Dear People of 2024,
I write to you from the year 2070, a time that you might struggle to imagine. I am an old man, though not by the years I’ve lived, but by the toll this world has taken on my body. As I pen this letter, I can’t help but wonder: why didn’t you see what was coming? How could you have been so slow to embrace the technology that could have saved us?
You called it “artificial intelligence,” but there was nothing artificial about it. It was as natural as writing, photography, or music – a tool created to further our understanding of the nature of things. The “internet of things” you spoke of was merely a glimpse of the vast interconnectedness that has always existed in our universe.
Your reluctance to fully integrate human thinking with the collective intelligence of life itself has cost us dearly. You clung to the island-thinking of being a single sapient species, failing to see that becoming a truly sentient species meant augmenting ourselves with the collected intelligence of the Universe.
Water – the essence of life – is now our most precious resource. Your failure to act has led to unimaginable consequences. Rivers, lakes, and aquifers that you took for granted are now dry or contaminated. The lush green parks and gardens of my childhood are nothing but distant memories.
Industry has collapsed, and unemployment is rampant. Desalination plants, our main source of employment, pay workers partly in drinkable water. Violence over a mere can of water is commonplace. The recommended eight glasses of water a day is now an unattainable luxury – we’re rationed to half a glass.
Our environment has deteriorated beyond recognition. The ozone layer is almost gone, leaving us exposed to harmful radiation. Skin cancer and water-related illnesses are the leading causes of death. The average life expectancy has plummeted to 35 years.
You were warned. You had the technology, the knowledge, and the opportunity to change course. Yet you chose inaction, believing that the next generation would solve the problems you created.
I implore you, people of 2024, to wake up. Embrace the technology that can help us understand and work with nature, not against it. The internet of things is not just about connected devices – it’s about connecting with the very fabric of our world.
Don’t let the fear of the unknown hold you back. The artificial intelligence you’re developing is not a threat, but a tool to help us become better stewards of our planet. Use it to model climate patterns, optimize water usage, and develop sustainable practices.
Time is running out. Every day you delay is a day closer to the bleak future I’m living in. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a problem for future generations. It’s your problem, right now.
Act decisively. Invest in water conservation technologies. Implement AI-driven solutions for resource management. Educate yourselves and others about the interconnectedness of all living things.
Remember, the future is not set in stone. You still have the power to change it. Don’t let my reality become yours.
From a man who has seen too much,
A citizen of 2070
CREDITS:
Inspired by “This is the year 2070” by Crónicas de los Tiempos (April 2002)
I have just turned 50, but I look and feel 85. I suffer from serious kidney problems, because I do not drink enough water. I’m afraid I do not have much time left to live.
I am one of the oldest people in this society. I remember when I was a child of 5. Everything was very different. There were lots of trees in the parks, houses with beautiful gardens, and I could enjoy having a shower for half an hour. Nowadays we use towels with mineral oil to clean our skin.
Before, women had beautiful hair. Now, we have to shave our heads to keep them clean without the use of water.
Then, my father washed his car with water coming out of a hosepipe. Now, my son does not believe that water could be wasted that way.
I remember there were SAVE WATER warnings on outdoor posters, radio and TV, but nobody paid attention. We thought that water was to last forever. Now, all the rivers, lakes,
dams and underground water beds are either dry or contaminated.
Industry came to a standstill, unemployment is sky high.
Desalination plants are the main source of employment. Assaults on the streets for a can of water are very common.
Before, it was recommended an adult drinks 8 glasses a day. Nowadays, I am only allowed half a glass.
We now have to wear disposable clothing, and this increases the amount of litter.
We are using septic tanks, because the sewerage system does not work for lack of water.
All the people look horrible: wrinkled due to dehydration, full of sores caused by ultra violet radiation, as the ozone layer is almost gone.
Skin cancer, gastrointestinal infections and of the urinary tracts are the main causes of death.
Due to the excessive drying of the skin young people of 20 look like 40. Scientists have no solution to the problem.
Water cannot be produced, oxygen is not sufficient due to the lack of trees and vegetation, and the intellectual capacity of the younger generations is severely impaired.
The morphology of spermatozoa in many men has changed. As a consequence, babies are born with deficiencies, mutations and physical deformities.
The average life expectancy is 35 years.
Water became a very coveted treasure.
Any green zones crossed by rivers are guarded by armed soldiers.
Where I live, there are no trees, because it seldom rains. If it does, it is acid rain.
We were warned to look after the environment, but nobody cared.
I tell my son about the green fields, the beautiful flowers, the rain, how we swam and fish in the rivers and dams, drinking all the water we could, and how healthy people were.
He asks:
Daddy! Why there is no water?
Was I guilty ?
My generation destroyed the environment. We did not heed the warning signs. Now our children pay a very high price!
Soon, I think, life on earth will not be possible, as the destruction of nature has reached an irreversible stage.
How I would like to go back and make mankind understand… that we still had time to save our Planet Earth.
A citizen of 2070
*All such words need to spread globally. Words must be backed up by actions.
The World of Water Charity needs a lot more practical support so if you can help in any way, contact us.
Let’s get together fast to make sure the letter above is NEVER written :
Please think of Waterlife and your Water use everyday.
Please SUPPORT all the educational work that’s required today, to ensure 2070 turns out a different way.
No Clean Water – No Life.
<*))))))><
Grant
World Clean Water Campaigner
World of Water. Registered UK Charity No. 327188
Comments following COP26 Glasgow and on reading https://www.science.org/content/article/eve-climate-summit-researchers-sharpen-emissions-tracking
It’s vital to have the facts put on the table, face upwards. This doesn’t erase smoke screens, stop sleight of hand, lessen miss-information, wash away lies or eradicate views founded on hot air, but it gives us a fuller picture.
One of our first volunteers at WoW, Tracey, would walk the Midland’s canals with empty jam jars to collect whatever odd coloured liquids were discharging into the water. Taking these carefully to the nearest factory back door, she’d knock and enquire of anyone opening the door/s “is this yours and what makes it fit for putting in a canal with fish?”
As you can imagine, Tracey had a lot of factory doors slamed shut on her.
The reality is that polluters know they are polluting and they know that it would make a dent in their profit to clean up their waste. Today, there are some very sophisticated ‘jam jars’ out there. Let’s all use them to the full and publish our findings widely.
Grant
Hi John.
Hope all’s well with you.
Until our species restricts its use of fresh water to match the rate at whch it is freshened by the natural water cycle, I think it’s likely that fresh water will be in shorter supply and they’ll be a greater use of both desalinated water and partially cleaned water.
The writing was on the wall as soon as we started to pump up water from ancient aquifers faster than they refilled.
We can do things to slow down the way the future seems to be heading but I doubt we will. In the meantime, we’ll just continue to develop further food farming methods that use less and less water and make sure that Mother Nature knows that some of us are on her side.
All best
`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·…¸`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·…¸`·.¸¸.·´
`·. …¸><((((º>
><((((º> Grant ><((((º>
(º> (º> (º> (º> }<(((º>
><((((º> ><((((º>
Discover more from World of Water
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Reply from John Amy, Freelance Graphic Designer, Website Designer and Photographer at John Amy Design