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Dear President Biden and Vice-President Harris,

First of all, I am thrilled that you are president, and vice president. If I had been able to vote, you would have received my vote.

Did you know that meat harms the earth and that vegetarianism can help save us from annihilation? As you know, if you annihilate something, you put an end to its existence. Can you slowly move towards annihilating meat consumption in this country? You don’t have to do it all in one step, just slowly edge toward it. Here are some reasons. There’s more to meat than meets the eye.

First let me explain the problem. Raising meat is causing global warming. It produces a mega amount of greenhouse gases. To begin with, cows fart methane and a tremendous amount is going into the air and warming it up way too much. If that wasn’t enough, animal poop is polluting the water. It’s hurting the fish and the sea plants. Even worse, meat raisers are cutting down wild animals’ habitat to make enough room for their meat-producing properties!! And raising meat can cause overgrazing. Overgrazing is killing plants. Less plants means the earth burns up. And the baddest of all? There’s not going to be enough land to raise both the meat we “need” and the vegetables we truly need. By 2050 there won’t be enough food for everybody according to TIME. Seriously, guys: this IS global warming!

You don’t NEED meat to survive. Meat is a want. If you choose to eat meat, you’re polluting the environment. If everyone eats meat, guess what? There will be no more howler monkeys, anaconda snakes, giant otter or capybaras. Why? Their habitat will be taken up by cows, chickens, and other animals raised for meat. Think about meat like a solar eclipse or lunar eclipse: only have one serving of meat every five years. Or think about meat like your birthday: once a year, the most special thing in the history of most special things.

Here’s my solution. Stop eating meat entirely. No more meat in the world ever. Vegetarianism decreases global warming, improves air quality, and ensures that there will be enough food. Maybe you can have the White House be all vegetarian on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then you will be setting an example for others to follow.

Sincerely,

Clive Donaldson, age 9

383 words

 

Dear Governor Newsom, 

You have been doing an excellent job with coronavirus but there is another thing that has to stop and that is fracking. Fracking is a cheaper way to get oil out of the ground for cars and to heat houses but it harms the environment, trees and animal habitats. But if I were you I wouldn’t care about some girl telling me what to do; you would want reasons. Well, I have plenty. Fracking has many harmful effects. Its worst effect is on the environment by poisoning water. According to the Wilderness Organization, “fracking can poison ground water” with oil and natural gas. Fracking uses 4 million gallons of water per well, so that’s a lot of water contamination.  

The way it works is this. Huge holes are drilled into the ground, water, sand, and a mixture of chemicals are shot into the rock at high pressure. This fractures the rock and releases the gas. Fracking is legal in 21 states and should not be legal here. There are many other harmful effects of fracking as well. 

Like the disposing of bad fluids in water makes trees and plants die. It also poisons animals and affects their habitat. It can even destroy wildlife. For example, fracking weakens poisoned trees, encouraging parasites to attack the weak tree and harms bird eggs.  

Besides polluting water, fracking causes a lot of other harm, some of which we might not yet know. According to a Youtube video called “What is Fracking and Why it is Controversial,” fracking causes small earthquakes. Furthermore, “fracking can cause health issues such as cancer.” Those are just some of the harmful effects of fracking. Remember, we don’t know what they all are because fracking is so new. 

Many people believe that fracking is necessary. It provides jobs for lots of people because they make a decent amount of money from fracking. Additionally, fracking provides money by selling the gas to cars. It's an easier process than drilling in the ocean. Finally, fracking provides gas for cars and heats houses. These are all reasons why people believe fracking is important. But you need to know that fracking is not worth the money and to ban it in California! 

Although fracking is harmful there are ways to make it safer for the environment. Like replace fresh water with recycled water or brine to make fracking not as harmful as regular fracking. Reduce methane leaks from the process or use waterless fracking. Clean up the waste water. Finally, use renewable energy such as solar and wind power instead of fracking. These are some ways to make fracking less harmful. 

Now I understand that you like fracking and I agree with you that it can create jobs and provide cheap energy, which is all good for the economy. However, the harmful things it can do to the environment have a greater cost. We need to put our planet Earth first. Thank you for your time and please consider my idea about either banning fracking or finding other ways to get the money. 

