New visitors to the chronicles from the future may first wish to visit the past, by reading the earlier hologramletters. (see the older listings on the right, go to the bottom and click the link to the earlier hologramletters)
NOTE The following is an adaptation from the soon to be released book ‘Letters From 2030’. To register interest on its release, or to order a copy email Bob Williamson via this link.
What was it about memories that he found so hard? After all, there were many happy times to remember and these were as clear through the memory screens as those of the destruction and chaos that had taken place in the years after 2025.
Rosa’s letter, the day before had given him much to think about. Unlike him in the dimming twilight of his years, she was still only in her early 40’s. He had made a difference for her and where she had focused her life’s work. She at least had taken up the cause after reading the book in 2009.
Hers was another voice added to the parade of concern to the politicians at that time. But they, with their vested self interests and in the pockets of the powerful, succeeded in blindfolding the public from the inevitable outcome of living life with complacency.
How did they sit there each day in front of their plasma screen televisions and watch the deaths of millions from lack of clean drinking water? Did they know that to produce each New York Yankees T-shirt took 550 gallons of water; and their designer label jeans they wore back then, consumed enough to save hundreds from dieing of thirst at 2,390 gallons for a single pair of jeans? How many pairs hung in the wardrobes of those that did not need them?
Who knows now what was in the thoughts and in the minds and in the hearts, of those that could have made a difference; made a change?
He set his thoughts on happier memories. Today he must return to hope. There is still much to do, still much to contribute; still much to fight for.
The incoming transmission light flickered to life…………Life was still struggling to keep a foothold for the future, albeit for the future of a few, not billions. They were gone and the family of man was worst for their passing.
It was the smiling face of Suzanne that now greeted him.........
Bob,
I've been spending some time these last few days reflecting on the past. Lost in my thoughts, I found myself turning to your book, "Zero Greenhouse Emissions: The Day the Lights Went Out" for, in my own way, comfort and solace -- it was there for me as always, waiting quietly on my desk to be picked up and read yet again. You wrote something that even then was a question constantly growing and becoming at that time, almost an inescapable image of desolation at what the future held in my mind. As I started to read these first few words I knew there was hope; "Much of what has been written about man’s activities and their impact on the environment and atmosphere has been put in terms that the common man has had some difficulty understanding." I wanted to learn so much more, it became an insatiable quest for knowledge about what could be done to UNdo man's indiscretions, desecration and consumption of the earth's finite resources; to, as you said, "undo the errors of the past practices." I was struggling back then to process and understand all I was learning, becoming frustrated at the turn of every page, search of website after website, by terminology and scientific reports.
It was this very moment I knew I had found my way... enlightened with the understanding I'd been so desperately searching for. Over a decade of anxieties washed away as I read the introduction and those opening words. I started from the beginning as I always do, got to your paragraph about "the throwaway society we have [had] designed for ourselves, which has the potential to leave [left as we know now] a very negative outcome for future generations" - I had to laugh out loud remembering a discussion we had when our "brat pack" was doing the voice conferencing calls. I know you'll remember it, discussing our throwaway society was always a heated topic, especially the packaging. One item we all despised was the damned plastic bags! Don't worry I won't get in my soapbox about them today...
He laughed and said out loud ‘Ah yes; and I remember how shocked you were when I told you there were and estimated 11billion plastic bags used around the world every day. With over 14 billion used every year in the United States alone. What we could have done for the cause to enlighten people back then, if the $4 billion that the retailers in the US spent on giving away free plastic bags had been available to us? I remember your sadness too when I told you that in each square mile of ocean; there were an estimated 46,000 pieces of plastic causing the deaths of 100,000 marine animals each year.’
He pondered then as he did now ….why were we so thoughtless and why did we think our children would act any differently with the example we had set for them by our actions?
Reflecting on so many things from back then, the facts were all there. They were clear even in the 1980s, 90s and blatantly prominent in the early 2000s; yet the politicians, corporations, and most people in nations around the world at that time refused to listen. Like so many other issues, they didn't want to admit there was a problem. The few who would refused to take action; the even fewer that were taking action did not get the support they needed to make a difference. Still the same question screams out at me -- Why??? They knew it was important, they just didn't feel it was significant enough! If any of those politicians survived... do they think there's significance now???
I wonder if you remember this quote from a movie back then: "These past few weeks have left us all with a profound sense of humility in the face of nature's destructive power. For years we operated under the belief that we could continue consuming our planet's natural resources without consequence. We were wrong." That movie was supposed to be fiction -- now it's fact -- and happened almost as fast as it did in the movie. They were trying to send the message about climate change, but again, it was just a movie - things don't really happen like they do in the movies... or do they??? I used to cry every time I watched it, not because it was sad, but because I wanted so desperately for people to wake up and see the reality of the world we were living in and make the changes we needed - before it was too late.
