Daniel 's Letter

To my daughter Martha,

I hope by 2030 the leaders of our political systems will realise that climate change is real. I hope in particular that we in the UK will have the courage to no longer vote for the self-centred and spineless leaders who currently sit in our councils, in our Mayoral offices, in parliament (on both sides of the House of Commons) and the House of Lords. Because these people are unlike most of us. Most of us, I think, are actually OK! But the people who are making bad and short sighted decisions are chosen by us, the voters.

I hope that we become less self-centred, less vicious to each other. No more abuse on public transport, pushing people out of the way, shouting at shop workers, being rude to anyone who is not like the little group to which we feel we belong. Perhaps we will at last respect difference, of all sorts, and see the person behind their skin, their gender, or their clothing. Perhaps we might help each other a little more, take care of our neighbours, smile at each other when we pass each other in the street. Say thank you more and mean it, give little gifts of wild flowers or a home made cake to people we care for. Perhaps we might value the care worker, the postal worker, and the teacher more than the footballer or the celebrity actor or the website designer.

And I hope that this new compassion might be contagious, that we not only care for each other but all our friends in the non-human world, bacteria, archaea, fungi, lichen, algae, flowers and birds and all the wonderful invertebrates. I hope there will be more places for them in 2030, with wild spaces in hospital grounds, schools, outside offices and on pavements. I hope that our farming methods become more humane with more space for nature and more compassion in our farming of animals.

I hope in 2030 we will travel less but see more, and consume less but feel full inside. And by loving our non-human friends we will love ourselves more too.