Dear Alex and Vivian,

When I was a teenager I first crossed an Icefield with the Juneau Icefield Research Program. I had only camped once before, so this experience was formative. Traveling back last summer as faculty filled me with such joy. Then sadness registered. Valley walls showed the scrape of ice that once existed.

I won’t be paralyzed. The consequences of climate change are speeding forward affecting real people and wild spaces. I am your advocate for the world you deserve in my teaching and in our community. I will use these roles to help make change. This is my most important work.

Love,

Mom

Sarah Fortner
Associate Professor of Geology & Environmental Science
Wittenberg University

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Hi buddy,

I can now see that the solutions are there, that a transition of the magnitude that is needed, is possible.

Dear Tomorrow,

Love, help and build a future in unison that benefits and protects the whole world.

Dear Tomorrow,

I promise I will convince my family to switch their gas appliances to electric.

Future Self & Ka’iulani,

We promise to reduce the amount of carbon we use on a daily basis.

Hallo Clara,

Was wohl der Klimawandel im Jahr 2050 macht? und wer gerade in der Politik ist? Bei uns macht der Klimawandel gerade Vollgas und an der Macht ist Angela Merkel, seit 16 Jahren
What will climate change do in 2050? and who is in politics right now? Climate change is at full throttle here and Angela Merkel has been in power for 16 years.

Pick up your trash wherever you go!

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I promise I will encourage everyone to get OUT of their cars and onto public transit.

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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 future 82-year old me,

29 years later, I wish I still can ride bike and go some lovely places in nature. Sky is blue and air is fresh, I will be shining under the sun.

Filhota,

Espero de verdade saber contribuir para legá-la inteira para você, e que todos saibamos fazer isso em conjunto também.

To my darling ones,

And it’s not that I don’t care. I care deeply. For you three, and the families I hope you will have one day; for the many beautiful places I have had the privilege to know, places which take my breath away, that fill my heart with a bursting joy and connectedness to something so much greater than I, places I know may be quite different when you are my age

Dear tomorrow,

If there’s one thing young people have learned while quarantining, it’s that Gen Z holds so much power and is capable of a lot more than we think. We’ve created a community that has united us all and started to bring about change for the good of our futures. Now, with the help of Gen Z (and of course, people of all ages), we have the power to save our home, the Earth.

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