G,

Everybody tells me that you will grow up faster than I can imagine, and I can already see that is true in your first 2 years. Before I know it, you will be asking me and your mom about our lives before you, and not long after that I hope you will be asking us tough questions about our contribution to the world you are inheriting.

Someday sooner than I can imagine, I hope you ask me what I did about climate change. We are trying to raise you to be inquisitive, fair, fearless, and concerned about the world as a community, and concerned about making this world a little more just.

When you ask me this, I am afraid that I will not have an answer that will make you completely satisfied. In my personal life, I have tried to limit my own impact by not owning a car (even though you love cars :)), living in a city and relying on public transportation, not constantly buying the newest things, and re-using as much as possible. However, reducing the impact of climate change requires political solutions that I, and everyone else, need to create pressure to achieve.

When I decided to move into Public Health as a career, as a Master’s student the head of my department inspired me to focus my efforts on doing something to address the epidemic of HIV in Africa. He told our students that, in the early 2000s, HIV was the Public Health emergency of our time, and that looking back 20 or 30 years from now, all individuals moving into Public Health at this time should be expected to answer the question of what they did about the HIV epidemic. The message was simple: we know how to eliminate HIV, we just need the will to do so.

Climate change is more complicated than a single disease, because it effects everything that we see around us. But the bottom line is the same. We know how to reduce the acceleration of carbon going into the atmosphere, we just need the will to do so.

Before you were born, I can say that I really focused on my contribution to the climate change problem. With you now in my life, it is clear that I need to do more. What I can tell you is that during your childhood, I will do more than I have. I will support political leaders that take climate change seriously. I will participate in rallies in support of just climate change solutions. But perhaps most importantly, I will do my best to show you how important reducing the impact of climate change is, not just for you but for everyone in your shared world.

You are an incredibly special boy who amazes me every day. You will do amazing things in this world, pursue happiness, and make a contribution to this world that I cannot even predict. In 2020, you will be seven years old, in school and likely learning about climate change. Perhaps this will be the first time you will ask me what I did about it. I hope I can make you proud.

I love you,

your dad.

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More Messages to the Future

Dear Gabriel,

When the worst consequences of climate change still feel far away today, or the barriers to acting on climate change seem steep today, I do not think about today. I think about you, and your world when you are my age.

Dear Chay and Kate,

Don’t ever let anyone tell you your actions don’t matter. Every single thing you do matters. You matter.

Dear Birds,

will continue championing land preservation and the restoration of woodland, prairie and wetland habitats. I will not stop advocating for “bird friendly” legislation to make cities safer for your passage.

To older Rochelle,

You should’ve reduced your carbon footprint, should be using some source of renewable energy and be a vegetarian by now.

Dear Tomorrow,

Don’t use plastic straws!

My Dear Grandchildren,

In writing this letter to you, I am searching for ways to make my connection and commitment to you more present in my current experience

To My Future Children,

Most importantly, I hope you live in a world where science is taken seriously and fact is clearly distinguished from fiction.

Querida Tainah,

Quero que você beba água pura, coma alimentos sem agrotóxicos e que sua casinha branca com varanda, seja voltada para o leste, onde o sol vai nascer.

Meus filhos,

Espero que vcs tb encontrem ,de alguma forma,um caminho para colaborarem com Nossa Mãe Terra, bjs eternos.

Dear Sadie,

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.

Dear Tomorrow,

I promise to drive less and walk more.

To the generation after mine,

But when you encounter that resistance–and you will, regularly–know that you must respond just how we have had to these past 50 years. With love, and sternness, and most of all, courage. Because that is what the resistance fears the most. We who came before you promise that we will do the same while we wait for you. Know that you will never be alone.

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