04.2020 HOW WE SAVED THE WORLDHOW WE LOST THE PLANET An Optimist’s Guide to Life on Earth in 2070A Pessimist’s Guide to Life on Earth in 2070Long live our national parks. For years, Subaru owners have found adventure in our national parks. That is why Subaru is the National Park Foundation’s largest corporate supporter, providing nearly $20 million to preserve the adventure that brings us together for generations to come. We do it because it’s the right thing to do. Subaru is a registered trademark. Vehicle shown with accessory equipment.It’s what makes us more than a car company. BY SUSAN GOLDBERGWHAT LIES AHEAD FOR THE PLANET?EARTH DAY 2070 dangerous impacts of climate change,” Kolbert writes, “but then you might stop reading.” She sees no evidence that we will address those and other threats fast enough to keep them from over- whelming us and the natural world. It’s impossible to know who is right. The stories in this issue reflect diver- gent realities. When I read about the young people taking charge of the envi- ronmental movement, I feel buoyed. Then I see Pete Muller’s photos of a scarred landscape we will never get back. What I do know is that it is our job to provide a factual framework for what is happening, documentary photog- raphy about what is forever changed and what we can save, and information to help empower all of us to make a difference. Thank you for reading National Geographic. jTHE SAYING IS SO WELL KNOWN that most of us can finish the sentence: Those who cannot remember the past … … are condemned to repeat it. It’s a fitting reminder this month as we mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. For the occasion, we’ve created the first ever “flip” issue of National Geographic—essentially two maga- zines in one—to revisit environmental milestones of the past half century and to look ahead at the world our descen- dants will inhabit in 2070, on Earth Day’s 100th anniversary. Two scenarios emerge. On the magazine cover just before this page, there’s a verdant Earth. Wel- come to the optimistic view of writer Emma Marris, who sees a world that is changed—we cannot undo some dam- age we have done—but one in which technologies will be harnessed to “feed a larger population, provide energy for all, begin to reverse climate change, and prevent most extinctions,” Marris writes. “The public desire for action is bursting forth on the streets ... Just as in 1970, the electric crackle of cul- tural change is once again in the air. I believe we will build a good 2070.” Next, turn the magazine over, to the side with the browner Earth. Eliz- abeth Kolbert looks to a new normal of “sunny-day flooding,” when high tide will send water gushing across low- lying U.S. coastal cities, and most atolls will be uninhabitable. This is the world of longer droughts, dead- lier heat waves, fiercer storms, and more. “I could go on and on listing the APRIL | FROM THE EDITOR 04.202004.2020HOW WE SAVED THE WORLDHOW WE LOST THE PLANETEARTH DAY 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ISSUE An Optimist’s Guide to Life on Earth in 2070 EARTH DAY 2070 04.2020EARTH DAY 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ISSUE NOT READY TO GIVE UP? HOW WE SAVED THE WORLDA Pessimist’s Guide to Life on Earth in 2070 NOT FEELING SO CONFIDENT? HOW WE LOST THE PLANET