To The President of the United States,

As a young man growing up in Colorado, I have always admired nature. The Rocky Mountains are an important landmark for the whole U.S. and I have been lucky enough to have them as my playground. Now, I see more destruction happening to the nature that I grew up loving. Climate change has become a pressing issue in the world, and because the United States is the world's second largest polluter, action needs to be taken to prevent further harm to our planet.

Despite the shocking amount of politicians who deny the science behind climate change, the issue is very much present. The oceans are rising and heating up, bleaching coral reefs. Droughts are keeping us from accessing clean water as well as destroying ecosystems. Our actions, whether it be deforestation, pumping copious amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, or pulling resources recklessly to make a quick buck, are destroying the very planet on which we live. The U.S. can do something to change this. We can help save the environment before it's too late. Before coastal cities get swallowed by rising waters, destroyed by hurricanes or floods. Before luscious forests dry into deserts. Before we lose all the resources we need to survive.

The solution then, to this massive global warming on our hands, becomes evident. A tax on carbon emitting activities is a popular view among scientists due to its simplicity. A fraction of a percent tax raise on things like fossils fuels or long distance travel could change the amount of consumption. This, on a wide scale, could limit the carbon we put into the atmosphere, slowing down climate change. This is a small step, but if funding from this tax goes to restorative agencies, the clean up from the monumental mess we've created becomes easier. A step towards a more frugal existence could mean an existence with a healthy planet.

I am not suggesting a raise on taxes. Simply a tax transfer could accomplish this goal. By cutting other taxes down, you can tax things like fossil fuels without emptying the wallets of citizens. The good things that this tax could bring about add up quickly; less carbon output, more funding for clean up, improvements in sustainable technology, a higher sustainable yield of resources, and an overall cleaner, more natural future. While some argue that job loss would take affect, the demand of fossils fuels would remain quite high in the beginning. More money spent at the gas tank could be viewed negatively, bit in the end, a few extra bucks for a full tank of gas is a small price to pay for the health of our planet.

In the end, a solution must be found and implemented. A tax, a restriction, outlawing negative contributors, in the end the decision isn't up to me. But I encourage that climate change be looked at more seriously, so that one day my kids, and their kids following, can play in the same mountains I did as a child. So that they can see the same stars not covered my smog, or that they can swim in the same lakes and oceans I did. The world is changing, and it's time we take action to salvage what is left.

Sincerely, Colten