"Dreaming of a Green Christmas"... Sonhando com um Natal Verde

Dear children,

As many of you know this time of year is very busy for me. The elves are also really busy, making the Obama dolls (although they appear to be less popular than last year), the train sets, and the computer games.

But before I pack up the sleigh and set off on this year's big ride, I wanted to share with you an update on how things are going.

I wanted to share with you some worries I have, because here at the North Pole it has been a difficult year...

(...) Well, I read these Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Reports, which I have to say they were a little boring, but all these scientists from around the world have been saying the same thing and each of the reports they produce says things are getting worse.

They tell us that people's use of oil, gas and coal has been putting thousands of extra tonnes of carbon dioxide into the air. It's causing the Sun's heat to build up in the atmosphere of the Earth. The reports say things are getting worse and worse.

Well, now it's starting to affect everything all over the world. Giant storms are flooding coasts and valleys, even big cities.

Farmers aren't getting enough rain for their crops, so they are having trouble growing enough food for people to eat in many countries. Even those hot -weather animals like elephants, tigers and lions, are struggling terribly as their natural homelands disappear.

(...) Anyway, I hope you each have a peaceful and wonderful holiday this year. Let's all try to make it a very merry green Christmas.

And let's remember to enjoy what we have, and to share it together.

Father Christmas

Felix Dodds is executive director of Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future, and Michael Strauss is executive director of Earth Media

The Green Room is a series of opinion articles on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website

Excertos tirados da mensagem dos ambientalistas Felix Dodds e Michael Strauss em BBC