It reminds me of science classes when I was in school, was anyone really paying attention? We had to learn it, we had to pass the course to get our credits and graduate so we could go to college or move on in life. Why did so few not feel it was important?
When I was a girl, my Dad worked for the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and one of the things he was responsible for as Chief of the FSS was monitoring weather and regular meteorology updates. When I was 16 I went to work at the FSS (Flight Service Station) with him doing some light secretarial work. He had me filing and coordinating reports, and as he knew I would, I began reading them and asking questions... what did this mean? why would this be needed? how does this affect us? I was always asking questions...
Dad taught us the value in reusing, recycling, nurturing the earth; we always had gardens for fresh vegetables and fruits, a compost pile where we recycled biodegradable waste and enriched the soil in future seasons - we were "ahead of our time" so to speak. Dad really knew how important it was to respect and care for nature, and how Mother Nature would do her best in different situations to try and bring balance where there was unrest - he instilled that knowledge in me. Mom would shake her head and smile when we would talk about storms sometimes late at night, watching the lightening through the windows. I used to ask how long the storm was going to last, he would tell me that Mother Nature will keep the storm going until it's course has helped the area She was working on to regain balance. It was funny (odd) to me when I heard that same reference mentioned in the beginning of that movie - do you remember it yet? - but when the changes occur faster than Mother Nature can balance, more drastic results occur - just as in the movie and in a matter of days the world was thrown into another ice age - what have we thrown ourselves into here?
I cherish my reflections, times looking back, it means I'm able to be here and continue to try to help Mother Nature to heal. So many before us had tried in vain to demonstrate to the world the 'storm' that would come, that would only continue to worsen until nature could find its balance once again - no matter what the consequence to changes in the face of the earth, the shifts of the polar caps, the ice shelves breaking off into the oceans, ice bridges collapsing into the seas. Even in 2009 when we were screaming to the world to wake up and make changes, the what seemed to me more sudden and vastly increasing in number reports of the collapses - it was everywhere in the news feeds, all the reports you shared with me, and you taught me about the greenhouse gas emissions levels that were already far exceeded to those which had been predicted in the years and decades before. Still "they" didn't listen, still we continued to plead.
Against all odds, and in the face of extreme adversity, humanity has survived, though exponentially reduced in population, we are still here.
Today as with every day that I awaken and still have breath in my lungs, there is still cause for hope, optimism, and simply, to smile. I am still here, still with the will and determination thru even my own solitude to continue to reach out and enlighten those who remain, to share what we have learned and to make a difference.
We are here for a reason Bob, and that reason comes with a purpose. We must continue with the spirit and dedication to life - for us - for our children - and our children's children, and on and on.
There is still hope in this heart...
He paused the hologram and fixated on the image on his screen. As she always had, Suzanne continued to smile, not only with her expression on her face, but with the sparkle of her eyes you knew it was in her heart - ever the optimist. Bob too found himself smiling as he resumed the transmission...
I know my dear friend in time our beloved earth will heal. Let's continue our work and help Mother Nature!
As always ~ ever in friendship,
Suzanne
There was a true crusader for Mother Earth…………… she would be there; still fighting and still with hope.
Rosa’s letter, the day before had given him much to think about. Unlike him in the dimming twilight of his years, she was still only in her early 40’s. He had made a difference for her and where she had focused her life’s work. She at least had taken up the cause after reading the book in 2009.
Hers was another voice added to the parade of concern to the politicians at that time. But they, with their vested self interests and in the pockets of the powerful, succeeded in blindfolding the public from the inevitable outcome of living life with complacency.
How did they sit there each day in front of their plasma screen televisions and watch the deaths of millions from lack of clean drinking water? Did they know that to produce each New York Yankees T-shirt took 550 gallons of water; and their designer label jeans they wore back then, consumed enough to save hundreds from dieing of thirst at 2,390 gallons for a single pair of jeans? How many pairs hung in the wardrobes of those that did not need them?
Who knows now what was in the thoughts and in the minds and in the hearts, of those that could have made a difference; made a change?
He set his thoughts on happier memories. Today he must return to hope. There is still much to do, still much to contribute; still much to fight for.
The incoming transmission light flickered to life…………Life was still struggling to keep a foothold for the future, albeit for the future of a few, not billions. They were gone and the family of man was worst for their passing.
It was the smiling face of Suzanne that now greeted him.........
