Dear Next President:

As an adolescent of the United States, I realize and now can understand the different issues we have going on in our country, including environmental issues. Some of the problems can be solved easily, while others require more effort and hard work. The environmental complications in the US have changed negatively throughout the 21st century.

The first issue I’d like to address is the melting ice in Antarctica. This issue is important to me because if it continues, I would have to adapt to a new climate because eventually every part of the Earth would be getting warmer with less rain and cold weather. This is important to the world because loss of ice means more heat is absorbed. The less sunlight reflected, the more heat is absorbed which may cause global warming. Global warming is not something that we should be worrying about in the United States. This could also affect Europe because the freshwater runoff into the ocean disrupts part of a major circulation system known as the AMOC, which carries warm surface water northward, giving Europe its mild climate.

Another point that I think needs to be addressed is air pollution. This affects the world because chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys are all long term health effects that can be caused from air pollution. Continual exposure to air pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly. Out of all the different ways people perish or have health issues, air pollution should not be an effect death or disease. These are also reasons that air pollution would affect me, which is breathing in the dirty air. This can lead to serious health problems that could cause health issues or even possibly death.

The last point I would like to make has to do with coral reefs which is significant to me because I have always loved coral reefs and now that they may be disappearing from climate change and from beaching definitely has a negative effect on myself and many others. This affects the world and is important to the Earth because coral reefs help protect coastlines from the damaging effects of wave action and tropical storms, provide habitats and shelter for many marine organisms. If they vanish, the organisms that rely on coral reefs will have to adapt to something new to give them shelter or food from the reefs.

Many environmental issues and factors affect a person's everyday life and the world and if all these issues are taken care of, there would most likely not be as many problems with disease, death, climate change, etc happening on Earth. As the next President of the United States of America, I hope that you will do your best to solve the environmental issues along with the other issues happening here in the US.

Sincerely,

Kaylee