This letter was sent to heads of state, and adapted for mayors of principal cities, business and union leaders, environment and development NGOs and UN agencies. We have asked them to let us know their response to the issues illustrated in Hard Rain and have asked them to tell us about "living solutions" that could be scaled up and adopted in other countries. These solutions will be photographed and added to a new display, Remaking a World Gone Wrong which will be shown alongside Hard Rain.

Read their replies and join the debate.

Dear World Leader

I am pleased to enclose a copy of Hard Rain.

Bob Dylan’s piercing words accompany photographs that illustrate the issues that are defining the 21st century – climate change, pollution, poverty and habitat loss. Essays by leading scientists and thinkers in the environmental movement explore the steps we must take to prevent global collapse. May I draw your particular attention to the essay on page 154 by Jonathon Porritt, a leading adviser to business and government, which addresses the difficulties in establishing a coherent programme of action.

An outdoor exhibition, on a 50-metre banner, is touring the world and will be seen by more than 10 million people on every continent.

Hard Rain is being sent to every prime minister and president with a request that they outline their policies regarding climate change and the related problems which are illustrated in the book. I am hoping to convey a global response to these issues at future exhibitions and would be most grateful if you could outline key policies and actions taken by your government.

A new element to the exhibition, Remaking a World Gone Wrong will illustrate existing “living solutions” from around the world that may be scaled up and widely adopted. Again, I am asking all world leaders to contribute ideas to this project. The springboard for the new display are the words of John F Kennedy, in a speech he gave shortly after the Cuban crisis:

“Our problems are man-made – therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable, and we believe they can do it again… For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.”

Photographers will be commissioned to document these living solutions, and the resulting pictures will become part of the new display.

I do hope you will add your voice to this project and allow us to present your response at the Hard Rain exhibition at UN Headquarters in New York in spring 2008, and at subsequent exhibitions in principal cities. Hard Rain will also be sent to business leaders with a view to illustrating best sustainable practices in industry.

Other elements to be included in Remaking a World Gone Wrong are photographs of communities around the world that demonstrate new approaches to sustainable living, as well as outstanding NGO projects I have photographed in the Third World.

The last section of the exhibition goes beyond the appeal for sustainable development to show that the interaction between humankind and nature has a deeper, life-enhancing significance that lies at the heart of our environmental concern.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is a founding partner of the Hard Rain Project. The BBC’s new website www.loveearth.com includes a permanent feature on Hard Rain. It is also displayed on Bob Dylan’s official site. Both the BBC and UNEP will update their websites with replies from heads of state, mayors and business leaders, along with examples of best practices.

This project offers a unique opportunity to build global awareness of the state of our planet, and to present practical and achievable solutions to our greatest challenges.

I hope you and your government will be able to contribute to remaking a world gone wrong.

Yours sincerely

Mark Edwards
replies@hardrainproject.com

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