Dear Future President,

The human race is slowly but surely killing the environment we live in. Every year, the amount of trees that are cut down and habitats destroyed increases. About five minutes from where I live, what used to be nature trails and forest is now an ever-expanding neighborhood of houses. The beautiful forest is now being ripped up even though many of the houses have not been sold yet. As someone who loves the Earth, I find this unnecessary and destructive. Something needs to change. It has long term consequences on us, the animal species, and the environment.

According to Stuart L. Pimm, an American-British biologist, the croplands of the Earth that cover around fifteen million kilometers are mostly composed of deforested land. All forest types, from cool boreal to hot tropical, are victims of deforestation. Forests are cut down for practices such as commercial logging for paper products, building houses, or clearing forests to plant economically valuable trees. Smaller farms that lack the equipment to cut down large numbers of trees practice slash and burn agriculture, which leaves huge sections of land barren when the farmers are forced to move on. Futile attempts to regrow these forests does not come near the rate at which they are being destroyed. Attempts to regrow forests quickly resulted in using eucalyptus and fast growing pines, which are very rarely native to the area in which they’re planted.

There are many long term consequences that come along with deforestation. For example, one of the areas that has the most most diverse animal species in the world is the Amazon Rain Forests. When the trees are cut down, the homes of animals are cut as well, which contributes to extinction. Every animal has a purpose in the world, therefore when one is permanently removed, the whole ecosystem is out of order. For instance, there are hundreds of species of spiders in the rain forest, that in turn eat a large numbers of insects. If the trees the spiders make their homes are wiped out, then the insect population is out of control. These insects eat crops. Not only does this hurt the environment, but it's disadvantageous to humans. Along with the extinction of animals, Pimm points out, the practice of slash and burn agriculture releases the carbon from the wood into the air. Carbon is a greenhouse gas and is a large contributor to global warming. These dense forests are also large consumers of carbon dioxide, a gas poisonous to most animals. Without trees to consume carbon dioxide and release oxygen, the quality of air will steadily decrease. Only when we are all poisoned will humans realize they cannot breathe money. The environment should be the world's number one priority, but instead we leave future generations with the mess we will leave behind on this planet.

How can we fix this issue? Well, future president, being the head of the executive department of the United States does have its advantages. You can spread more pro-recycling propaganda, propose more recycling programs, and provide more funding to build more recycling programs. If we recycle all of the paper we have, then a large portion of trees being cut down would be spared. Furthermore, you could propose a profitable program that allows people to invest in fixing up old houses, and then reselling them instead of clearing forests to build houses. Don't make it profitable to build houses when people won't even buy them. Regulate commercial logging. You could also set aside more areas of forest for national parks.

If we don't get our act together, then it will have grave consequences on everyone. Why not take steps to make it worthwhile to go green? Make it “cool” to use reusable shopping bags. You can help greatly reduce deforestation and improve the environment of this country.

Sincerely,

Lexie D