Christmas 2008
Dear Santa,
How's everything up there at the North Pole? I do hope you are doing okay, what with global warming and all that. And yes, Merry Christmas!
Santa, I have a question for you. About this global warming thing. I keep hearing my mom and dad talk about it. So I want to know: will there be a North Pole for my great-grandchildren in 2100 or will you have moved your operations to maybe somewhere along the Arctic Circle d-o-t-t-e-d l-i-n-e
at latitude 66°33'?
Signed,
Virginia Smith (age 8)
New York City [Macy's department store Santa letters box]
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reply from
The True North Pole
Santa's Mailbox
North Pole, Earth
Dear Virginia,
Yes, there is a North Pole now, but your question up brings a good point. Perhaps in 25, 50, 75 years -- who knows -- there might not be a true North Pole anymore because all the sea ice will be gone in these parts. That would be a bummer, wouldn't it! You are a very smart little girl to ask such a wise question.
I can only answer that we must all stand shoulder to shoulder, no matter how big or tiny we are, and do our best to help mitigate the problems that are causing global warming around the world and especially up here at the North Pole. Yes, Virginia, there might not be a North Pole in the year 2100. Maybe sooner.
So here's my Christmas message for 2008 and beyond. Let's all work hard to make sure that global warming doesn't make a mess of this wonderful world we are all born into. For my part, I think I will take a few giant steps backward from the consumer culture I inadvertently helped spawn when I first let the Coca-Cola company use my image in their ads long, long ago. I might get hanged for saying this, but I can't keep still any longer, Virginia. Christmas doesn't have to be about shopping. There, I said it. So sue me, Bossman!
We need to tackle global warming with all our might, young and old, all of us on Planet Earth, or there might not be a North Pole or even a Christmas, God forbid, in the future. Be a good girl, Virginia, and leave a very small carbon footprint at your door when I come to visit you. I will be watching to see who has been naughty and who has been nice, and by that I mean your carbon footprint.
A big fat North Pole hug from,
Santa Claus
Christmas 2008
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4 comments:
David notes:
"This is cute & useful & good! Particularly like use of the Virginia - [Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus ..] --
meme. I just googled Virginia + Santa and Wikipedia has a very good entry about the history
of Virginia's letter from 1897..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/cartoonsandvideos/toles_sketch.html?name=Toles&date=12182007
A very good cartoon by Tom Sholes in the Washington Post showing Santa ringing a bell on a sidewalk during Xmas with a sign pointing to a tripod with coin jar saying "for N. Pole ice"
Tom Toles is the cartoonist name, anove. sorry about that typo.
and here is another response to santa letter here:
"Cute-yes, useful-maybe, good-a matter of opinion. Frankly, I don't do cute, but I could see where it would be the most email article if it was published by a newspaper."
and if you online at gmail now, you can view this cartoon by French cartoonist in Thailand , Stephane Peray....
http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=1&attid=0.1&disp=inline&view=att&th=117207cdcc6f9613
http://countercurrents.org/henderson281207.htm
A Christmas Present -
Something You Can Do For Your Kids
By Bill Henderson
28 December, 4007
Christmas is for kids. Give your kids the present they really need this year: Promise them you will do whatever you can to help turn the corner on climate change. It's life and death for your kids, for your grandchildren. Promise them you will work hard so that they will have a safe future.
We all know the individual actions we should be doing to reduce our carbon footprints, the business and community actions, but realistically climate change is a global-scale problem and turning the corner from ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions to emission reduction of a scale needed, fast, requires global agreement and action.
And global agreement and action must begin in the US and be led by the US; and the crucial 08 elections must be our window of opportunity for building a mandate for real change, in the US first and then globally.
Promise your kids you will use this window of opportunity to work for their future. That you will do what you can to win a mandate for needed climate change action. Besides your love there is nothing they need more this Christmas.
You don't live in the US; you don't get a vote? Why don't you become an activist for your kids future. You can be effective:
Send a picture of your kids or your grandkids to a candidate in the States with the message: Climate change is a life and death issue for your kids and my kids - they need your voice; they both need your commitment to meaningful emission reduction.
Or organize your neighbourhood, Church, workplace or club: get together and have your picture taken with your kids and pick a candidate, a presidential or Congressional candidate, and together send as many messages with pleas and information about climate change and thoughts about what they should do in this crucial election for all our kids futures. And keep it up until they have to pay attention.
If your group is reasonably wealthy consider taking out ads with your message in papers in the candidates riding: A picture of your kids with the message: We beseech you Ms. Clinton or Mr. Obama or Ms. Congresswoman from California or Ohio, to consider our kids and your kids and wake up and lead at this crucial time - We need your leadership; we need you to commit to a real climate change solution.
If enough people worldwide commit to becoming activists for their kids in this crucial election it could so focus climate change as THE issue, dwarfing all of the usual but now mundane issues - IT'S OUR KIDS FUTURE, STUPID!!! Then, hopefully, with such a mandate, American leadership could become global solution.
With a little spontaneous organization we could see Asians maybe focusing on the US west coast ridings, Europeans on Atlantic contests, religious groups targeting their compatriots in every part of both red and blue states, etc., etc. We could have farmers reaching out to farmers, footballers sending singing messages "our kids don't walk alone', baseball teams worldwide sending the message: 'You don't have to be just a big leaguer to hit a climate change home run'. Artists and moviemakers could add their talents to make these pictures of our future undeniable, impossible to ignore. There is no limit to the potential creativity possible in delivering the message to voters in the States - this election has to be about our children's future, all of our children's future; it has to be about action to turn the corner on climate change.
Each of us and all of us. In letters and e-mail. With hand drawn pictures and Youtube videos; with whatever paid advertising we can organize. To each and every candidate; to every voter. From all of us parents and grandparents on this planet to the only nation that can lead in organizing the global solution, the global New Deal, the global post-carbon economy we desperately need, and a definitive action plan to get us there.
Each of us can give this present to our kids: we can and will work for a more hopeful future by getting serious about climate change. As families we can work to safeguard our common future by refusing to be just victims with no power. All you have to do is care enough about your kids to send a message to the people of the United States: our kids, like your kids, need action on climate change now - it's life or death for all our children.
(And young ones: you can ring up or e-mail kids just like you in the US and spread the message of hope in action. If you're in grade four in Nairobi or Saskatoon or Cochin, find a grade four class somewhere in the States and send them a big card with your climate change hopes and fears. If you go to college why not organize a blitz of a college in the States to get the message out for students everywhere to get active and force climate change as THE election issue. If you can afford the time why not help organize a colour revolution against the same old, same old, business as usual election in the USA - why not volunteer to go as an activist in this crucial election like white students once did for black people and civil rights to help get voters registered and motivated to vote. This is your future and you have to be leaders now. Use your youthful energy and imagination in this most important window of opportunity of your lifetime.)
Please, for Violet and Bella, for your kids, for all our kids - circulate widely and join in action for their future
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