We as Americans are currently experiencing the worst social and economic crisis since the Great Depression that resulted from the stock market crash in 1929. Our infrastructure is slowly falling apart, our country is in debt, and our environmental mistakes are finally starting to catch up with us. If something is not done soon, our nation and more importantly our world could completely fall apart. Although there are many urgent issues with our nation and our world, I believe that the most important ones are global warming and our crumbling infrastructure. Fixing the global warming issue will require a transfer from fossil fuels and other pollutants to renewable energy and fuel, while creating new jobs and boosting the economy can fix our current infrastructure problems.

    One environmental expert recently said, “Global warming is the biggest and most serious problem faced by us in this century”( Venkataramani). We are finally beginning to feel the consequences of polluting our nation and our planet for hundreds of years. It is statistically shown that The United States of America is “ ranked number one as a global warming polluter compared to other large nations( “Global Warming by the Numbers”). We are contributing to the global warming problems more than almost any country in the world, yet we do less than most to solve it. We are dangerously close to making this issue irreversible and acing consequences of unimaginable size.

    In order to fix this, we must begin the move to alternative, renewable energy. Many environmental experts agree “Fusion power plants and hydrogen fuelled transport systems would prove to be safer options for the future generation”(Ho 153). Using these power plants as opposed to the ones used now would greatly reduce carbon monoxide emissions into the air, and provide cleaner, safer energy for all. We need to begin the changes in our power plants and transportation systems immediately. Solar energy is also another clean method of power that we as a nation need to explore further. We are fully capable of using solar energy for thousands of different things, yet we refuse to replace any significant power plants with solar plants. There is plenty of solar energy to use, in fact “The amount of energy the sun sends towards our planet is 35,000 times more than what we currently produce and consume” (Obot-Witherspoon 214). Not only is this energy readily available, it is totally eco-friendly and does not pollute at all. Although there is no single solution for the current global warming crisis, I firmly believe that if we use al of our resources and move from our current methods for getting power to " a revolution in clean vehicles and energy captured from the sun, wind, and waves" (Becker, Forbes, and Pope 172).    

   Infrastructure is defined as the basic physical systems of a country's or community's population, including roads, utilities, water, sewage, etc. These systems are considered essential for enabling productivity in the economy. When examining our nation's infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers awarded us a "D," which is "a step below the cumulative D+ received in 2001, the last time the ASCE issued the report" (Taraska). The infrastructure of the United States has been steadily declining since the 1980's, and something must be done about that immediately. As president of this country, I believe it is your responsibility to make a change in America and begin to fix our currently crumbling infrastructure.

    I believe that we need to invest "to fix bridges, highways and other infrastructure," because this will inevitably "generate up to 2 million new jobs, directly and indirectly" (Horsley). Along with improving the infrastructure, the fact that these projects create new jobs will boost the struggling economy, and begin to pull America out of her financial hole. Although some may argue that we do not have the money to fund these projects, I believe we should fund these projects with money we are now using for the war that is going nowhere. If we are spending billions of dollars a week trying to fix Iraq, I don't see why we can't use some of that money to work on our problems here at home. In order to fix these transportation issues, it is imperative that you as president reduce or eliminate earmark spending in infrastructure bills. According to Citizens Against Government Waste, roughly$1 out of every $14 from last year's highway bill was earmarked for special interests — $20 billion out of a total $286.4 billion" (Kulish). A perfect example of this earmark spending is the Alaskan Bridge to Nowhere project, where over $200 million was wasted on a bridge that literally went to nowhere. We as a nation are already struggling to finance infrastructure projects, so I believe that we have no room to throw away money, and that you as president should be responsible for preventing this. As well as repairing our existing infrastructure, I also think it is necessary to invest in improved transportation technology. Projects, such as "Booz Allen’s design work for an ambitious next-generation air transportation system, now under way, will accommodate three times today’s traffic levels as well as the air transport demands of 2025" (Booz Allen Hamilton). You as president must not only focus on rebuilding the infrastructure of today, but also on shaping the infrastructure of tomorrow. Not only will this prevent us from having similar infrastructure problems down the road, it has also been proven that it is more costly to repair something that is broken than to build something new.

    Many experts as well as citizens of the United States argue against spending any significant amount of money on a economic stimulus program. They believe that “By propping up production, employment and confidence, a stimulus package aims to buy time. (Samuelson 1). I, on the other hand, think that as long as you provide solid public works programs and do not waste money on unnecessary items these programs will create a functioning self sustaining economy that is steadily expanding.

            Our nation is in serious trouble President Obama, and it is your duty to begin the process of becoming once again an economic power as well as a well functioning country. By creating new jobs and repairing transportation systems you will boost the economy and strengthen our currently failing infrastructure. Along with this you must start the change from pollutant fuel and energy to cleaner, renewable methods. While one single change will not fix our problems entirely, I sincerely believe that these two issues will be a great start to get the United States of America back on her feet.