Essays

As we draw closer to 2030, the chilling reality of the climate crisis becomes ever more evident. Our planet’s ecological systems are collapsing under the weight of unchecked human activity. Recent events, such as the devastating wildfires in California in January 2025, serve as harrowing examples of the toll climate change is taking. With every wildfire, flood, and heatwave, we inch closer to a tipping point where the damage may become irreversible.

Unbearable Heatwaves: The New Normal

By 2030, extreme heatwaves will no longer be outliers.

In today’s fast‑paced world, where even affluent families often struggle with turbulent home environments, an unsettling reality emerges: countless children are deprived of the nurturing, peaceful upbringing essential to their holistic development. Too many youngsters are forced to shoulder adult responsibilities—mediating family conflicts, absorbing the emotional fallout of parental discord, and sacrificing academic and creative pursuits—all while society tacitly accepts these conditions as inevitable. This editorial explores a radical yet increasingly discussed proposal: the licensing of parents.

In the flickering light of history, there are moments when the cruelest of truths lie buried beneath layers of survival, ambition, and the desperate need to control. Much like the coral reefs at the bottom of the sea—once vibrant in their swampy origins—they now serve as silent witnesses to the erosion caused by a changing world. In the distant past, when humanity first began to settle and form communities, there were swamps, bogs, and deep recesses in nature’s design. These waters, teeming with life, once provided a cradle for these magnificent reefs, but as time passed, the world shifted, leaving these creatures buried beneath sediment, forgotten in time. The stories of the swamped coral reefs remind us of something equally painful: the slow and steady suffocation of one’s sense of self when the environment around you is toxic and neglectful.