The beauty and majesty of the world of your childhood is as remarkable as the beauty and majesty of mine, but the fragility of your childhood world is so much greater.

I hope this year is a real turning point and by the time you’re a teenager, your life is powered almost entirely by clean energy like solar and wind.

Tonight at bedtime, you asked, seemingly out of nowhere, “why are the glaciers disappearing?”

And, if this summer has taught me anything, I am content (because I have to be) living in this limbo, this seemingly endless waiting for the opportunity to change, when really the opportunity exists within our very selves all along.

You are young and have a rich future ahead of you. I am retired and aiming for a high quality of cultural life and comfort with whatever time remains to me. I do not want to see a world whose elders sacrifice your future for their short-term needs and personal gain. So it’s up to you and me to speak out.

Luckily, we have figured out ways to build things without making the air dirty, and we are trying very hard to get more people to switch over to this new way as fast as we can.

Unfortunately, our selfishness and excessive greed have closed our eyes to the well-being of the planet, and it has suffered the consequences.

While there is still breath in this body I will give of my soul and my time and energy to making the world a better place, for you, and all the beautiful living beings of this world.