My dear sweet child, as sleep evades me at 4am I quietly stand at your bedroom door looking in at you sleeping soundly; that familiar look of content and comfort and peace gracing your features; so innocent, so full of life, and so unaware of the world that awaits you.

I wonder when you will be ready to hear about what is happening with the world’s inability to supply enough energy to meet the world’s needs. I wonder when you will be ready to understand its implications. I wonder when you will be ready to make the adjustments required to reduce your dependency on a resource that is becoming more limited each day and is already presenting serious difficulties for millions of people around the world.

I wonder when you will recognize the dependence of our world on ample energy supplies. I wonder when you will recognize that there isn’t going to be enough fuel to meet everyone’s needs. I wonder when you will recognize that energy and fuel prices will increase to the point where even the middle class may not be able to afford home heating or to drive to work, truckers won’t be able to deliver the plethora of convenience products to our stores, farmers won’t be able to use their machines to pick crops or support delivery of milk, airlines won’t be able to transport tourists, and emergency services will be compromised. I wonder when you will recognize that the price and availability of energy has begun to impact the lives and livelihood of your friends.

I wonder how you will feel when you and your friends are no longer able to impress each other with your latest acquisition of the newest gadgets and fashions. I wonder how you will feel when our family is no longer able to afford annual vacation trips. I wonder how you will feel when you realize that you can’t afford to operate a car following your sixteenth birthday, when all of your older friends experienced this almost as a rite of passage. I wonder how you will feel when you realize that people are going hungry around the world because the world is converting food to fuel. I wonder how you will feel when water and sewer systems become unreliable due to lack of energy to operate the pumps. I wonder how you will feel when your favorite TV shows or cell phone calls are interrupted due to frequent power-grid brown outs or black outs. I wonder how you will feel when you realize that the local, regional and national elected officials of your country didn’t take the problem seriously when there was adequate notice and still time.

I wonder how you will go to college when Universities will be experiencing massive reductions in enrollments and the associated reductions in the tuition fees they so depend upon to operate. I wonder how you will get a job, or support yourself, when thousands or millions of companies around the globe shut their doors because consumers can no longer afford to consume, translating into growing shortages of food and supplies that we blindly depend upon every day. I wonder how you will buy a home when the mortgage markets will be suffering from an enormous percentage of defaults and are unwilling to sell without massive cash down payments. I wonder how your health will be affected when the health care industry can no longer afford to treat patients with their throwaway inventories and the dependence of the pharmaceutical industry on ample petroleum supplies. I wonder how you will be able to afford to start and support a family. I wonder how you will view and trust the political process of our country in selecting leadership. I wonder how you will view the past decisions of your elders, and what impacts that will have on your respect for them.

But sleep comfortably now, my dear child; oblivion to all these things won’t last much longer. You’ll soon lose your innocence too, and wake up to the realities of the new world. I love you. Good night.

© 2008, All rights reserved. Republication or posting permitted with appropriate reference to the author.