Environmental Letter to the President Elect

Dear President-Elect-Obama-

I am writing to inform you about an environmental issue that is threatening our nation. The United States of America is a great nation. Its people are intelligent and hardworking, however, they are also extremely wasteful. This nation produces about 1,609 pounds of garbage a year per person making the US the top garbage producing country in the world. To put that another way, 5 percent of the world’s population produces 40 percent of the world’s garbage (Solarflair). That is an outrageous percentage that has to be changed. I think with the change in leadership of this country can come a change in disregard for the environment. There are many reasons the people of America do not recycle. Some are unaware of the problem while some are aware but recycling places are inaccessible. These problems have very real solutions. As president, it would be unfortunate if you chose to ignore this issue.

Many people are just purely uneducated and unaware when it comes to waste verse recycling. As president, you have the power to bring the spotlight on this issue. Running public service announcement and starting a nation wide recycling movement would defiantly bring it to the forefront. Bring the statistics to the average American would influence the amount of recycling that takes place. Letting people know that if each person recycled one tenth of their newspapers then America would save on average 25 million trees (Solarflair). It would be even better if people were able to access the news through other outlets than even more trees would be saved. Newspapers are just one example of how something so small can affect the environment so much. If we applied this to paper, plastic, metals, and other recyclable materials, our environment would not be deteriorating at such a fast pace. Educating and making people aware of the situation would greatly improve at least the probability of recycling, if not actually recycling.

Many people understand the effects of not recycling however, places to recycle are not very accessible. Helping states to get better recycling programs is a very real solution to this problem. Having a reward system to states that implement these recycling programs up to a certain set standard may make recycling a higher priority. When the government makes recycling a higher priority would help to encourage more people to think the next time they drink a bottle of water. When a recycling bin is right next to the garbage can, it is just as easy to throw the bottle in the recycling bin, as it is to throw it in the regular garbage. The decision is much easier to make when no extra effort is involved. Also in this time of economic recession many more people would recycle if they knew that it would save them some money. To have garbage incinerated or taken away to landfills cost on average more than to recycle it. If recycling were made easier, more people would participate.

President-elect-Obama, I know that you have very strong environmental policies that you plan to put into action once you are sworn into office. I am asking you to look into recycling. This issue could help to solve some of the bigger issues that are affecting our environment. Educating people and making recycling more accessible are just some suggestions that might help to get recycling into the mainstream public of America. I look forward to what you are going to be able to accomplish when you are president. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Liann Correia



Works Cited
"Environment." Barack Obama: US Senator for Illinois. 17 Nov. 2008 .
"Recycling Facts." A Recycling Revolution-Solarflair. 17 Nov. 2008 .