I know it’s long past time to wake up. You deserve a future in which drought, famine, and war are not all your children ever know; the choices my generation makes now will determine your future.

Sent on by
Ryan Swank
Send Your Own Message

Dear Kids,

I was born into a dream, but for most of my life I never knew I was dreaming. The misty promise of unlimited growth, of burning fuel indefinitely without consequence, of progress marching towards a bigger and brighter future has surrounded me for so long that I always took it to be true. During the time you’ve been alive the mist has parted in places revealing some nightmarish scenes: wildfires raging most of the year, Arctic sea ice melting away, coral reefs bleaching away to nothing. All the while the dream landscape tries to reform and assure me that all is well, just go back to sleep. Besides, who wants to wake up from a pleasant dream into a vivid nightmare?

However, I know it’s long past time to wake up. You deserve a future in which drought, famine, and war are not all your children ever know; the choices my generation makes (or doesn’t make) now will determine your future. A large part of the problem is the term “climate change” itself. It is a central part of the dream, lacking urgency and lulling us into inaction. Words matter, and I will start calling this nightmare by its true names: “climate negligence,” “climate sentence,” “climate cowardice,” and too many more to list. The time is short to build the infrastructure that will prevent my hopes and dreams for you from crumbling into dust, and every moment counts.

I hope that by the time you read this, the nightmare you were brought into will fade into a real and bright future. This future won’t be as gilded as the future promised to my generation growing up. However, the senseless waste of resources and life will be replaced with more thoughtful and grounded daily routines, and the wilted communities plugged into a single global culture will take root once again and flourish in all of their diversity and beauty. In short, I will do everything in my power to complete the metamorphosis of “climate change,” from the present “climate negligence” to a hard-fought movement toward “climate courage.”

Love,
Dad

Share on:
 
Send Your Own Message

More Messages to the Future

 

To all the people here on earth,

Who knows what the future would look like? or what will happened in the future? No one knows right? That’s why it it’s scary because we don’t know what lies ahead. We couldn’t stop the future but we can always change it.

 

Queridas filhas Ana Luísa e Ana Carla,

Que vocês possam contar para seus filhos e netos que minha geração tomou consciência de sua responsabilidade e assumiu sua condição de natureza e a ela se reintegrou, com inteligência, interação respeitosa e solidariedade.

 

Dear Tomorrow,

I promise to go DEEP GREEN

 

To the wonderful children of our family – Elayna, Julianna, and James –

There is no issue more important to your future and your friends’ future than stemming climate change.

 

To the Future Generations,

I look at my baby niece today. The newest member of our family, just 3 days old. What will be left for her and her grandchildren?

 

Dear Darlings,

I commit to you to change one thing a year in our lifestyle to live more environmentally friendly.

 

Fe,

As one push of a button can set a spinner in motion, so too can the actions of one in creating a world that allows you to thrive, to giggle, to love.

 

Dear Valentina & Luis,

You both know I have made it my mission to get people to understand more about the state of our planet‘s climate and what was at stake.

 

Dear Amara and Uma,

Maybe you heard about bats? Bats, the carriers of this disease that spread among us like wild fire. I love bats. When I was your age today, sitting in the evening on the back terrace of your grandparent’s home in Ibiza, hundreds of bats would play, dance and sing among the trees.

 

Dear Anabelle and Bruce,

My desire is for clean air, clean water, rich soil, and healthy nutritious food for you and all children always everywhere.

 

To the future generations,

I will stand on the streets, in the courts, and in the schools to encourage awareness and empathy for the earth.

 

Vitória,

Antes de realizar qualquer ação pense no meio ambiente para que suas atitudes sejam pautadas na sustentabilidade. Assim o seu pensar e agir localmente poderão resvalar na escala global.

View All Messages

Send Your Own Message