The Right to Live Isn't Only for Humans
Every American has the right to live, and people who violate that right are arrested, but what about animals? They are also living creatures who share the same land, air, and water as human beings.
Dear President,
Animals in the United States are also living organisms who have the right to live. If people are arrested for murder, why aren't they charged for pollution? Pollution is dangerous to not just human beings, but also to animals. Over one million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed by pollution every year. Littering can be considered as inhumane as murder, since thousands of animals are either injured or killed because of a piece of plastic someone carelessly tossed away. Ten percent of the 100 million tons of plastic that are produced collect in the ocean, killing over one million sea animals through ingestion. Chemical and fertilizer runoffs from farms have created many dead zones. Even noise pollution kills hundreds of animals with sensitive hearing, such as dolphins.
Many species are becoming extinct or endangered because of human carelessness. Global warming is rapidly wiping out the polar bears. Forest and wildlife land is being taken over by companies for construction. All wild animals in the U.S. are suffering from pollution from destruction of their habitat, poisoning, and more. Deer, squirrels, and raccoons are killed by careless drivers on a daily basis, yet almost no one stops to check if they're okay. Empty snack and drink containers are thrown aside without thought of the consequences. Are the lives of animals not worth a text message or a walk to a recycling bin?
As our wealth grows, so does our greed. We continue to build factories, dump waste, smoke cigarettes and litter. Is our country not content to collectively pause and clean up the mess it has made? Most people in the U.S. already have food, clothing, and enough spare time to watch hours of Netflix. Few are willing to take time away from a T.V. show to help the neighborhood community collect litter or recycle plastic bottles.
The luxuries that we enjoy make us reluctant to change, but we must, because these luxuries are tainted with the blood and sorrow of pollution victims. It is time the United States acknowledged that lives of human beings and animals are far more important than materialistic profits, and every little change in our lifestyle counts.
Sincerely,
Molly