Humanity’s endangered, so let’s take a tip from the penguins

May 16, 2026 — 7:30am

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Imagine 500 years from now. How would historians describe the world in 2026?

We had access to more information than any civilisation in history and used it to quarrel with strangers on platforms owned by hairless billionaires who’d monetised misery, vanity and emotional instability. We had unprecedented scientific data and used it to deny climate change and perfect plastic surgery techniques.

We built an economic system that prospered from oil spills, war, cancer, gambling addiction and mental health crises – but didn’t consider human or environmental health. We invented social media and it promptly addicted us, surveilled us, radicalised us, destroyed our attention spans and gave children eating disorders.

Every few years, millions of people would gather in school halls to vote for a few very similar-looking men to lead the country. Then, voters would spend subsequent years ignoring politics, watching reality TV, and listening to male podcast hosts discuss protein supplements and whether women’s rights were ruining civilisation.

Children were starving and – though we had the ability to stop that – we chose not to. And a very small number of individuals accumulated more wealth than entire nations, then used it to purchase yachts, media companies, private space programs and, often, the political system itself.

‘They ain’t seen nothing yet’: UN boss names climate change impacts coming to Australia

Humans are unique. Not in the impressive way, like an octopus changing colour, but in the way a person clipping their toenails on a public bus is........

© WA Today