups and government agencies in a diverse range of areas, including participatory development, cross-cultural communication, youth empowerment, education, mental health, settlement services, and social justice advocacy.

Erfan is the founding director of Newkind Social Justice Conference and programme coordinator of the National Unity in Diversity Conference. He consults and advises on communication and project design for organisations such as Amnesty International and the Australian Red Cross.

He is particularly passionate about empowering organisations and communities to address issues of social, environmental and economic justice and to help them build a more inclusive, cohesive, sustainable and equitable society. His most recent book Raising Humanity discusses the underlying causes of socio-economic injustice and covers the themes of ecology and economy, resilience, resistance and what it takes to be an effective changemaker.