Bob,
I've been spending some time these last few days reflecting on the past. Lost in my thoughts, I found myself turning to your book, "Zero Greenhouse Emissions: The Day the Lights Went Out" for, in my own way, comfort and solace -- it was there for me as always, waiting quietly on my desk to be picked up and read yet again. You wrote something that even then was a question constantly growing and becoming at that time, almost an inescapable image of desolation at what the future held in my mind. As I started to read these first few words I knew there was hope; "Much of what has been written about man’s activities and their impact on the environment and atmosphere has been put in terms that the common man has had some difficulty understanding." I wanted to learn so much more, it became an insatiable quest for knowledge about what could be done to UNdo man's indiscretions, desecration and consumption of the earth's finite resources; to, as you said, "undo the errors of the past practices." I was struggling back then to process and understand all I was learning, becoming frustrated at the turn of every page, search of website after website, by terminology and scientific reports.
It was this very moment I knew I had found my way... enlightened with the understanding I'd been so desperately searching for. Over a decade of anxieties washed away as I read the introduction and those opening words. I started from the beginning as I always do, got to your paragraph about "the throwaway society we have [had] designed for ourselves, which has the potential to leave [left as we know now] a very negative outcome for future generations" - I had to laugh out loud remembering a discussion we had when our "brat pack" was doing the voice conferencing calls. I know you'll remember it, discussing our throwaway society was always a heated topic, especially the packaging. One item we all despised was the damned plastic bags! Don't worry I won't get in my soapbox about them today...
He laughed and said out loud ‘Ah yes; and I remember how shocked you were when I told you there were and estimated 11billion plastic bags used around the world every day. With over 14 billion used every year in the United States alone. What we could have done for the cause to enlighten people back then, if the $4 billion that the retailers in the US spent on giving away free plastic bags had been available to us? I remember your sadness too when I told you that in each square mile of ocean; there were an estimated 46,000 pieces of plastic causing the deaths of 100,000 marine animals each year.’
He pondered then as he did now ….why were we so thoughtless and why did we think our children would act any differently with the example we had set for them by our actions?
Reflecting on so many things from back then, the facts were all there. They were clear even in the 1980s, 90s and blatantly prominent in the early 2000s; yet the politicians, corporations, and most people in nations around the world at that time refused to listen. Like so many other issues, they didn't want to admit there was a problem. The few who would refused to take action; the even fewer that were taking action did not get the support they needed to make a difference. Still the same question screams out at me -- Why??? They knew it was important, they just didn't feel it was significant enough! If any of those politicians survived... do they think there's significance now???
I wonder if you remember this quote from a movie back then: "These past few weeks have left us all with a profound sense of humility in the face of nature's destructive power. For years we operated under the belief that we could continue consuming our planet's natural resources without consequence. We were wrong." That movie was supposed to be fiction -- now it's fact -- and happened almost as fast as it did in the movie. They were trying to send the message about climate change, but again, it was just a movie - things don't really happen like they do in the movies... or do they??? I used to cry every time I watched it, not because it was sad, but because I wanted so desperately for people to wake up and see the reality of the world we were living in and make the changes we needed - before it was too late.
It reminds me of science classes when I was in school, was anyone really paying attention? We had to learn it, we had to pass the course to get our credits and graduate so we could go to college or move on in life. Why did so few not feel it was important?
When I was a girl, my Dad worked for the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and one of the things he was responsible for as Chief of the FSS was monitoring weather and regular meteorology updates. When I was 16 I went to work at the FSS (Flight Service Station) with him doing some light secretarial work. He had me filing and coordinating reports, and as he knew I would, I began reading them and asking questions... what did this mean? why would this be needed? how does this affect us? I was always asking questions...
Dad taught us the value in reusing, recycling, nurturing the earth; we always had gardens for fresh vegetables and fruits, a compost pile where we recycled biodegradable waste and enriched the soil in future seasons - we were "ahead of our time" so to speak. Dad really knew how important it was to respect and care for nature, and how Mother Nature would do her best in different situations to try and bring balance where there was unrest - he instilled that knowledge in me. Mom would shake her head and smile when we would talk about storms sometimes late at night, watching the lightening through the windows. I used to ask how long the storm was going to last, he would tell me that Mother Nature will keep the storm going until it's course has helped the area She was working on to regain balance. It was funny (odd) to me when I heard that same reference mentioned in the beginning of that movie - do you remember it yet? - but when the changes occur faster than Mother Nature can balance, more drastic results occur - just as in the movie and in a matter of days the world was thrown into another ice age - what have we thrown ourselves into here?
I cherish my reflections, times looking back, it means I'm able to be here and continue to try to help Mother Nature to heal. So many before us had tried in vain to demonstrate to the world the 'storm' that would come, that would only continue to worsen until nature could find its balance once again - no matter what the consequence to changes in the face of the earth, the shifts of the polar caps, the ice shelves breaking off into the oceans, ice bridges collapsing into the seas. Even in 2009 when we were screaming to the world to wake up and make changes, the what seemed to me more sudden and vastly increasing in number reports of the collapses - it was everywhere in the news feeds, all the reports you shared with me, and you taught me about the greenhouse gas emissions levels that were already far exceeded to those which had been predicted in the years and decades before. Still "they" didn't listen, still we continued to plead.
