An open letter and petition to the Elders of the world:

Contents

An open letter and petition to the Elders of the world:

            There is a growing consensus among the mainstream scientific community that we are crossing the threshold of the climate crisis tipping point. That tipping point is not ten years from now, it is not five years from now. That critical point is in the next 12-15 months. New data has shown that climate change has accelerated years faster than previous projections.  Past 15 months from now this world will be so polluted with carbon dioxide emissions there will be no turning back and the planet will be unable to sustain life as we know it or possibly sustain humanity at all.

            We are out of time.

            Nobody wants to destroy this planet. Despite many political and cultural differences we all love the planet and want to preserve it. For those of you that say climate change is not real; are you willing to take that chance? The potential consequences of ignoring such a dire predicament are too expensive to put this issue aside.

Many have spoken of their witness to a restlessness and subtle shift in the youth of the world. This restlessness is the beginnings of a revolution. The first thing we must do is stop ALL coal fired power plants.

            The youth of the world are calling conferences and organizing coalitions beginning February 26, 2009. We, the youth are discussing strategy, organizing demonstrations, getting contact information, forming coalitions, and doing what preceding generations have failed to do. Those of us coming out of universities the world over are not the most spoiled generation. We are the generation of visionaries. We will make the difficult choices our elders have failed to make.

            The number of 350 parts per million has been thrown around. This goal is inadequate. All carbon emissions must be cut by 95 percent immediately if humanity is to survive. The oceans are absorbing carbon as quickly as they can but it is causing permanent damage, extinction of coral and plankton and innumerable other species.

Dear Elders, why have you hoarded and absorbed and destroyed our most precious resources? How can you with any moral conscience, live so recklessly and allow corporate profit to take precedence over our future? You have squandered your opportunities.  You have failed to comprehend the disastrous resolution of your actions. It is imperative that you begin to educate yourselves and others.

This is the great emergency of our generation and all generations to come. We must have an awakening of consciousness equal to the most frightening of days we have witnessed in the past. We must declare war on climate change. Changing light bulbs, driving less, using cloth bags, buying carbon offsets, and recycling are all necessary steps but they are not enough to prevent current planetary catastrophe. Drastic and immediate action is required.

This is THE most important cause of our time. We will be judged for these days, this moment, these thoughts, and these actions. Climate catastrophe takes precedence over all other causes, emergencies and monetary pursuits. Preservation of the planet should be our primary focus. All other causes will be irrelevant if the human race is extinct.

Our skies were blue just recently and now they are too often grey. Our rivers were clean and now we touch them at our peril. Our air was breathable and now many must wear masks as they gasp for breath. The Clear Air and Water Acts are a tiny first step taken to protect our future.

So dear Elders, We respectfully remind you that soon you will no longer have to worry about the profitability or your companies. You will not have to worry about conservation, war, politics, economic crisis, AIDS, injustice, starving children, floods, or medicines. The planet is suffering irrevocable losses at this very moment.

We the undersigned, the youth of the world call for the condemnation of our own Elders. Your day has passed and you have squandered your opportunity for greatness.  We are the future of this world.

We ARE the mainstream. We are the future business leaders, the attorneys, the engineers, the factory workers, scientists, politicians, doctors, artisans and farmers. For those of you that choose to act irresponsibly your days in power are numbered. You have squandered our planet and your services are no longer needed. Those of you that stand with us will remain in power so long as you pursue the interests of the preservation of humanity and all other species.

We will not only be protesting you, we will no longer participate in economy with no appreciation for scientific facts. We will be suing you in courts all over the world for the murder of humanity. The history books will tell of your crimes and your names will be spoken with disgust.

You must understand that by pursuing our current course humanity has no future.

