The earth has experienced massive meteor showers, killer hurricanes, and erupting volcanoes. Though all of these were devastating, all were natural. The Earth has been around for billions of years and although some of its organisms have died out, the Earth itself showed no sign of ever being swayed by what happened. Until now.

Now, global warming has enveloped the Earth and brought along with it smog, acid rain, large hurricanes, drastic climate changes, and other events yet to come. The late 18th and 19th centuries marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, bringing machines into the world. At first, people thought these machines were fantastic creations, making it easier to live. We now know they harm the very ecosystem in which we live.

Each year since the combustion engine’s creation, there has been a change in the Earth’s ecosystem. The world’s people didn’t notice the changes until the 1970s. Now in my eighth year in school, I’ve seen and experienced global warming. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana. It breached the levees and flooded the streets of New Orleans, killing several hundred people. In that same year, we experienced a hurricane far from the normal hurricane season; Hurricane Wilma hit the Atlantic basin in the middle of October. While watching the news in my science class, my jaw dropped.

That’s when I knew I had to say something. This world has to undergo a full-blown change. If we don’t, we will definitely kill off everything, leaving a mess for the next generation. All the politicians talk about how scientists are researching new ways of making cleaner energy and eco-safe automobiles. In my opinion, the president should put the money for the war in Iraq toward researching new ways to make the world cleaner.

With the 124 billion dollars in funds put into the war last March, the U.S. could have put the thousands of scientists on commission to research how to clean up our act. This would help many in this country today and would possibly prevent the total annihilation of every creature on this planet. This opinion isn’t coming from a politician, scientist, teacher, it’s coming from a teenager sitting in front of the television watching the events unfurl. As unaccredited as I am, ask yourself this: if a young girl sees where the world is most likely heading, don’t you think that it must be a serious problem that needs fixing?