The world is not fully on fire yet, so I am crying instead of sobbing over machine-dried, vacuum-sealed seeds of Philippine rice resting in Norway's Global Seed Vault. I read the news article underneath a fleece quilt that barely quells the Australian winter outside my apartment. My family often tells me that Philippine seasons have been hotter than ever; harrowing heatwaves give way to humid typhoons. Their words make it frighteningly easy to picture our home crumbling from permutations of natural disaster. When the time comes, at least our survivors can gather up north, rice-pot steam warming their fingers.
Andrea Salvador is a Filipino writer. She studied psychology and the history and philosophy of science at the University of Melbourne.