Letter To The President

Dear Next President,

NASA claims that, “ the Sun, is not massive enough to become a supernova. Instead, in about 5 billion years it should dramatically expand to become a red giant and will fry the Earth in that way”. Therefore, the world will undoubtedly end in five billion years. I do not know about you, but to me, that is an extremely long time. If humans plan to stay on Earth for the whole ride, we need to find a sustainable energy source. With our current consumption, and with our currently known reserves, ecotricity.co.uk states in the article “The End of Fossil Fuels”, that “Fossil fuels… only give us enough energy to take us as far as 2088.” Included in that, is the 28 years of excessive coal burning, which would emit exorbitant amounts of carbon dioxide. Not only are fossil fuels leading factors of pollution, they are unsustainable. Thus, leading me to deduct, that we must create a change in the way we get our energy, and this change must be to a sustainable, and clean energy resource.

It is ridiculous that there has not been more of a push towards renewable energy. We could use all different kinds of energy to provide for our needs. According to the University of Delaware's Cristina Archer, “about 4 million turbines could provide the world with 7.5 terawatts of energy annually, about half of the estimated power necessary to run earth's power grids in 2030.” One half of our world’s energy is incredible. This shows that it is truly reasonable that we could go full renewable as it is capable of making power, and according to the GWEC, “314,000...The number of wind turbines spinning around the world at the end of 2015.” It may not seem like a lot, but without committing to wind power, we already have more than 1/12 of the wind turbines needed to reach the goal of seven and a half terawatts. If we were to commit to it, it is practical we could get to four million turbines. To make up for the other half we can turn to multiple sources. One very enticing idea is nuclear fusion. In the article “10 future energy solutions: renewables in the 21st century and beyond”, Michael Moran of thetimes.co.uk reveals, “ITER an international fusion power reactor, is currently under construction in Cadarache, France. It is expected to be able to produce over ten times as much power as is injected into its plasma core” This is remarkable energy output. I do realize this would not be renewable, but the use of fusion could make this a trusty resource for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years, which would give us more than enough time to grow other renewable sources, as well as invent new renewable ways to harvest energy. Also in “10 future energy solutions: renewables in the 21st century and beyond”, Michael Moran of thetimes.co.uk reports that “The first commercial-scale nuclear fusion plant, DEMO is expected to be constructed in 2024” This proves the technology, which has previously been rather elusive, is finally being made useable. Other ideas obviously are prevalent as well. Examples of these would be hydroelectricity, solar power, and geothermal power, among others. We cannot sit and wait while we have two energy sources as strong, and sustainable as nuclear and wind power.

I am asking you, future president, to think of the future. This is an opportunity to leave a legacy, not only here in America, but across the globe. We must find, and commit to, a reliable energy source. Fossil fuel usage must drop. Funding towards energy research, such as hydrogen powered cars, must be allocated. Change must occur, and it must occur sooner than later.

Sincerely, Joseph J, Grade 10, MN