Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Earth.

Can We Sew Peace by Morning
It's a different kind of war, mostly hidden, yet right in front of our noses. And every body is on the front lines. Back in 2003 when war with Iraq began, I was troubled with the thought, "Not another war," as I lay down to sleep. Had I not made my young children become "conscientious objectors" back in the 1970's when the Vietnam war was in full force? Had not the veterans of World War I, in 1914, fought what they thought would be "the last war ever fought?" And the Civil War before that; Oh my God! Do we ever learn from our history? When I woke up in the morning, I made this quilt of women "sewing" their hopes and dreams into a new world, the sun of a new day rising and their prayers showing in their faces as they sew, the fringe showing that the world they dream of is not yet complete.
By Carol Bridges5 years ago in Earth
Surviving The End
We were not meant to master the change of the tides or defy the heat of the sun. That was our first deadly mistake. It was not simply one thing that brought about the fall of human civilization, but a culmination of everything we had been warned to care about. Everything happened slowly in the beginning, then all at once. We could have tackled one problem at a time, the virus, the fires, the bees, the rising sea levels, the unabridged output of garbage into the ocean, the deforestation, the infertility crisis, the scarcity fostered by a strictly capitalist society, the decline of mental stability that finally victimized us all. But when the steady growth of everything suddenly accelerated, we were attacked from all sides by our own apathy. Our own inability to change. Our own selfishness and stubbornness brought about our demise, the fall of humanity.
By A.J.K.5 years ago in Earth
Composting
Composting is a way every single household and most businesses can contribute their part in reducing landfill waste, but there are so many benefits to composting other than cutting back on your trash. How many times have you bought potting soil, or dirt for your landscaping and yard? Even if you live in town you can still compost and make your own dirt, which will be more nutrient dense and have better water retention vs. the bagged stuff you buy from the stores. There are already some countries that ban compostable waste from being thrown in the trash, before long composting will be the norm worldwide. ,
By Martin Ahrens5 years ago in Earth
After the Decline
“Every soul has an innate want to see blue oceans and forests teaming with life. Few of those are willing to make the necessary sacrifices.”
By Harriet Ampt5 years ago in Earth
Why Is The Snow So Strange
“Estelle, why is the snow so strange?” I bent down and picked my little brother up, holding him to my chest like a baby monkey.
By Hettie Daly5 years ago in Earth
The end?
"Prepare for the ice age!" Said a spokesman for the dodo. A bird species that has been extinct for a long time now. If this big beaked ugly bird can bounce back from the phanerzoic eon now from its place of rest, you best believe it's for a good reason. Or maybe mr and mrs dodo just got a visit from their buddies from the ocean.. the curious yet cranky crustacean and thought it better try and tell those people that pretend to be scared rats on a sinking ship to start the next flight to the moon or another life sustaining planet settlement instead of violating the earth and so on. Paleontology and archaeology combined have been a last resort, much to my recent enlightenment to speak for the ancient history of this earth. Its time to begin the next chapter of the rest of our lives. If this means you're going to retire and enjoy what mother nature and the earth have provided for us, then excellent. Bunker down for your apocalypse. Doomsday may scare some small humans. So maybe a fairytale for those little kids who are learning about what this earth has to offer us when we put down the remote control, or go to the river and take a deep breath in. But what about those who dont have anyone to bunker down with? Well my fellow earthlings. That would be when the government would be a beacon of hope. Without the government to protect us from what may be, then the human race can go extinct. Like the dodo, but the handsome knight in shining armor may very well be the dragon guarding the tower. As an introvert I speak for the doomsday preppers who have no family. Or feel they have been abandoned by there loved ones. Or have pushed them away for ease of letting go. The end of the world starts when the government has given up trying to guide us on our behalf. I can only imagine that the organisms would evolve and we would have our own new species of "What the fuck was that" about. Maybe zombies. Or no label is necessary to those who are aware of the destruction that man can cause. Seeing as doomsday is upon me, I sent out a environmentally friendly notice to all the green tree frogs of Queensland. I have refuge for you and will always admire them. They have turned up to my doorstep by the time I realised they needed me and I needed something to strive for. No they didnt turn into a prince, unfortunately. But they were able to help me gather myself and remember who I was deep down inside to keep going. For a greater tomorrow. So now as this is my doomsday fun story I gather my family and friends.. just to encourage everyone to start taking more time out to go camping by the creek. Or fishing on the jetty. Or taking a trip to the mountains. Or somewhere back to nature to find their true meaning for life, and work together as a family to better their lives for the children of the future... the more we race against time to get to work and school the less time we have to realise what truly matters in this world. Is the love one another can offer. Money and materials of today do not matter, but time and kindness will see us through an apocalypse or even someone battling their own doomsday. Take some time off to teach the kids how to fish. Teach them how to grow and produce there own food for a sustained future. How to bait a hook and cast a line off the pier and even dangle your toes in the water off the reef whilst trying to catch a shark. Because the whispers of the wind say theres a danger lurking upon our shoreline. Maybe it's the new dinosaurs of the 21st century coming to claim their land rights. Or the evolution of a species that was causing the problems in the first place. We dont need another special report on how many more lives were lost, or the immensity of the natural disasters of the world. We need to learn to be at peace with the earth. We need to learn our place on the pyramid of evolution. Stop being rats racing to the finish line. Start being platypus enjoying a swim. Or being a brumby ever so ready to run wild and free. The long lived king of the jungle was the Male lion. He was too lazy to be a fierce leader. So the alpha and omegas of the canine species have taken it upon them to lead the animal planets into line. Who knows who the boss of the sea is?? I have a sneaking tingle that the jellyfish and the octopus have decided they will take the reins for the big blue sea... until the kronosaurus is happy with his aquatic temperatures deep below.. whilst the human race becomes accustomed to a revolutionary road..
