Dear Future President,

Imagine a world with crazy storms, more droughts, and no beautiful beaches. This is what it could come to as a result of climate change. Temperatures are increasing, polar ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising, and nobody is doing anything about it. Climate change is a huge problem we face in America that needs to be dealt with.

The main cause of climate change is the increase in greenhouse gas. The definition of a greenhouse gas is, “a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation.” Such as, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and nitrous oxide. These gases trap heat. As these greenhouse gasses increase, it causes more trapping of heat which leads to global warming.

Human activity is mostly responsible for climate change. The burning of coal, natural gas, and oil for vehicles and electricity emits greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. The most emitted greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. While carbon dioxide is naturally present in the atmosphere, humans have cause the amount to exceedingly increase. According to ProConOrg Headlines, “Atmospheric levels of CO2 have risen from about 317 ppm in 1958 to 400 ppm in 2013.” (Is Human Activity Primarily Responsible for Global Climate Change?) This is the most amount of carbon dioxide that has ever been in the atmosphere. Deforestation is another cause of climate change. Humans are clearing forests, killing plants and trees that are needed in the environment. Plants and trees use carbon dioxide to grow, and without the large population of them the carbon dioxide is not being taken in and turned to oxygen. This means more carbon dioxide is left in the atmosphere, and more trapping of heat.

Some people believe that climate change, or global warming, is not even happening. They think that the temperatures and sea levels have not changed. This is not true. According to ProConOrg Headlines, “Over the 20th century, as the concentrations of CO2, CH4, and NO2 increased in the atmosphere, the earth warmed by approximately 1.4°F.” (Is Human Activity Primarily Responsible for Global Climate Change?) Because of this small increase, the polar ice caps are melting. Nation Geographic states, “The annual rate of rise over the past 20 years has been 0.13 inches a year, roughly twice the average speed of the preceding 80 years.” Although this doesn’t sound like a lot, it is predicted to keep increasing more over the years if the emissions of greenhouse gas keep increasing.

There are things that can be done to prevent climate change. Instead of burning fossil fuels, renewable energy can be used. Solar and wind energy can be used in place of fuels for electricity. Solar panels can be placed on your home and energy efficient vehicles can be more widely used. This would help the amount of fuels emitted into the atmosphere. Another thing that can be done is stopping deforestation. Forests are being cleared to build homes, malls, and other buildings. We need to stop this before we don't have many trees left.

If we don’t do something about climate change, our earth could change drastically. As the emissions of greenhouses increase, so does the temperatures and sea levels. I hope that you see this as a big problem and do something about it.