Against all odds, and in the face of extreme adversity, humanity has survived, though exponentially reduced in population, we are still here.
Today as with every day that I awaken and still have breath in my lungs, there is still cause for hope, optimism, and simply, to smile. I am still here, still with the will and determination thru even my own solitude to continue to reach out and enlighten those who remain, to share what we have learned and to make a difference.
We are here for a reason Bob, and that reason comes with a purpose. We must continue with the spirit and dedication to life - for us - for our children - and our children's children, and on and on.
There is still hope in this heart...
He paused the hologram and fixated on the image on his screen. As she always had, Suzanne continued to smile, not only with her expression on her face, but with the sparkle of her eyes you knew it was in her heart - ever the optimist. Bob too found himself smiling as he resumed the transmission...
I know my dear friend in time our beloved earth will heal. Let's continue our work and help Mother Nature!
As always ~ ever in friendship,
Suzanne
There was a true crusader for Mother Earth…………… she would be there; still fighting and still with hope.
Posts
Bravo! What a great inspirational piece and also a bit of auto-biography. A great tribute to the fine people I know as the #bratpack who inspire me and put a fire in me to feel more, to listen more, and to make more change in my own life in regards to caring for our world. I look at the pieces of plastic that float through my household differently now. . . I don't always know what to do or where to put it or how to avoid it, but I care more than I ever have before. I pause more before and after a purchase wondering if there is a product that I should reconsider purchasing or if I could find it in a different type of packaging. I look at my habits and daily consumption more critically. I am thinking about how as a family we can put better practices into place to reduce our carbon footprint. These things were not really on my mind before I met you. I have always "respected" the earth, cherished it in my own way, and shuttered at the thoughts of rainforests lost and species vanishing. I have honestly never before put my feelings into action until I met you all. Now, I am still searching the best ways to do it, but I am making better choices and learning more, speaking out more, and finding myself feeling the urgency.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much!
I can only hope that I will be able to make you all proud in my efforts to make change in the days, weeks and months ahead as I take this issue deeper and deeper into my heart.
With love,
Amy Kiel(@Abeeliever)
A very good posting. The Pacific Gyre is an area that should be noticed as well. This large whirlpool in the ocean is loaded with plastic bags, a rather sad reality. Also note that the grandules, pellets, used in the manufacturing of plastics are now found all over the globe.
ReplyDeletewww.algalita.org/pdf/plastic-in-the-environment.pdf
www.algalita.org/documents/FAQs.pdf
www.wiserearth.org/article/bea19ef898eca1e2c820690bf8d22640
earthfirst.com/the-pacific-ocean-gyre-a-huge-swirling-mass-of-sadness-and-plastic
For studies, type in Pacific Gyre plastic in your search engine, the list goes on and on, regrettably
Amy; to have had the opportunity to reach out and make a difference in your life and the way that you look to yourself to be a more conscious and caring citizen of our shared planet is for me the achievement of my goal and vision.
ReplyDeleteWe are but single individuals going our own way in a busy world, but we seldom consider how we are all linked to the future. We now have one more person; you, join as a fellow traveller on the road to a safer future; I and the Foundation feel privileged to have crossed your path.
Bob Williamson
Part of this fiction is based upon an event called the Big Thunder. This is where due to the maulins in the Greenland Ice Sheet, a sonic disruption causes the Sheet to crack up and rush into the ocean.
ReplyDeleteOf extreme importance in the near future, a pusher of climate change, will the devastation of peat bogs and wetlands upon the planet. This along with the defrosting of the tundra.
Here are a couple of site that can give insight into driver.
www.unep.org
www.wetland.org
I can't help but to feel a connection with this because it does seem so surreal. Reading this letter I beleive the writer actually experienced these things. I know that this is supposed to be fiction, but I think that it's also fiction based on and mixed with fact and may become something like it even if we are able to make changes so that it's not as bad as it could be down the road.
ReplyDeleteI believe the movie referred to in this is The Day After Tomorrow, great movie with a message that needs to be heard, just like this blog.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteIt warms my heart more than I can express here to know that we have touched your life and instilled the desire to do more for your family and your children. Blessings and thanks to you for taking this turn in your life ~ we're all in this together ~ and I for one am truly honored to call you friend, and sister in life.
Suzanne
The way you all, "the brat pack" have inspired me, is more than can be described, and it will spill over into other people's lives. My spouse, my children, friends, other family members, will all see us trying to make smarter choices and caring more for this precious planet. It is a blessing to have been "touched" by you angels and to be called your friend and sister. To say I am grateful is an enormous understatement.
ReplyDeleteBless you all and thank you,
Amy