Dear Next President:

There are many issues arising about our country and our world that I would like to see resolved this election cycle; although, I am just going to focus on one. I believe global warming is an important issue and it must be resolved.

First, the global temperature has increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1800’s. This has resulted in the Arctic ice cap melting at an alarming rate. This is causing whopping white waves of water to wash around and have had more room to wondrously form because of the worrying melting. This is further adding to the destruction of the Arctic. If the Arctic melts completely, it could have some very serious consequences, of which I’ll touch on later.

Second, us as Americans use much more water than we think we do. Water expert Peter Gleick, of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, Calif., has estimated that we require 13 gallons of clean water each day to meet the most human basic needs. But, in 2005, the average American was using about 98 gallons of water a day! Toilets are the cause of 28% of the water usage in an average household and each flush uses 3.5 gallons of water in a standard toilet. On the other hand, a low-flow toilet only uses 1.6. Next, a standard clothes washer uses 34 gallons per load. A high-efficiency washer uses only 15 gallons. That’s less than twice the amount needed for a standard. Then there’s crop growing. We need water to grow food. 157 gallons are required to make a pound of sugar; 299 gallons for a pound of rice; 606 gallons for a pound of cheese and a whopping 2,264 gallons for a pound of coffee.

And finally, polar bears are being forced more and more south towards Alaska. This can be dangerous for the bears and humans because there are an increased number of polar bears in Alaska towns. The bears are attracted to the villager’s food supply and when they’re there they present a real threat to both humans and the bears because the more humans and polar bears interact, the greater chance someone or something will get hurt. We are seeing huge decreases in the sea ice, which for polar bears is unusual; researchers found that the Beaufort Sea polar bear population rapidly dropped from about 1,500 to just over 900 from 2006 to 2010.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you do whatever you can to prevent climate change to save our wildlife.

Sincerely,

Spencer