This is the fifth installment in a series of posts I am writing for my yet unborn great grandchildren.

It's the beginning of summer in the year 2010. This spring we saw the beginning of what is probably the worst environmental disaster ever. There was an explosion on a oil rig drilling 5000 feet below the Gulf of Mexico and thousand and thousands of gallons of oil are spewing into the gulf daily. It is a tragedy of enormous proportions.

There has always been greed and people who will do anything to gain power and money. But now the things that businesses do are impacting humanity on a large scale.

But the real cause of many of our environmental problems today is that there are too many people on this earth. No matter how much we conserve it gets over run by the ever increasing population. Great Grandpa Tony was the first person I know to point this out. It is a very touchy subject. People cling to their ideas, to the things that are familiar. It is very hard for them to accept a new premise.

Great Grandpa Tony and I would do anything to help our children (that would be your grandmother and grandfather) and our grandchildren (that would be your mother). We would give up our lives if that would help. This feeling that you have to help your children is something we do without question. For us it's instinctive. Older generations have to help the younger ones. It helps humans survive.

But not everyone feels this way. Some people only care about what is happening right now and what touches their immediate lives. If the earth becomes uninhabitable it is okay as long as it does not happen while they are alive. Some don't believe in climate change or any of the scientific evidence.

We live in a world where we have so much. It is hot out today so I just turned on the air conditioner. I am using energy that I don't absolutely have to. I will turn it off in a few minutes, just wanted to cool the house down a bit. But I am aware that the time may be coming sooner than we all realize where we will have to change the way we live. We try to use as little energy as possible, but it is not enough. It all goes back to what Great Grandpa Tony says. There are just too many people.

I do have hope. Your mother at 6 is very aware of the environment and that it needs to be protected and treated like the treasure it is. Her generation already is like no other. Just wanted you to know that people did care and that people were aware.