Dear Levon,

As I write this, it’s unbearably hot in my classroom. I am finishing my time as a public school teacher of six years for the DOE in one of the world’s biggest metropolises, NYC. A sprawling and dense city filled with eight million people and everything you’d need at any time. Fish caught in an ocean across the globe, coffee from Ethiopia, bananas from the tropics, a friendly soccer match any day, at any time, with a diverse mix of people (probably my favorite reason for living here). I realize typing this how insane that actually sounds. Things are so convenient here. But they come at a price.  Now, at this time, you know nothing of the complexity of global climate change and looming environmental consequences it will bring upon our planet and its people because you are only 10 months old. But as you read this, I hope the world’s community has made some cleaner and sustainable decisions. Surely, having been raised by two teacher parents, your science teacher father and history teacher mother, you’ve clearly heard (us) mostly me wax philosophical on climate issues. This warming effect is already causing harm, what’s more is that scientists suggest that by the time you’re reading this, severe environmental changes will be afoot. Perhaps irreversible. I hope, as your father, I’ve done enough to instill within you how science is a wonderful adventure and we as humans are a curious species but we often lack ability to predict our own impact on the world. More importantly I hope that you are better equipped to understand the complex issues we face as a society and can predict how your actions have effects. I’ll leave you with this unwritten law of Mother Nature, The Natural Law of Unintended Consequences, which states that you cannot change one thing in nature without having an effect on another. Keep this in mind as you carve your own path.

Love,

Your Dad