Sincerely, 

Stella Gatt, age 8 

509 words 

Dear Kamala Harris, 

I am thrilled that you are Vice President, and that there is more diversity in the White House. However, I have a big problem… Fracking. Fracking is well known but people don’t know its cost. 

Fracking has been around since the 1940s, and it’s causing global warming by leaking methane, the powerful greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. According to WWF-Australia, “Global warming stresses ecosystems through temperature rises, water shortages, increased fire threats and drought...” 

According to Kurzgesagt–In a Nutshell, “fracking uses an average of 8 million liters of water, a daily consumption of about 65,000 people (90% of fracking fluid is water!) Fracking also uses tons of sand and 200,000 liters of chemicals!” If that's not crazy enough, fracking also increases the cost of ice cream! According to “ Things You Probably Don’t Know About Fracking” by Martin Tillier - (Jun 18, 2014,)” part of the ingredients of ice cream to improve the texture is guar gum. Guar gum is also used in fracking fluid. The price of guar gum increased 20 times since 2000 when fracking became more widespread, even though fracking has been around since the 1960s. However, there are still some solutions in sight. 

America should find better ways to get oil and, better yet, energy that is renewable and good for the environment. Like using energy from windmills to charge electric cars and heat your water. Also, the U.S Government should subsidize electric cars so we can stop using oil for cars.  

You may say, “We need oil and there's too many cars that rely on gas.” I KNOW! The government should fund scientific research to find better ways of getting oil and renewable energy. It should also fund companies that produce hybrid and electric cars each year to make them more affordable. 

Besides making sure our government does it’s part, If we are all aware and do our part as well, like saving energy, driving less and recycling, we can make change together. So, in the future, our earth will not be an unhealthy, polluted planet.  

Sincerely, 

Mason Coleman, age 9 

342 words 

Dear Auntie Kamala Harris, 

I feel so blessed that my generation gets to witness the first Black vice-president in the United States. Congratulations! Thank you for speaking out for People of Color’s rights, in fact all of our rights. But there’s a problem. White supremacists led by Donald Trump do not want rights for African Americans. Please help this country get to a place where Black lives truly matter. 

The 14th Amendment is defined as granting citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans and slaves who had been emancipated after the American Civil War. This was supposed to protect black people but today it does not. Many black lives have been lost because no one is following this amendment. When police shoot Black people more often than white people, does this sound like equal civil and legal rights? This happened more under Donald Trump’s presidency. Donald Trump threw away Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream--not actually, just metaphorically. I want you to make sure the 14th Amendment is enforced. I don’t want people to think it’s ok to be mean to African Americans. 

According to Representative Barbara Lee: “Black and Brown people are targeted more frequently than white Americans despite equal rates of (marijuana) use. Additionally, prison sentences for Black and Brown people are more likely to be longer than white people.” People may think “Black people will go on a rampage” if they are given equal rights. THAT'S SIMPLY NOT TRUE! They are actually really nice and just want to have equal rights and to be viewed as equal. Why would anyone think they are not? 

In summary, people of Color do not have equal civil and legal rights as protected by the 14th amendment. Every race should be viewed as equal and all of our lives, especially Black lives, matter everyday. You have a special responsibility to make sure the 14th amendment is enforced as a former prosecutor, daughter of immigrants and as the first African American woman vice-president. I believe you will do what’s right. 

Love, 

Your nephew, Mateo Jeremy Casher, age 9 

337 words 

417 words 

Dear President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, 

I am impressed with how you made it to president and vice president. But I have a problem: animals are going extinct. If we don’t help, they will go extinct one by one. And in the end, we will end up being extinct too! 

You probably haven't seen a tree without a trunk. That's because it is not very likely. That would be like an ecosystem without animals or plants. We should save endangered animals because each one is part of a larger community. And we are part of that community. 

Animals are endangered because of hunting, habitat loss, diseases and more. Many animals are going extinct because people are hunting them for meat, and destroying the forests they live in for timber and roads. 

