We screwed up: A letter of apology to my granddaughter
We screwed up: A letter of apology to my granddaughter
Chip Ward, TomDispatch
http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2012-03-27/we-screwed-letter-apology-my-granddaughter
"I wrote the following letter to my granddaughter, Madeline, who is almost four years old. Although she cannot read it today, I hope she will read it in a future that proves so much better than the one that is probable, and so terribly unfair. I'm sharing this letter with other parents and grandparents in the hope that it may move them to embrace their roles as citizens and commit to the hard work of making the planet viable, the economy equitable, and our culture democratic for the many Madelines to come."
........"March 20, 2012
Dear Maddie,
I address this letter to you, but please share it with Jack, Tasiah, and other grandchildren who are yet unborn. Also, with your children and theirs. My unconditional love for my children and grandchildren convinces me that, if I could live long enough to embrace my great-grandchildren, I would love them as deeply as I love you.
On behalf of my generation of grandparents to all of you, I want to apologize.
I am sorry we used up all the oil. It took a million years for those layers of carbon goo to form under the Earth’s crust and we used up most of it in a geological instant. No doubt there will be some left and perhaps you can get around the fact that what remains is already distant, dirty, and dangerous, but the low-hanging fruit will be long-gone by the time you are my age. We took it all.".......
= new reply since forum marked as read
grammy was like you and I will always miss her. 
I'm not a grandma, that was a quote from someone who is a grandparent, but I wish there were more people like you and your grammy because she sounds like she was a wonderful, far-seeing person. You can just feel the sorrow the writer has in putting down those words. I worry about all the children who will have to watch as nations are decimated for oil, water, and whatever resources we have left. It's stunning how much we've wasted with no thought of all those who will have to some day do without what we took for granted. We were selfish, the author is correct in offering that apology.
For you and your grammy.
