What it could be like

The summer air is clear with the scent of pine needles and damp soil blowing on the warm July breeze. It’s hot out, but the predictable type that people had last year, and the year before, not the crazy record heat that makes people stay indoors with the AC at max for the whole day.

To the west, local firefighters are doing routine maintenance and hosting town barbecues instead of fighting through thick smoke and dangerous fires, thanks to the winter snow melting slowly in the spring and well into the summer. There are still fires, but they are smaller, much less frequent, and help the environment by naturally getting rid of dead plants.

Ever since ocean temperatures stabilized, marine life has been thriving without the looming threat of entire ecosystems collapsing, and fishermen steadily bring home catches, just like they have been for generations. The coast’s people move forward knowing completely well that they won’t be affected because of a rise in water temperatures.

Far, far north, the desert of snow remains silent and peaceful. Glaciers haven’t fully melted, keeping cargo ships on their usual path, leaving animals to do stuff naturally without pollution. Ice and snow do their job, reflecting heat from the sun back into space.

In this world, life is still fairly similar to what we have right now. Kids still go to school, and grown-ups still go to work, but the invisible danger of global warming is now gone. What would be near catastrophic has already been solved decades ago, and that is what is the real miracle.