• We agree that humanity will cease to exist in only a few generations if immediate steps are not taken to reverse our current course.
• We demand an immediate moratorium on all new coal fired power plants.
• Clean Coal technology is a lie. There is NO such thing as clean coal. The words “clean coal” are nothing more than a marketing slogan paid for to preserve the corporate profits of the powerful. We are not as gullible as our fathers.
• We demand that the closure of all coal fire power plants start now and that all coal powered plants begin conversion to zero impact electricity generation immediately; culminating in the closure of all coal power plants by 2014. Even this date of closure may not be enough to stop our current course of destruction.
• Zero impact electricity generation is the best answer to stopping climate catastrophe.
• We value and embrace technology. Coming technological innovations will not be able to supersede the permanent damage caused by immoral living. Technological innovation is the tool with which we are able to solidify our cause and inform and educate others who will act with us to avert climate catastrophe.

• Some may say that the solution to zero impact electricity generation is nuclear power. This is untrue. At this time the inherent risks associated with nuclear power far outweigh any projected benefit. We embrace the lessons of Chernobyl and Five mile island.
• We demand graduated legislation that phases out manufacturing and selling of all gasoline powered cars, buses, lawn mowers and motorcycles within five years. We will not buy your gas powered cars.
• We demand that independent scientists, free from corporate and political obligations have their voices heard. We demand a return to the funding of and the respect of solid, real science.
• We demand affordable and free pollutant free public transportation.
• We demand modest and affordable housing near our jobs, universities, and in our cities.
• We demand all new infrastructure investments are not built to encourage the use of urban sprawl and cars. Laws must be written to discourage irresponsible urban sprawl and preserve wetlands and wild habitats.
• We demand all new construction be built responsibly and that exorbitant luxury homes and office building be taxed ten thousand times more than the homes and businesses of modest homes and businesses.
• We agree that everyone on this planet today has a moral obligation to preserve the planet for future generations of our species and other species. With this in mind we will take necessary actions to preserve this planet.
• We agree that corporations should have no civil rights. Only the people who work in their factories and offices do.
• We acknowledge that the corporations have paid lobbyists, and paid advertisers to spread targeted, branded and analyzed lies so they can continue to pollute our planet for profit.
• We acknowledge that profit and corporations are not our enemies. Corporations and businesses pay for the necessities of life. The people who recklessly run the corporations are and they are to be held personally responsible for their reprehensible crimes against humanity. They will be held accountable. History will hold the elders accountable.
• We demand that gluttonous business leaders be taken into custody and stand trial for crimes against humanity. These business leaders can and should be prosecuted for genocide.
• We acknowledge that these men and women cannot be condemned without first condemning ourselves.
• We acknowledge our part in contributing to the rise to power and agree to drastically reduce our own consumption.
• We acknowledge that our governments are not our enemies. The enemies of government are those that buy the loyalty of our government officials and those officials that participate in such agreements. We, the youth of the world will collectively challenge you in elections this year. We will vote those in power out of office. Our government officials are personally responsible for the reprehensible crimes against humanity. They will be held accountable. History will hold the elders accountable.
• We demand that corrupted government officials stand trial immediately for their crimes against humanity  
• We agree with the scientists that you, the elders have ignored sound science and purchased scientific opinion to promote your own corporate interests.
• We agree the aggregate expense of excess consumption outweighs any potential costs of prevention now or in the future.

            We are the youth of this world. We embrace the diversity of cultures, religions, and people of the world. We wish to preserve diversity and discourse .We agree that for this issue we are united. We welcome all constructive dialogue on this climate change but we cannot afford too much time for talk as we face imminent disaster.

            We are the future and we invite you work with us now or get out of our way because your days in power are numbered.

            This global economic downturn is the perfect opportunity for us to step back and examine our values. Humanity as a whole has a moral obligation to the future.

            This is a peaceful uprising but we will take the necessary steps to stop your reckless daily actions if you choose not to do so yourself. We are preventing the death of innocents and extreme means are justified.

The days of irresponsible people in power are numbered. Dear Elders, when you act responsibly in the days and weeks ahead to address this crisis you will have not only our full support, but our help. We are willing to make sacrifices and donate all that we can to affectively make the hard choices that must be made to avert climate catastrophe. We stand in the traditions of great uprisings of the past committed to a non-violent revolution.

            We embrace the challenge.

Signed,

The Future Leaders of The World