Letter to Obama About World Issues

It is evident that the world is facing many issues. However, some issues are more urgent then others. As a citizen of the United States it is my duty to reiterate the most important issue. This issue is none other than global warming. What makes this issue so urgent is that people chose to ignore it. Whether it is ignorance of the facts, or plane disrespect towards the environment which we live in, people think that global warming is not really happening. However, evidence of global warming is shown through out the world with more frequently occurring extreme weather, melting Arctic and Antarctic Sea ice, and a carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere. Global warming is in fact a real phenomenon which will not go away on its own.

Ever since the last ice age, about 19,000 years ago, the temperature has risen at a rate of about 6.5 degrees Celsius each century. That translates to about .5 degrees Celsius each year. Because of this constant rise in temperature, there is a much bigger risk for floods and droughts in the near future. These floods and droughts will make it very difficult for farms to grow produce. Because of this inability to keep up with the population's food consumption, produce will become scarce. Food scarcity is something which needs to be avoided, because of the number of people on the planet. Another example of extreme weather is natural disasters. From hurricanes to tsunamis, natural disasters can be big enough to wipe out a whole nation. After a natural disaster does strike it takes many months to many years to fully recover. If the climate temperature keeps increasing, then these natural disasters will become more frequent. It will then be nearly impossible to recover from one natural disaster before another one occurs. People will have to choose which disaster to recover from first. The trade-offs are all lose-lose situations.

More evidence of global warming is shown in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. There is plenty of ice in these permanent winter wonderlands. However, with melting sea ice, global warming is proving itself to be a worthy opponent. According to the researchers at EcoBridge.org (a global warming awareness database) over the means of 30 years there has been a loss of 40% of arctic sea ice. It has decreased in thickness, shrinking form a 10ft thickness to a 6ft thickness. Arctic and Antarctic sea ice has also shrunk by 250 million acres. This is equivalent to an area the size of California, Maryland and Texas combined. The ice is shrinking at an average of 14,000 square miles annually. It is important to keep in mind that all of the ice melting is fresh water. When the fresh water mixes with salt water, it throws gulf currents out of whack. These currents are vital in regulating safe climate temperatures. When the currents are not working then the climate temperatures will climb to an all time high. Essentially, it is important that the Government starts some sort of intervention to stop the rising temperatures. This way, higher temperatures can be avoided.

The final piece of evidence that global warming exists is the carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide has always been increasing since the industrial time era. From that time era to now, carbon dioxide has increased about 35%. Carbon dioxide gas gets trapped in the ozone layer and catches the sun's rays. This then heats the gas and raises the temperature of the atmosphere. It is admitted daily in the air through cars, buildings, air planes, and burning of coal in power plants. This gas is easily put into the atmosphere, yet it can easily be brought out of the atmosphere. If people choose to help the environment, there are many different things they can do. They can choose to car pool, drive less, take public transportation, travel less, and use more energy efficient appliances. If everyone on the planet chose to drive less, or be a little bit more environmental friendly, then the planet will be in much better shape.

Global warming is real, whether people want to believe in it or not. The evidence is shown throughout the world with more extreme weather, melting Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, and increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is important that this phenomenon is stopped before it is too late. If nothing is done, global warming could very well be the reason why the world ends. Therefore, it is important that everyone in the world does their part in creating a change. Individually, one person can not stop this but as a whole this issue can be seeing its' final days.

Sincerely,xxxxxxxxx