What Would You Say to your Great, Great Grandchildren?

It’s easy to get caught up in the now. I’m one of those people that is so focused on the present or the past that I rarely even have time to consider the future.

Thanks to Desmog blog’s 100 Year Letter Project, I was challenged to write a letter to my great, great grandchildren about climate change. Hard task huh? I took a crack at it and I suggest readers do too! Please feel free to leave comments or share your own stories.

Greetings future offspring of my offspring’s offspring,

I write to you from a time of hope and some fear. My childhood was one filled with hikes or ‘explores’ with my father. I was able to spend hours of time playing in the woods and nearby streams while watching all kinds of wildlife. My father and mother instilled in me a love for nature that I carry with me.

I’m curious to know what your world is like. I hope that your parents have instilled in you the virtues that make you a caring and responsible individual. In my day, there were serious environmental issues that concerned me and inspired me to work at a non-profit that protects wildlife and the environment for your future. I just hope we’ve left you more than wildlife in the zoos and books. I hope you get to see animals running free while enjoying the outdoors.

Right now one of the biggest issues we are facing is global warming. Many of us are trying desperately to reduce our impact on the earth. Has your generation figured out how to benefit all members within an ecosystem with smarter consumer products? Are things biodegradable? We have stripped the land and–not to be dramatic–we’ve been very selfish without meaning to be.

I hope that your generation thinks beyond human uses for things and makes them not just sustainable but HELPFUL to other living organisms.

I know I sound worried and fearful, but you see, generations before me have overlooked very basic and important responsibilities to future generations, including the idea of a community. That is truly what the earth is, one functioning community. For too long, humans have overlooked the needs of the larger world and all things that don’t blatantly pertain to us. But the point is, they all pertain to us directly.

Anyway, before you worry about these questions I want you to leave my letter and step outside. Take a deep breath, smell the air, feel the wind, and know that this planet is your home. Really know it. Know that in my time, this was the only home we had. I hope that whatever I’ve left you with will be something as beautiful as what I was lucky to have. Because there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t try and make a better future for you by living responsibly today.

Love,
Granny Danny

What would you write to your great great grandkids?