Task 2A: Man-made climate change and ecological disasters

Here we will focus on Task 2A. You are asked to read Margaret Atwood's short story “Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet”. Then, you are asked to discuss the causes behind the development Margaret Atwood describes.

In what follows, we will outline the short story.

Outline: “Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet”

The short story is structured in five parts, each part being connected to a specific age. The five ages are carefully described in what seems to be a message left for the future generations in a time capsule.

In the first part, the author describes the first stage of mankind’s development. She describes the humans’ passion for Gods and the communication between the two.

The second part of the short story is dedicated to the creation of money. In this part, the author explains the hypnotizing power of money and the ways money was used to obtain almost everything in the world.

In the third part of the short story, the writer describes the way in which money became a god. She describes the disasters brought by humans worshiping money and all the suffering it brought in the world.

The fourth part describes the creation of deserts, used for the further industrialization of life. Here, the author talks about greed and the desperate desire for more and more money. Deserts were also places of contemplation used by the wise; they were, apparently, the only sacred places in a world bound to destroy itself.

The last part of the short story i...