10/21/16

Dear Mr./Ms. President:

As you begin your term in November, you will be faced with many new challenges as the leader of the United States--the most important, of which, being global climate change and the application of renewable energy in our country. Technologically-advanced countries like the U.S. have the most impact on the environment and consume the most natural gas, and it’s time to start taking this fact seriously. In the next 4 years, Americans need to push for more widespread use of sustainable energy-gathering techniques not just in the long-term economic interests of the U.S. as a whole, but to wean off of natural gas as we face the reality of its total depletion some time in the future, not to mention in the interest of saving our planet--it’s the only one we have.

Before, I mentioned the U.S. being one of the most environmentally-impactful countries in the world. In fact, the United States roughly 5% of the total world population, yet it consumes about 25% of the world’s energy. This wouldn’t be a big deal if there were, say, 4 countries in total, but there aren’t. Out of 196 countries, ours uses a quarter of the world energy (Which 90% of is produced by fossil fuels). There’s no doubt we use tons of energy, and that makes it absolutely important that the U.S. strive for more clean methods of acquiring energy.

Furthermore, although renewable energy sources may seem expensive and nonessential to implement today, we as human beings face the reality that some day in the future, a point will be reached when natural gas becomes more and more difficult to tap into due to its increasing depth in the earth’s crust, and the cost of running drilling operations will far outweigh the amount of natural gas received from the earth’s crust. This causes two major problems: not only is it in our planet’s best interest that we reduce our environmental impact and greenhouse gas pollution, widespread renewable energy gathering methods must be applied in order to protect long-term U.S. economic and energy interests. The good news is, the price of a solar panel has dropped 60% since 2011, and generating electricity via wind power has become 20% cheaper since 2010. Renewable energy has never been more affordable to implement, so it’s time we take the steps necessary to get serious about it.

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. According to the Energy Information Administration, 13.4% of all domestically-generated energy in 2015 came from renewable sources. Of course, this number doesn’t account for energy generated via imported resources but it still represents a decent amount of renewable energy being generated in our country. While in office, you have the power to push for change in our energy-generating methods, increasing their widespread use and effectiveness.

Once sworn into office, the next four years will be extremely challenging, presenting you with problems and dilemmas too numerous to count. The most important of which, is the issue of reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and generating more clean, renewable energy in order to secure future economic interests and preserve our planet. While the total depletion of coal and natural gas supplies will likely not occur within the next four years, as the leader of our country it is your duty to act quickly ahead of time to secure the best possible future for the citizens of our country.

Sincerely,

Landon S.