Alexander

Dear Madam or Mr. President,

As a citizen of the United States and this world, I am concerned with the future of the Earth. Every day people go about their lives, going to work, making lunch, or maybe even driving for a living. However, these people are most likely not thinking about how they are regularly harming the ecosystem. I cannot say that I do not do this either, but it’s okay, right, it won’t affect us now? Well, not really. Every day when I walk home from school, I marvel at the beauty of this world. And, I am going to express this lucidly, with extreme avidity, I am disgusted with how our people have treated the beauty that we call home. And soon, if we don’t fix our ways, then there will be no Earth for us to call home.

The debaucheries that have caused this are called fossil fuels: a cheap, easy way to get the energy to power everyday objects like cars. And according to Noelle Eckley Selin, from Britannica, “at the beginning of the 21st century, about 80 percent of the world’s energy supply was derived from fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas.” And according to Selin, these commonly used fuels emit dangerous substances, such as “sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and toxic chemicals (heavy metals: mercury, chromium, and arsenic), and mobile sources, such as fossil-fueled vehicles, emit nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter.” Those pollutants can cause asthma, heart disease, acid rain- which damages the ecosystem in lakes and forests,- as well as producing smog and carbon dioxide; which is one of the leading greenhouse gasses that contributes to the global warming epidemic. While we are doing something to stop this problem, it isn’t much as Selin says, “about 15 percent of the world’s total electricity comes from large hydroelectric power plants, whereas other types of renewable energy (such as solar, the wind, and geothermal) account for 3.4 percent of total electricity generation.” As can be seen, there are a plethora of replacements for using fossil fuels and we’re only using them a little bit.

As the president, you have many powers: you can veto bills, make executive decisions, and much more. I think that you should use those powers to make a difference. Since this issue is worldwide and possibly demolish this planet, it is a great paradigm of anthropocentrism. Anthropocentrism is when someone believes that the human race is superior to all other life. They believe that they can do anything to the Earth, and there won’t be any consequences. I feel that these people who believe in anthropocentrism are a derision of humans and I feel a great disdain towards them. The thing is, we can’t use up all of the resources and think that we’ll just get more, we have to preserve our beautiful planet. So, I would want you (no matter who you are), with great avidity, to take action and use those renewable energy sources: solar, the wind, and geothermal. In fact, we are already starting this revolution against fossil fuel companies, for instance, as Selin said, in 2010 California required their energy companies to receive at least twenty percent of their energy from renewable sources. And California came within one percent of their goal. I want you to improve that goal from just California (California's goal is now thirty-three percent by 2020) to the entire United States. That goal would save our nation, our planet, and countless lives; and it’s all in your hands. 

 From, 

Alexander