Dear Future President,

For ages, humans have been pouring waste into our environment, not caring anything about pollutants. Now, we are finally coming face to face with the consequences of our actions. Cities are like bowls, collecting a lot of pollution. Pollution effects are indeed wide-ranging. All types of pollution-air, water and soil pollution, have impacts on the living environment. It’s causing a lot of damage to humans, animals and plants, as well as the wider environment. So, as our next president, you should give more attention to making our environment clean and healthy. We need to be mindful with electronics to save more energy, keep our roads clean, and purify and control pollutants emitted from the factories. There are many ways we can make the environment healthier for plants, animals and humans.

Environmental pollution has negative effects on humans. It causes a lot of diseases in our bodies. According to one source, “The decrease in quality of air leads to several respiratory problems including asthma or lung cancer. Chest pain, congestion, throat inflammation, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease are some of the diseases that can be caused by air pollution. Water pollution occurs due to contamination of water and may pose skin related problems including skin irritations and rashes. Similarly, noise pollution leads to hearing loss, stress and sleep disturbance.” (conserve-energy future.com)

So, pollution can have different negative effects on humans, like difficulty breathing, skin problems and even loss of hearing! So, it’s really harmful to humans and should be solved step by step.

Environmental pollution also affects animals and plants. “Nutrient pollution causes animal death; nutrient pollution can also cause outbreaks of fish diseases. Chemical contamination can cause declines in frog biodiversity and tadpole mass. Oil pollution (as part of chemical contamination) can negatively affect development of marine organisms.”(tropical-rainforest-animals.com)

So, pollution can kill animals, Humans depend on animals for food. Farmers depend on animals to make money. Acid rain kills a lot of plants and ozone holes caused by less plants kill even more plants. Herbivores depend on eating those plants. So it is a cyclical process and affects each other.

Environmental pollution affects the wider environment. According to one source, “Apart from destroying the aquatic life in lakes and streams, acid rain can also corrode metals, damage surfaces of buildings and monuments, and cause soil acidification. Pollution of water may cause oxygen depletion in marine environments and severely affect the health of whole ecosystems.” (tropical-rainforest-animals.com) So, acid rain does not just affect plants, it can also have negative effects on soil and waterways Various forms of chemicals produced from industrial waste is released into the flowing water which also affects the quality of soil. It’s like a circle, always affecting each other. In addition, acid rain also erodes our man- made structures.

Some people may think that pollution is not a big issue in the United States, it shouldn’t take attention from people. According to one source, “For the fifth consecutive year, more Americans are interested in protecting economic growth than in protecting the environment when the two goals are at odds. This year’s 48% to 43% split represents a relatively narrow advantage for the economy, similar to last year’s reading.” (247wallst.com)They may say that the economy or maybe gun control or discrimination are more important issues than pollution. However, I disagree. Environmental pollution is a serious threat to humans and nature. People depend on trees, breathing fresh air and drinking clean water. Water and air are indispensable in human life. But when they become dirty, and become a nemesis to humans, animals or plants, how will humans live?

We need to take this seriously. We need to prevent more pollution in our environment. It is really important to our life, because it causes a lot of diseases to humans, animals and plants. If the ozone layer continues to deplete, we will not be able to block the ultraviolet radiation. This will have huge negative effects on all living things. I hope you see how important this is and that you will do something about this when you are President.

Sincerely,

Mi Z.