Dear Mr. or Mrs. President,

Congratulations on being named the President of the United States of America! As President, there are many things that you will be needing to vouch for, lest the country fall into uproar. One of these major issues is the complete and utter desecration of the Earth in the form of global warming and our society’s imminent inability to recognize what is happening to our one and only planet.

As greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are being released at an exponentially faster rate into our atmosphere because of industrialization, they “cause the transfer of infrared radiation to become disrupted”, says NASA. When this transfer of radiation is disrupted, heat is trapped in the atmosphere instead of being released into space. Ice cores taken from major ice sheets have shown that the Earth is responding to these greenhouse gases. This has caused record breaking temperature increases, rising sea levels from polar ice caps, and ocean acidification. If global warming is allowed to get out of hand, millions and millions of people could be displaced by high water, wildlife could die off due to lack of acclimatization, and more extreme weather could occur.

One of the largest problems we face that can be corrected is people’s ignorance. How is it possible to deny global warming if you knew that the number of record high temperatures on Earth has been increasing alarmingly since 1950? A popular argument among skeptics is that the Sun is getting hotter, and therefore global warming is because of extraterrestrial factors. This is plainly not true. Even though an unusually low solar minimum output occurred in 2007-2009, Earth’s surface temperature still continues to rise. Even if we were in an unusually high output solar cycle, the effect of the solar radiation is still very small. Its effect is attributed to “approximately 1/10 of the total effect that increasing levels of greenhouse gases have had on the atmosphere”, says Earthguide. Ten of the warmest years on record have occurred in the last twelve years, contrary to claims that this is not happening. Yet another pointless argument, and possibly the most common one is that global warming is simply a “hoax”, or a scam put on by the government. This is simply not true, especially since “97 percent of climate scientists agree that climate - warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activity,” says NASA. It is important for you as President to dismiss these rumors as what they are: false information.

While the global warming problem is one that likely cannot be completely fixed, it is important to curb it as soon as possible and to minimize its damaging effects. CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced, which is where laws must be passed. Sixty percent of methane in the Earth’s atmosphere has been attributed to human activity, which is an alarming number. We need to reduce our footprint on the world and its natural resources by reducing fossil fuel burning, using more renewable forms of energy, and by becoming more aware and educated about climate change. 

This is why I implore you to pass laws and advocate for eco-friendly policies so that we can begin to repair the damage we have done to our planet. It may be more expensive to implement earth-conscious measures, but to ignore the warnings of a planetary failure is beyond risky. We only have one planet, and to not try to care for it is to pay the ultimate price.

Thank you for your time,

Anna