​Dear Next President,

Ever since the beginning of the industrial revolution, pollution has been plaguing the United States and the world. It has caused many people all around the world to fall ill or have severe respiratory health issues. It has caused many beautiful species of animals, fish, and birds to die from these horrible conditions. According to CNN.com, “Globally, more than 3 million people die prematurely each year from prolonged exposure to air pollution, according to the World Health Organization. By 2050, it could be 6.6 million premature deaths annually worldwide, a new study predicts.” How would you like to be perfectly healthy but because of the way everyone on the planet Earth lives it could cause you to die nearly ten years early. These severe conditions are produced because of one goal. Money. Big businesses don’t care about the things around them, they just want to mass produce their ugly, plastic, and worthless product. Everything, including your everyday lights in your house polluted this Earth. I believe we need to change the way we strive for money and a better life because all we’re doing now is trashing the entire earth that was created for us.

This lifestyle of ours is killing people and animals without us even knowing about it. Ocean.nationalgeographic.com says “These excess nutrients can spawn massive blooms of algae that rob the water of oxygen, leaving areas where little or no marine life can exist. Scientists have counted some 400 such dead zones around the world.” These dead zones are just from a farmer living his life growing crops. He isn’t trying to do anything, it's just the lifestyle he lives and the job he works. The excess fertilizer for the plants is leaking into the ocean and causes an increase in algae. This seaweed causes the water to be very murky and makes it difficult for the fish to breathe which over time causes them to suffocate. Also, the junk that is dumped into the ocean or by ships is consumed by the animals in the water and is almost always fatal. Ships that discard fishing nets are a reason for animals to become entangled and struggle for their last gasp for air.  Also, on Ocean.nationalgeographic.com, they say “The increased presence of loud or persistent sounds from ships, sonar devices, oil rigs, and even from natural sources like earthquakes, can disrupt the migration, communication, hunting, and reproduction patterns of many marine animals. Particularly aquatic mammals like whales and dolphins.” This pollution is messing up the lives of all these marine animals. How would you like for this same thing to be happening to you?

Our worst pollution problem out of all of them is our air pollution. This pollution is given off by your daily drive to work or the factory in which you work. Scientists compare air pollution to diseases such as malaria or HIV. According to dosomething.org, over 100 million people are affected by this. It can cause people to die prematurely and not live their full expected life. The worldwildlife.org site states “Short term exposure to air pollution can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat and cause upper respiratory infections, headaches, nausea and allergic reactions. Long-term exposures can lead to chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, and heart disease. Long-term exposures also can lead to significant climatic changes that can have far-reaching negative impacts on food, water, and ecosystems.” This pollution is caused by us and is slowly killing all of us even though we don’t feel it happening. We need a change in this world of our, and it can be started with you.

When you look out of your window of your car or your home do you ever see billowing smoke coming out of smokestacks of huge factories? These huge corporations are said to be under EPA’s standards for the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, but they have only checked for this pollution annually. Therefore nobody knows what they are doing when no one's watching. They do what’s best for their company and their bank account.

With your leadership and the organizations that are continuing to strive to fix this issue such as the EPA, you can make your presidential term the greatest of all time. You can be the one to start the revolution against pollution and save our world from this deadly disease that we continue to make worse. So let me leave you with this, how long would you like this beautiful earth of ours to last?

Chase

“Building Flexibility with Accountability into Clean Air Programs.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 26 Apr. 2016, https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/building-flexibility-accountability-clean-air-programs.

Began, By the 1800s people. “NOAA's National Ocean Service Education: Nonpoint Source Pollution.” US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ocean Service, http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/pollution/02history.html.

Society, National Geographic. “Marine Pollution -- Pristine Seas -- National Geographic.” National Geographic, http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/explore/pristine-seas/critical-issues-marine-pollution/.

“Pollution.” WorldWildlife.org, World Wildlife Fund, http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/pollution.

“11 Facts About Pollution.” DoSomething.org, Do, https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-pollution.

By reducing air pollution levels, countries can reduce the burden of disease from stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and both chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma. “Ambient (Outdoor) Air Quality and Health.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en/.

Ansarl, Azadeh. “Air Pollution Deaths on the Rise, Study Predicts.” CNN, Cable News Network, http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/16/health/air-pollution-deaths-rising/.