By Jade5 years ago in Earth
Remembering
The Council took charge after the Erasure, when every plant was erased from the surface of the Earth. With no plants to hold the topsoil, the ground turned to dust. The rains were infrequent. The sun was relentless and the wind was fierce. When it did rain, the precipitation was full of the poisons that had accumulated in the atmosphere, made more toxic by the radiation from the sun. The rains came in torrents that made the flat places into a muddy churning and the places below the surface that had sheltered ancestors in the beginning were filled with poisoned water. What people remained took to higher ground.
By Faye Hanson5 years ago in Earth
The Fabric of the Universe
Dear Void, How did we get here? How was our world formed? How did we, the creatures of being, get here? Please tell us dear void. We need to know. Tell us the story of our blanket.
By Caroline Katko5 years ago in Earth
Canada Day
Aaniin, ndizhnikaaz Kelsey. Hello, I am called Kelsey. I’m currently living in Ontario which includes land under 46 treaties and other agreements including land purchases made by the Crown signed between 1781 and 1930. Treaties are legally binding agreements between First Nations and federal and provincial governments. There are many different groups that consider parts of Ontario as their traditional territory, including but not limited to: Anishnaabeg, Haudensaunee, Attawandaraon, Ojibway/Chippewa, Huron-Wendat, and Cree. I am grateful to be able to live and work on this land which includes much of Southern Ontario and other provinces in Canada.
By Kelsey Reich5 years ago in Earth
Read The Room
20,000 units. He squinted at the number, rubbed his temple, and re-read the directions. This Challenge is simple: write a short creative fiction piece, no longer than 2,000 words, about a post-apocalyptic dystopia.
By Aazim Jafarey5 years ago in Earth
THE CONNECTION
The Connection. “Hopper!... Hopper! “ Mike yelled. Mike is handsome and slender with his beautiful brown eyes and short black hair. He has brains too, which was not typical for boys from the Bronx. Which is exactly why Harper married him. She Loves everything about him, Except how he says her name, it drives her nuts! It’s HARPER, not Hopper. She would always correct him and wished his name was something like “ Vinnie “ or “Tony”. At least then she could have something to work with, but Michale is all she gets.
By Angela Stuhmer5 years ago in Earth
Anila and the Clan Heart
The sound of the dogs was reaching a level which would have scared off any wildlife for miles. It was past time to leave, but she couldn’t seem to tear herself away just yet. He looked so beautiful now, so peaceful. The power of true presence… it had given him a light that she didn’t always see in those last days. He had been rather deeply internal in those final moments, as if he knew the shift was about to occur. That wordless way in which we Know, the knowing which comes from the trance-like delta brain that happens when you are walking for so long. The mind no longer chatters, the heart rhythm and breath rhythm are all that is known and felt, and then flashes of insight or memory, and occasional flashes of Knowing come to you in those quiet moments, one foot in front of the other, almost numb now to the effort and pain it takes to keep moving. She wondered if he had one of those flashes of gnosis in those final weeks, because something in his demeanor had changed. He was not less resolved to move forward, but it was almost with a new found ease, perhaps a knowing this too would soon be over. And he was more quiet in his silence, almost too quiet. Maybe she, too, had known, and that’s why the silence hurt her so much.
By Annaliese Amundson5 years ago in Earth