A Letter to The Past

Excerpt from the full article published on Freetrail.com.
Video showing Antarctic trail running in year 2523.

To my fellow collegiate runners in 2025,

Most people think the moment in time they occupy is a pinnacle of historic importance. Usually it is not. But with the advantage of hindsight, I can confidently say you are alive during a pivotal era. The technological revolution you are bridging puts you in a unique situation, living a blend of primitive humanity and normal modern life. You’re living the last few decades where natural atmosphere cities cover all of planet Earth and C02 concentrations were a nominal 425 ppm. It’s also the last period before the blatantly precarious economic model of perpetual growth collapses leading, eventually, to Modern Economics and the EMMF (Earth Moon Mars Franc, we pronounce it “Em-eff”) following the NE (Near Extinction, we say “Nee”). The generations after you face the climate refugee crisis, The Yellowstone Eruption, the simultaneous bankruptcy of every country on the planet (so many countries!) and two world wars.

Read the full article on Freetrail.com, and come back here to comment :)

Sam Herreid
Sam Herreid
glaciologist, runner, musician, writer

My research interests include rock debris on glaciers, advancing regional to global scale glacier modeling and restructuring the financing of climate science.