Dear Future President,

In this world there is one thing that people always focus on. Money. Everywhere you go, people are always talking about money. Though money is a very important part of society , there many other problems. For instance, our environment, our earth is dying. The environment is being destroyed at a dramatically fast rate and if nothing changes, what will be left of our society? Will money continue to be our most important problem to solve ? Or will you step up to make a change that will not only benefit our society but every society in the world?

As the population of America and the world increases drastically, we have to worry about our earth. Forest are dying, water and oxygen are getting more and more polluted every day, the next generation could and will be faced with more changes and problems than ever before. That’s why we should focus more on the environment instead of ourselves.

People might ask me why I believe this. But look around you. Forests are being cut down, animals are becoming extinct, lakes rivers, and oceans are filled with trash and chemicals and our oxygen is so polluted, it’s barely breathable. Can our society continue acting the same way, ruining our Earth without a single care in the world?

In Tahera Sajid’s article, “One Planet, One Future”, she shows us an important fact. “Scientists generally agree that human activity is the prime cause of deterioration in biodiversity, which in turn has led to an alarming rate of species extinction believed to be at least 100-1,000 times higher than the estimated natural rate.” We are the main reason why our Earth is dying. We are the reason for pollution, the extinction of important animals, and many,many, environmental problems.

In David Suzuki’s article, “Saving the Earth: Canada's environmental advocate warns that the global drive for growth is laying waste to the planet”, he shows us an event that helped realize the intensity of the situation. “In 1992, the year the largest gathering of heads of state in human history met at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to take concrete steps towards a sustainable future, the Canadian government was forced to acknowledge the unthinkable: the vast shoals of northern cod that had supported people for hundreds of years had all but disappeared. Since then, record floods have hit Quebec and Manitoba, flash fires spread across Alberta, and an ice storm ravaged parts of Ontario and Quebec, knocking out electricity for weeks. Rates of breast and testicular cancer, asthma and lymphoma have reached epidemic levels and continue to rise. Hurricane Mitch wiped out thousands of people in Central America while heat waves killed 700 people in Chicago and thousands in India. Insurance companies have paid in the 1990s close to four times the weather-related claims in the entire decade of the 1980s.” Because of the disappearance of one species, North America experienced many environmental hazards. Animals are dying because of us and the way we destroy their homes and pollute the air they breathe and the water they drink. We need to change our ways so our environment can survive and so can our animal friends.

In Anna Reynolds, “Free Trade, Protect the Environment”, she shows us what the government(in America and other countries ) are doing/not doing to solve this problem. “The WTO Free Trade Agreement includes a clause (Article 20) that was designed to accommodate the right of governments to make trade choices for health and environment reasons. Yet, following the `prawn turtle' case and a range of others with similar results, governments are becoming reluctant to take action to protect local environments, in fear that they may breach global trade and investment rules. But trade in products, such as crops, fish and timber, is also trade in the ecosystems that have produced those goods -- soils, wildlife and forests. The incidences of trade practices affecting the environment are potentially endless.” Governments in the world are reluctant to do anything to help because they’re focused more on their economic problems than environmental problems.

So Mr(s). President, will you just stand there as our environment dies and we're left with a wasteland? Or will you take a stand to help our environment and become a President who will be remembered as one of the greatest in history? Only you can make a difference so great it will change the environment for the better and I encourage you to make that difference. Be the confident leader that you’re meant to be and make that change. Create an organization that will help preserve the environment. Or pass laws that make our society more aware of their action. Help the environment, and at the same time, help our society.

Sincerely,

Esteban Garcia

Citations:

"One planet, one future." South Asia 30 June 2010. Student Edition. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.

Reynolds, Anna. "FREE TRADE, PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT." Habitat Australia, Aug. 1998, p. 24. Student Edition

Suzuki, David. "Saving the Earth: Canada's environmental advocate warns that the global drive for growth is laying waste to the planet." Maclean's, 14 June 1999, p. 42. Student Edition