A Letter To Tomorrow: Hope (And Fleetwood Mac)
Dear Tomorrow,
To quote one of my all-time favorite songs, “don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.” I’m not sure Fleetwood Mac intended an environmental undertone for this song, though it’s not lost on me when I hear it. Either way, they are right — we absolutely must not stop thinking about tomorrow. No matter what we’re doing, who we are, where we live — tomorrow should be on our minds when it comes to our actions and decisions, because today affects tomorrow. And, as we’ve been seeing the climate crisis rear its ugly head, lots of todays of the past are impacting the tomorrows of today … get it?
I hope this letter reaches Tomorrow, and that the Tomorrow of 2050 looks much different than Today. As an envirophile, eco-nut, treehugger, crunchy-granola-hippie, I hope my worst fears (and statistical probabilities) have not been realized by the time this letter is read. I hope we’ve been able to right the ship, to keep it from sinking, even if it’s still a little tilted to one side.
I hope people have finally heard scientists’, environmentalists’, everyday people’s cries for help, the sounding of alarms, their calls for reason, logic, fact-facing — and we have finally started changing our mindsets, habits, and lives. For too long our society has fostered a consumerist, every-man-for-himself, I-want-what-I-want-when-I-want-it ideology. This has created a list of problems for the planet (and its inhabitants, including us) that is heartbreakingly long.
If things are not better, if things are going the way we fear and have already started actualizing (sea level rise, food and drinking water shortages, species extinctions, extreme storms, drought, etc., etc., etc.), please know we (scientists, environmentalists, everyday people) tried. We are still trying, and we won’t give up, despite the daunting list of obstacles we’re facing.
Currently, as we stare into the precipice of the future from the first few weeks of 2021, many (but not enough) of us are doing our utmost to address the climate crisis in the ways we are able: attempting a zero-waste lifestyle, eating less (or zero) meat, rethinking and researching which products we buy and which companies we support, ditching our gas-powered cars for electric vehicles or bicycles. We’re listening, re-thinking, and taking action for Tomorrow. I hope our efforts are not in vain.
I sincerely hope things are looking up by 2050 — preferably sooner. For things to improve by then, we have to take action immediately, as we’re already behind schedule to keep this ship upright.
My promises to Tomorrow: I promise to find new ways to make a difference, to keep learning, to keep striving for better, not perfect. I promise to keep sharing the reality of the climate crisis far and wide, and encourage those in my community to act and make changes. I promise to keep my chin up, to not be deterred by the obstacles and the naysayers. I promise to keep enjoying and admiring this spectacularly wondrous and awe-inspiring planet’s natural wonders — its oceans, forests, mountains, deserts, and inhabitants — while it’s still relatively in tact. I promise to help others understand the necessity of these natural wonders and resources. I promise to stay optimistic and realistic, and to keep up the belief that every little step counts. I promise to keep trying.
“It’ll be better than before,” Fleetwood Mac reminds us in the chorus of the song. So, when you, Tomorrow of 2050, are here and better than before, I’ll be flooded with relief, gratitude, and amazement for the efforts we made to right the ship. Until then, “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.”
(And don’t stop dancing to Fleetwood Mac).
With Hope and Gratitude,
Danielle Garland
Communication & Development Manager at CleanTechnica
The CleanTechnica team was inspired to write Letters to Tomorrow by this Dear Tomorrow project.
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