Dear President,

We as mankind have abused our planet to outright destruction. Seldom do we spend significant time listening to our environment, rather, we quarrel over the obvious fact that our climate is changing. According to the United States Protection Agency, our temperature has rose over 1.5 degrees fahrenheit in the last century. Why do we lie and wait as if the predicament will go away? It is happening, It is real, and It needs to be addressed. Picture this… you are snorkeling in the Atlantic Ocean on vacation with your family. You’re admiring the beautiful schools of fish, the gorgeous blue color of the water, but, suddenly, you see a pile of rubbish that used to be a coral reef. Now what used to be the reef is a ghostly white pile, laying dead. What happened to this beautiful water creature? The increasing temperature of the water caused coral colonies to forcefully dislodge their symbiotic food-producing algae, called bleaching. According to the National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration, over sixteen percent of the world’s reefs have died off this past year. Climate change has drastic effects on Social and Environmental Systems. In addition to bleaching, climate change also causes an increase in forest fires, melting of the polar ice caps, heat waves, and more. As for social effects, many of the world's largest and most influential cities reside in low-lying areas on the coasts. With an increase in natural disasters and sea levels, if mass destruction were to occur (or already has), the cities lying in developing or poorer countries will lack the financial means to recover from such disasters. Therefore these countries will be unable to develop goods, services, trade, and simply live in the destructed coastline cities. Although the connection between cost of natural disasters and global warming is weak, regardless it is still an outstanding issue socially. To add, means of transportation like airport runways and railway lines may need additional and an elevated amount maintenance due to the temperature variations caused by climate change. In addition, we have the tools to aid our problem, so why not use them. Tools like solar panels exist, so why is there not more money going into fixing global warming when clearly it will have detrimental effects on the future of our planet? The burning of fossil fuels in power plants are the leading cause of climate change in our country, next to the burning of fossil fuels in means of transportation and deforestation. The increasing use of electricity through the use of coal burning plants has released vast amounts of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere causing the earth to warm. Solar energy, which has proven to be the leading source of alternative energy, prevents any pollution to our planet. With the use of solar energy, we could diminish the use of coal, they come with up to twenty five years of warranty, and are even bomb proof. Additionally, electric and hybrid cars are another source of alternative energy to protect our earth from the burning of fossil fuels for transportation. Companies like Chevy, Tesla, and Chrysler have come out with fully electric and or hybrid cars that protect our environment. We have solutions, but why isn't the government aiding society in the growth and expansion of creating alternative solutions? Many say we will eventually adapt to the changes in temperature and that it is not worth spending money to attempt to reverse it. But, we can not just “adapt” to climate change. n the words of Barack Obama, our forty fourth President, “Climate change is no longer some far-off problem; it is real and it needs to be addressed now”. One major pitfall in the idea that we will just “adapt” to the changes of the climate is the location of where you live. Given the region at which you reside, your economic status, and other varying circumstances, one may not be able to adapt at all to the social and environmental changes that come their way. Drastic changes to the environment are already prominent today, and they keep changing. How is one supposed to “adapt” to cascading pollutants which are on the track to major extinctions? Climate change is a matter of contention that has been debated for years and hopefully not many years to come. My planet is endangered, receiving no comfort in the vain universe; I wonder, when will it fail, and be relieved of the responsibility of taking care of citizens, who don’t take care of it?

Sincerely,

Emily Cabadas