Christopher Manley's Letter

To all the children and young people that I love,

I want you to know that we really tried. To sound the alarm on climate change. Loads of us. Loads of us who knew that a planet fit for you who were coming afterwards was at risk. We tried to talk to large companies even though they were so obsessed with making profit that they often forgot about the damage it was causing. We tried to talk to politicians even as they talked about immediate economic growth more than future justice, happiness or sustainability. We tried to remind ourselves of how desperately important this was when, to confess, many of us were so busy with day-to-day things that sometimes we forgot all about years ahead. Did enough people wake up in time? Did companies and politicians change direction? Did we try hard enough? You will get to know the answer to that much more clearly than those of us no longer young will. We have hope, but we haven't got long left.