Reversing the Irreversible by Camille

Reversing the Irreversible by Camille - April 2023 Scholarship Essay

I am currently taking Advanced Placement Environmental Science. Here are some not-so-fun facts that I’ve learned:

An average of 27,000 trees are cut down each day. 78% of marine mammals are at risk of choking on plastic. Americans throw away 25 trillion Styrofoam cups every year. Every three months, Americans throw enough aluminum in landfills to build our nation’s entire commercial air fleet. We use more of the earth's resources than it can renew.

Climate change could be irreversible by 2030.

Obviously, something needs to be done. If I had unlimited time and money, I would do everything possible to fix the nearly irreversible damage that humans have done to our home.

I would start a nonprofit that would head legislation such as the Montreal Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Accords (all international agreements that have reduced human advancements of global warming). This legislation would place increased restrictions on the mileage necessary to sell commercial vehicles (for example, all cars need to drive at least 20 miles per gallon). This would greatly reduce emissions of CO2, N2O, and CH4 (all extremely harmful greenhouse gases). We would also place increased restrictions on the amount of deforestation that companies and nations are allowed to commit. When deforestation occurs, carbon stored by trees is released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, which contributes to climate change. By inhibiting deforestation, we can reduce the amount of climate change that we would otherwise be facing.

Not only would I propose legislation, I would also start by using my influence and capital to encourage and fund companies and individuals to switch to sustainable energy. Just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions. The main of these is the gasoline companies that allow our vehicles to run. I would put a lot of time, money, and energy into funding electric vehicle companies to make their vehicles more accessible and affordable as well as to make them more efficient. This would greatly diminish two significant sources of pollution: vehicle combustion and fossil fuel extraction.

AP Environmental Science has taught me that while we have impacted our planet greatly, through hard work we can stop our dependence on fossil fuels and hopefully save our planet. If our planet doesn’t survive, all the money in the world would be pointless. We need to save our planet and it doesn’t take unlimited money or time to do that. We have to start now.