Dear Future President,

Imagine a world where all life is scarce and scorched humans wander the decimated Earth fighting each other for the occasional scrap of food in the ruins of great civilizations. This may sound thought up by a writer who creates stories of dystopian worlds, but I assure you that this could come from one major topic: global warming. In this scenario, which is highly likely if we do not take action to stop global warming, the world’s temperature has risen six degrees Celsius. This does not seem like a lot, but we are heating the whole world by six degrees, which adds up to a lot of heat. Since this is such a tremendous issue that is destroying our environment, I suggest that we, America, put stricter regulations (eventually leading to a ban) on fossil fuels because we will run out of fossil fuels, renewable energy is more affordable, and we are slowly destroying our beloved Earth. Of course, to accomplish this amazing feat, we would need your assistance, Mr. or Madam Future President.

Firstly, I believe we need to slow our consumption of fossil fuels because we eventually will run out of them. At first, this may seem like a trivial prospect because if my objective is to stop the consumption of fossil fuels, why would I dare include the prospect of conserving them? However, conservation is a valid idea because if renewables cannot provide enough energy to sustain our world, we would need a Plan B. For example, if in an important institution, such as the military, or even a regular household, lost power because their solar panels or wind turbines were damaged, fossil fuels could provide a temporary fix for that problem until these power sources are repaired. Additionally, we should not wait until we absolutely have to switch to renewables in case we need more power than renewable energy can provide.

Besides needing a backup source of power, renewable energy is cheap for people needing power, after making the initial investment. According to the BNEF (Bloomberg New Energy Finance), “record clean energy investment outpaces gas and coal 2 to 1,” (Randall). This means that as time goes on, renewable energy will become more and more affordable because as people invest in renewables, they will become more efficient, reliable, and cheaper. Wind energy production has doubled four times and solar energy production has doubled seven times just over the last fifteen years! You may be wondering how this would help you, Mr./Mrs. President, and the U.S. government. This would benefit the American government because as energy becomes cheaper, people will have more money to buy more luxury items, which may be taxed in return. This will help the U.S.A. escape debt while also helping our country switch to only using renewable energy.

Finally, our country should stop using fossil fuels because we are slowly destroying the world. As I said in my introduction, if our world raises above six degrees Celsius, the human race is over as we know it. For example, six thousand years ago the world’s temperature rose only one degree Celsius converting what is now Nebraska farmland into desert wasteland. We cannot avoid the rise of one degree anymore; this will come, and we need to prepare for these changes. We must take action! As a Catholic Christian, I believe that everyone deserves a wonderful life, as life is a glorious gift. My beliefs do not have to interfere with good morals, though. We should ensure our future generations will be able to live a good life and not see Earth as a scorched wasteland as it will be if we do not stop using these harmful substances.

As I have shown in this letter to you, Mr. or Mrs. President, we should stop using fossil fuels in our world, make sure we have an emergency backup plan, make sure people can get affordable energy, and we can provide an opportunity for everyone to enjoy an amazing life. And if we do not do this, I hope the next race that inhabits Earth that rises from our ashes, learns of our horrid mistakes and stops using fossil fuels before it’s too late.

Sincerely,

Michael