A Time for Change

            "We have not seen a nationwide decline in housing like this since the Great Depression," (Leonard, 2008). This was said by the CEO of Wells Fargo referring to the hardships that are occurring currently in our nation as compared to the struggles many had during the period of the Great Depression. The last time this nation had seen such distress and extreme economic downfall was during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. Now, not only is our nation suffering, but our state is slowly crumbling also. Schools are slowly being threatened by this economic downfall. Many rural town schools are being threatened. “Officials in 25 to 30 states are considering rural school cuts…the one-teacher school is in particular danger. In 2005-06, the most recent year for which data are available, only 335 remained,” (Powers, 2009). This was said Marty Strange, policy director for the nonprofit Rural School and Community Trust. In this time when so many are without jobs, losing homes and cars, it worsens the fact that not only is our nation falling apart, but so is our environment. “When all the signs point in the same direction, and in this case it's a bad direction, you pretty much know what's going to happen," said David Battisti, the University of Washington scientist who led the study. "You're talking about hundreds of millions of additional people looking for food because they won't be able to find it where they find it now” (West). Battisti explains that due to the environment, the earth is experiencing great suffering and because of global warming, there are possible chances of droughts and a major impact on crop production. In order to minimize these issues, our nation needs leadership to take charge by implementing changes to address the economic and environmental crisis of our nation and earth. This will be accomplished by reducing greenhouse gases, using renewable resources, regulating the currency of businesses, and not wasting money by putting it into places like prisons, when it can go to rebuilding destroyed towns, bridges or roads.

            The economy is at a peaking point of turmoil at this time and the Americans of all classes have to suffer for it.  Whether it be through parents having money deducted from their retirement fund or schools losing certain courses like art and music programs, the economy is hitting every turn point for the worst, and there is a need for change. President and CEO of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, made for grantmakers who are dedicated to building a strong, nonprofit organization, Kathleen Enright, believes that in this time of economic crisis, there can be ways to work around it. “The Tony R. Wells Foundation in Ohio finds offering lines of credit to nonprofits in their area to be a win-win. It can offer nonprofits cheaper interest rates than banks provide, but a higher interest rate than the foundation would generate from buying treasury bills. The foundation has also offered to buy up nonprofit loans that are about to go into default in order to negotiate manageable repayment terms”(Enright, 2009). Enright believes that this is a possible time to work through the economy.

            With an economy that can be compared to the Great Depression in the 1930’s, it is luckily nowhere near to what it was then, at least for now. For an example, with the banks that have failed today, and have had to merge with others, there is no comparison to the amount of banks that completely failed in the 1930’s. Also, the 2008 38 percent stock drop is in no comparison to the 90 percent drop during the Depression. As Federal Reserve chairman and Great Depression scholar mentioned in a speech, “There is no comparison — an order of magnitude difference in what we're seeing — in the slowdown and the financial stress we're seeing in this economy and what happened in the 1930s” (Scheon, 2009). With hope and luck, there will be a chance that the US will not fall into another Depression. In order to try avoiding these happenings, charge will need to be taken. Firstly, said by Tim Walz “Fighting to improve our economy isn’t just about seeing the Dow Jones Average go up. Fighting to improve our economy means fighting to improve the lives of people — especially those that most need a helping hand getting a job, paying their heat bill or covering the cost of their medication”(Walz, 2008). This is valid because the only way the economy can be regulated is by the consistency of the middle and lower class society. These are the people struggling through this time and losing jobs, cars, homes, food, proper health care, etc. By giving back to these middle and lower class citizens, more people will be buying and spending money, causing a demand for workers, resulting in making money. This flow would help the economy immensely and cause a rise in the stock market because businesses will be selling and people will be buying.

            In addition, the future for the generations to come might also be in danger if action is not taken soon. The future for the generations might be a grim one because of the nasty downfall of our environment as well. Not only is this affecting the U.S., but also all over the world. There are countless numbers of issues with the earth, all needing to be fixed. Firstly, there are several things that average person can be doing in everyday life, such as recycling, reducing, and reusing. Save energy by turning off lights, use less hot water, and drive cars that gets good gas mileage. By doing these small tasks, it can help the planet recover. A major environmental issue that needs fixing is the greenhouse gases. Although the planet and being on it cannot live without it, there is an overabundance of greenhouse gases. “The problems begin when human activities distort and accelerate the natural process by creating moregreenhouse gases in the atmosphere than are necessary to warm the planet to an ideal temperature” (West). The over excessive greenhouse gas is due to gasoline from car engines, or burning of national gas, coal, and oil. Also, factory pollution, and overpopulation are main factors. It is said by Ross Gelbspan, editor and reporter, “The warming of the atmosphere is already destroying forests in Alaska as well as in the northwestern U.S. and Canada. We will likely see crop failures in the world’s “breadbaskets” due to changes in rainfall patterns, more extensive drought, water scarcity, and insect infestations” (Gelbspan, 2008 ). Basically, what Gelbspan is saying is that if there is nothing done to help the earth, then the life and health of the planet will be harsh and weak. Because there will be an enormous crop reduction, many people will end up losing their jobs and money because the expense of food will be higher and their will be a shortage of land workers, so many people would loose their job.

            “We cannot afford more of the same timid politics when the future of our planet is at stake. Global warming is not a someday problem, it is now. We are already breaking records with the intensity of our storms, the number of forest fires, the periods of drought. By 2050 famine could force more than 250 million from their homes . . . . The polar ice caps are now melting faster than science had ever predicted. . . . This is not the future I want for my daughters. It's not the future any of us want for our children. And if we act now and we act boldly, it doesn't have to be” (Obama Biden, 2009). This was said by President Barack Obama. This shows that he truly wants to help change the world and protect it for those who will be leading the future. His goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. With this help and support from the President, the environment should hopefully have a quick recovery and shall make a turn for the better.         

            In all, there is much to be said about the economy and the environment. As a whole, our economy and environment is slowly deteriorating, and we are the only ones that can make the change to fix it. With help and support from President Obama, Americans can look forward to a better and brighter future. With his support, Americans can feel a little more at ease because the President and Vice President are planning on establishing a low carbon fuel standard and ensures renewable resources for electricity. Although it seems we have never ending issues, especially with the economy, someone needs to do something so that our money is not continued being wasted, and going towards prisons. “Unless it’s changed, that law will soon see California prisons operating the world’s largest geriatric hospital system, with many thousands of convicts staying long after they’re a threat to anyone at a cost topping $100,000 per year for a typical inmate with chronic illness” (Elias, 2008). Thomas Elias is saying that Americans are paying thousands of dollars a year to pay for health care in prisons, when that money should be going to somewhere more effective, like to rebuilding homes for people whose homes have been destroyed by hurricanes. By taking all the right steps to making our world a better place to live in, Americans all over can feel more confident about a brighter tomorrow, a better economy, and a safer environment to live in.

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