In this series, Our Letters to the Future, the sixth cohort of Mongabay’s Y. Eva Tan Conservation Reporting Fellows share their views on environmental journalism, conservation and the future for their generation, amid multiple planetary crises. Each commentary is a personal reflection, based on individual fellows’ experiences in their home communities and the insights gained through the past six months of the fellowship. The series spans the Global South — Malaysia, India, Colombia, Brazil, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo — showcasing a broad diversity of ideas and the common ground these young environmental journalists share as they embark on their careers. English poet Thomas Gray famously wrote, “where ignorance is bliss, ‘Tis folly to be wise.” He wasn’t particularly speaking of journalists or of Earth’s precarious future. I believe that ignorance is the enemy of journalism, it is no bliss, but the very thing we are meant to expose. Perhaps ignorance is an ally of politics and the greatest of all blisses for capitalists. As I write this, Delhi gasps for breath. How can one ignore that? Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities in the world’s most populous nation, and a mirror to our collective neglect. This is just an isolated example. There’s more to the story of global environmental crises. But the question I’m most often asked by friends and family isn’t, “What will you do about it?” but “Why do you care?” . People do yoga early morning at the Lodhi garden as…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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