Something In It For Ourselves

The doom of the species by natural forces,
The drowning of cities with human resources,
The growth of the desert, the loss of the ice,
The tragic extinction of weather that's nice;
The prospect that gardening, hosepiping Man
Might languish beneath an indefinite ban:
These various prospects, it now is asserted,
Might best be enjoyed by being averted;
And should we prevail, let memorials state
That, faced with the need to determine its fate,
Our civilisation resolved to survive
And, seeking excuses for staying alive,
Found no reason better, no urgency deeper
Than that in the long run it's probably cheaper.

Samuel Grimsnipe