An Open Letter to President Obama About the Environment – RepostIn addition to marking the 40th anniversary of landing on the moon, today also marks 6 months since President Obama took the oath of office. Six months. Wow, it seems longer than that. It is good to see that even with all the items on his agenda, from two wars to a financial crisis to working out the healthcare issues and more, that he has kept the environmental issues at the forefront. His goals remain and we need to help in any way to show him their importance so they can be achieved. In honor of this 6 month milestone, I am reposting an entry written the day before the inauguration and will post on his official websites and others today and invite everyone to do the same. Spread the word on this letter or write one of your own. Either way, let your opinions be heard.
Dear President Obama, Congratulations to you, your family, to this country and all others around the world. With you as our president, many aspects of our society will improve as we leave one administration and start another. Today is a day of service your wife has led, Martin Luther King Day, and the final countdown to your inauguration. While you have a lot to turn your attention to, I ask you to make the environment and the climate crisis a focal point. It is connected to so many aspects of our lives and policies, and as you have indicated, it is important to make it one of our top priorities. I am the Founder of Earth Promise (www.earthpromise.com), an online community dedicated to bringing people together who want to take better care of the environment. We provide an easy way for people to make, track and keep promises about actions that will benefit the earth. I am writing today to learn about your Earth Promises and how you can impact those made by others. You are the leader to move us forth. President Bush did not view this as a top priority. I ask you to please make it one. Why am I writing this letter to you? It is for Sasha and Malia. It is for my two daughters. It is for their generation and the ones that follow. Yes, we will pay the price for inaction on this issue. But left as is, it will get worse and worse for them. We all need to think about the environment, and how it affects us and our future generations. The polar bears, the trees, the ice caps cannot speak. We need to take action and help them. We need to take action to protect them. We need to take action and speak for them. I think Dr. Seuss said it best in his book The Lorax, written WAY ahead of its time (1971). “I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.” We need to speak for the trees. Your New Energy Plan for America is an outline for success in this area with support. We need the backing of politicians and corporations to help us down the path to fix this crisis. We also need the average person. They need to be educated on the impact of global warming and know they can take steps to help. While there are many sites, TV shows, and movies about this issue, no voice can come through stronger to people than yours. Speak for the trees. An individual has many opportunities to take action and make Earth Promises or changes in their lifestyles to benefit the environment. From reducing ones use of water, electricity, and gas and reducing the amount of waste, all of us can make a difference. These potential changes can be seen in all aspects of our lives from the home and school to shopping and food to travel and cars. Many are easy steps that may not appear to be a lot on its own, but when many people take similar actions, the impact grows exponentially. You can help with these Earth Promises as well. We need your help to generate momentum to create programs that enable, incent and drive groups of people to make these Earth Promises. Encouraging schools to implement recycling programs and give them an incentive to do so. For top schools, maybe that incentive is new energy efficient computers, or even a trip to visit you. The effect of such a program will not only have a direct effect on the environment but will teach students about the crisis. Think of the viral impact. How about working with retailers to eliminate the use of plastic bags? Give a tax credit not just for being in a certain tax bracket, but for taking action to help the environment. What about a program revolving around planting trees? While many people are already taking steps to help the environment, there are still many who are not. We need to change them from just thinking green to acting green. With your words, with your guidance, with your encouragement, you can make these Earth Promises part of the lives of more and more people. As my colleagues and I worked on taglines for Earth Promise, we kept coming up with ones that included the word Change. Of course, you ended up taking a lot of the good ones! But it is what we need to do regarding global warming and the climate crisis. In the end, we decided on a tagline that works as well. It is Caring Together. We need to care for this planet, care for our trees and animals, and care for ourselves. But mostly, together we need to care for our future generations. For our daughters, and for our future. I wish you nothing but the best as you steer this country down the path it needs to go. Regards, Adam Berg Tags: administration, Barack Obama, carbon footprint, climate change, earth, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-friendly, energy efficient, environment, environmental issues, global warming, green changes, green economy, green living, green practices, green tips, inauguration, Obama, politics, President, President Obama, white house |