It’s like what happened with the gray wolf. It was endangered and on the top of a food chain. When the wolves were not there, the elk went out of population and then the willow and aspen trees were endangered of being eaten too much and so on. 

You might be thinking, how are we going to save the animals that are going extinct? Here are some suggestions. To begin with, help reduce plastic use.There is one big problem for animals and that problem is plastic. Plastic can get stuck in the throats of all sorts of animals, and take away their ability to breath. Secondly, make a law that makes it illegal to hunt. Third, stay away from protected spots on beaches and in forests, where animals can rest, and eat. Finally, support the Animal Welfare company. Please help the animals and save us all. I know we can get through this mass extinction together.  

Sincerely, 

Evie, age 9 

282 words 

Dear Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden,  

As you know, climate change is harming the earth. Well, I want you to help. I live in California where global warming is causing massive wildfires. I’m worried that global warming will cause our trees to die, taking away needed oxygen. 

One simple solution to climate change is to reduce fossil fuels. The first and easiest way is for communities to ride bikes or walk instead of driving. Another is for them to use much more public transportation instead of individual cars. You could help by encouraging Congress to pass laws funding public transportation.  

Yet a third way to stop fossil fuel emissions is for you to subsidize hybrid and electric cars that don’t use much fossil fuel. These cars are better for the environment than gas cars. To begin with, when hybrid cars brake, they produce electricity from the friction. Hybrid cars are also better for the environment because when they are stopped, they produce no pollution. In addition, when hybrid cars go in reverse, the electric motor converts the motion into electricity. For these reasons I hope you consider subsidizing hybrid and electric cars. 

Another solution to global warming is installing solar panels. Solar panels are eco friendly and cut down on fossil fuels. We use most electricity during the day when they operate.  

You may be thinking it takes fossil fuels to produce solar panels, but this amount is tiny compared to the fossil fuels that would be used without them, particularly if the electricity is stored in batteries. 

Now, you might be thinking, this might be too expensive to fix and our economy doesn’t have enough money. But you really just need to realize the only reason people aren’t getting solar panels, electric and hybrid cars is they can’t afford them and cities can’t afford new public transportation. All you have to do is tax people like Elon Musk (188 Billion), Jeff Bezos (187 billion), Bill Gates (129), Mark Zuckerberg (105 billion) and Warren Buffett (87 billion) to pay for all this and give them solar panels in exchange. Their total net worth is $696 billion dollars. 696,000,000,000. Taxing them just 1%, less than a tenth of what my parents pay, would raise $6,960,000,000. Maybe you could pass an executive order to get this done. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. You two alone could help save our planet. 

Sincerely, 

Stieg Larsson-Hall, age 9 

412 words 

Dear Vice President Kamala Harris, , 

Global warming will heat up the earth and is therefore bad for the earth and I want you to stop it. Global warming started around the 1800's. It was discovered by a scientist named Guy Callendar. The earth's atmosphere is like a blanket. Like a greenhouse, earth traps heat and won’t let it go. That is why it is called the greenhouse effect. Global warming is caused by Co2. Co2 stands for carbon dioxide. 

Global warming harms coastal areas. The ocean absorbs most of the green house heat and kills the coral. Fish habitats like clownfish, live in coral reefs. So, some species of fish are going extinct and eventually there will be a food shortage. According to the YouTube Video, Saving Corals from the Effects of Climate Change, “Reefs provide crucial protections from storms.” Hawaii might go under water as the ocean levels rise, rain forest might even turn into deserts. Some coastal areas will go under water. For example, Antarctica will melt. Oceans will rise and polar bears will have a harder time surviving. In addition, some coastal areas will be shifted to different areas. Those are some ways global warming harms coastal areas.  

But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can encourage people to ride a bike, walk or use public transportation instead of driving a car, using less gas and producing less Co2. For example, if there is a candy shop two blocks away, you could just walk there right? Why use Gas and co2 when you don’t even need to use any! Well of course if it’s like 56 miles away you can use public transportation, or if there is a thing where you have to stay away from others ( like covid-19) you can use an electric car. But please, try not to use too much gas. I hope you consider doing this.  

Sincerely, 

Sophie Duramad, age 8 

310 words