Veronika K. and Noel L.

Olympia, WA

04 November, 2016

The Next President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Next President:

In our world today, there are a total of 41,415 animals on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. It is estimated that 14,000 to 35,000 of these endangered animals live in the United States. That is 14,000 species of animals that are in danger of extinction. They are in danger of being eliminated from this world forever. These include many beautiful species such as the pine barrens tree frog and right whales. We must make every effort to save these animals, and as president, you can help to encourage these efforts by addressing the issue and making sure that people are aware of this problem by making sure they are educated.

These animals are endangered for many different reasons, soincluding habitat loss, climate change, and overhunting. For example, right whales are being killed by noise pollution in the water. This is caused by things like sonar. Many of these examples are caused by humans. We are the reason why many of the species in the world are dying and it is very important that we address this issue.

In a better world, humans would be more conscientious, and people would do their best to live in harmony with animals, always making sure to consider the consequences of their actions. This would include making sure that we are not over hunting animals, or to not take away their habitats so that they have a place to live and thrive, not just use it for humans. Another thing we would do is to also reverse the actions that have led to the worsening of climate change, so that we can also begin to stop the harm and the losses of species that climate change has and will cause if not stopped.

Our idea to solve this serious problem is to educate people, specifically by dedicating more money to resources (textbooks, paper handouts, more teachers, etc) and, as a president but most importantly a role model, acknowledging the problem.Education is very strong. If a person knows about a problem, then they can try to solve a problem, or at least spread the knowledge and be aware. If a person does not know the severity of a problem, or just is unaware of it, they cannot be part of the solution, or spread the word. Providing more education about ways that you can protect animals will motivate people to be part of the solution not the problem. This can include things such as turning off lights when you are not using them and conserving water.

If our solution becomes reality, life will improve because people will be smarter and more aware that what they do affects not just themselves, but many other populations. People will be motivated to make a difference in animal’s lives. A perfect example of why animal endangerment affects us all takes place in China in in the 1950s (We learned this in science class). The chinese leader named Mao Tse Tung led a war on on the Eurasian Tree Sparrow. The Eurasian Tree Sparrow ate grain, and grain was a very important part of the Chinese people’s diet. The leader concluded that the eradication of the sparrows would help feed many more people in China. People killed the sparrows violently, and by the end of the day, there were about 294,432 sparrows killed. People believed that this would not affect them, and now they would have more food, but they were dead wrong. The sparrows did not only eat grain, they also ate bugs. With not enough sparrows to eat the bugs, the bugs ate the people’s grain. In the following years, China went through one of the worst famines in their history. Many people starved to death. This shows that everything in an ecosystem is connected, and the absence of one population can have a dramatic affect on other populations. People believe that one population going extinct will not affect them, but this example demonstrates that this is not right. If we protect endangered species, life will stay the same, while if we let them die, there might be dire consequences.

As president, what you can do to help endangered species and make a positive impact for this issue would be to fund education on being aware of endangered species, as well as addressing this issue, so that more people in our country will become aware of this problem and how critical it is that we find a solution. Funding the education on being aware of endangered species would highly encourage people to take action, and that can become the difference between a surviving population of a particular species or having them be gone forever. Even now, efforts have been made to save endangered species, including the ESA(Endangered Species Act), which has protected the bald eagle and the gray wolf from the extinctions they were nearing years ago, but more needs to be done, because there are still many endangered animals out there that if they become extinct, the effects could throw everything in their ecosystems and even our world out of balance, like with the sparrows in China. Awareness will and has been the difference, and as president, you can bring this to the people of our country, and this can bring us a step closer to saving endangered species.

Sincerely,

Veronika and Noel

Works Cited

Collin, Robert William. “Endangered Species.” Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society, ABC-CLIO, 2016, issues.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/913367?cid=41. Accessed 31 Oct. 2016.

Lee, M., and Marcus Griswold. “Counterpoint: Saving Every Endangered Species Is Not Worth The Cost.” Points Of View: Endangered Species (2016): 3. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 1 Nov. 2016.

Vaughn, Jacqueline. “Endangered Species.” Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society, ABC-CLIO, 2016, issues.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1097954. Accessed 1 Nov. 2016.

Whittaker, Anne, and David C. Morley. “Point: Endangered Species Should Be Protected.” Points Of View: Endangered Species(2016): 2. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 1 Nov. 2016.

Wolford, Ben. “Whales Are Being Killed By Noise Pollution.”Newsweek Global 162.14 (2014): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

Science class