Letter written in the year 2070 This document was first published by the magazine “ Cronica de los Tiempos” in April 2002 Letter written in the year 2070

We are in the year 2070 I’ve just turned 50 but my appearance is of an 85 year old person. I have serious kidney problems because I drink very little water. I believe that I’ve little time left. Today I’m one of the oldest persons in our society!!!

Everything was different. I remember when I was 5 years old Everything was different. There were many trees in the parks, the houses had nice gardens and I was able to enjoy a bath or a take long shower. Today we use hygienic tissues to clean our skin, humidified in mineral oil!

In the past women showed their beautiful hair. Today we have to shave our heads to keep them clean without the use of water. Back then my father washed his car with the water which came out from the water house Today the children can’t believe that back then water was used in such a way!

I remember that they were many “Announcements” that said : “ Don’t waste water” Only that anybody cared; everybody thought that water will never finish. Today all the rivers, dams, lakes and another water sources are irreversible contaminated or used up.

Huge deserts replace the landscape which is all around of us. Gastro-intestinal infections, skin diseases and diseases of the urinary evacuation system are the main causes of death.

The industry is paralyzed and unemployment is dramatic. The desalination factories are the main source of employment and they pay you with one drink of water instead of a salary.

People are constantly being mugged for water on the deserted streets. 80% of the food is synthetic.

Today, I am allowed only half a glass. Before, it was recommended that an adult drink 8 glasses of water a day. Today, I am allowed only half a glass.

Since we cannot wash our clothes, we throw them, which increases the amount of trash. We had to go back to using septic tanks, just like in the past century, because the sewage system stopped working due to the lack of water.

People look scary: their bodies are weak; parched by extreme dehydration; covered by sores caused by ultraviolet rays that the atmosphere can no longer filter since the ozone layer is depleted.

We cannot produce water. Due to the dryness of her skin, a young 20 year-old woman looks more like 40.  Scientists perform all types of research and investigations, but there is no solution in sight. We cannot produce water. The lack of trees reduces the amount of oxygen available, which in turn lowers the intellectual quotient of up-coming generations.

The morphology of many individuals’ spermatozoa was altered... …which results in children being born with all sorts of deficiencies, mutations and malformations.

The government even makes us pay a tax for the air we breathe: 137 m3 per adult per day. [31,102 gallons] Those who can’t pay the tax are expulsed from the “ventilated areas” that are equipped with gigantic mechanical lungs, powered by solar energy. The air supplied in the “ventilated areas” is not of very good quality, but at least one can breathe there. The average age is 35.

Some countries succeeded in preserving a few islands of vegetation with their own streams. These areas are closely monitored by the army. Water has become a rare commodity, a highly sought after treasure, infinitely more valuable than gold or diamonds.

Here, though, there are no more trees because it hardly ever rains Here, though, there are no more trees because it hardly ever rains. And whenever it does rain, it is acid rain that comes down. There are no more seasons. Climatic changes such as the greenhouse effect and the polluting activities we indulged in during the twentieth century took care of that. We were warned about the need to take care of our environment, but nobody bothered.

I tell her about how healthy people used to be. When my daughter asks me to tell her how it was when I was young, I describe the beauty of the forests. I tell her about the rain, about the flowers, about how pleasurable it was to bathe, to fish in the rivers and the lakes, and being able to drink as much water as one desired. I tell her about how healthy people used to be.

- Daddy! Why is there no water anymore ? She asks me: - Daddy! Why is there no water anymore ? I feel a lump in my throat...

I can’t help feeling guilty, because I belong to the generation that completed the destruction of our environment by simply not taking seriously any of the warnings ... and there were so many of them! I belong to the last generation who could have made a difference, but who chose not to act.

Today, our children pay the hefty price.

Quite frankly, I think that, within short, life on this Earth will no longer be possible, because the destruction of our environment reached its point of no return.

How I wish I could go back in time and get the Human race to understand this ... ... at a time when it was still possible for us to do something to save our planet Earth!