Dear Future President,

You are about to become the leader of a developed country and one of the world’s leading powers. All over the world, people are looking to new solutions for environmental issues. The environment needs help reversing the damage we have done to it over the past several hundred years and that should be one of your top priorities: saving this planet for the sake of those who will come long after we are gone.

Wetlands across the United States serve a key purpose in aiding the environment. They filter out toxins and other harmful materials and remove them from the environment. They also house and provide for over 5,00 plant species, 190 amphibian species, and 1/3 of the nation’s bird species. Without the wetlands, the U.S. loses all of those plants and animals and the natural services they provide. Thousands of animals will be without a home and proper food supply and will have to migrate to find a new home or they will slowly starve to death.

All of our power plants are releasing high amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. Unfortunately, that carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere and reflects the heat from the sun back towards the Earth, slowing increasing it’s overall temperature. This slight rise in temperature is leading to major side effects across the whole planet. It raises ocean temperatures, which can lead to the bleaching of coral reefs and we lose all of the plant and animal species those coral reefs provide. This warming also forces polar bears out of their natural hunting grounds in search of more food, into more heavily populated areas, and leads to an increase in their interactions with humans. These interactions can lead to people being mauled and eaten by hungry polar bears and can lead to the bears being overhunted to the point of extinction. We need to decrease our CO2 output and stop adding to all of the problems it causes.

We need stricter regulations on fisheries across the state as well. Fisheries catch fish in a large number of ways and all of them have harmful effects. If a fishery fishes past the capacity that population can maintain, it can lead to collapse both economically and environmentally. Once fisheries collapse due to overfishing, all of the companies and families that depend on that fishery will be left with nothing. Trade with that fishery will be cut off completely and the families that worked for the fishery will be forced to move to find more work. Environmentally, the entire ecosystem loses that fish. Many fish species play key roles in their environment and over hunting one fish species can lead to loss of biodiversity, a decrease in vital nutrient cycling, and the possible extinction or migration of all of the species that depend on that fish. Fisheries need to be regulated, for the sake of both the economy and the environment.

We need to take a step in the right direction towards being more environmentally friendly. This is our home, our planet and it’s the only one we have. We must preserve it. As the future leader of the United States of America, you will have the ability to change the direction this nation is going environmentally and lead the way for the rest of the world to follow.