[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 1, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4130-S4132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           VERMONT STATE OF THE UNION ESSAY CONTEST FINALISTS

 Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask to have printed in the 
Record some of the finalist essays written by Vermont High School 
students as part of the 10th annual ``State of the Union'' essay 
contest conducted by my office.
       The material follows:

               Samuel Dooley, Milton High School, Senior

       The country that we live in today is plagued with 
     fundamental problems. Ranging from political corruption to an 
     inefficient healthcare system, yet the single most important 
     issue facing our country today is nationwide environmental 
     neglect. Without

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     extreme actions being taken immediately, more irreversible 
     damage will be done.
       In 2018, the United States emitted 6.5 billion metric tons 
     of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This is an estimated 
     8.8% more than 1990. Between 1990 and 2010, the United States 
     lost 949,750 acres of forest on average per year. The U.S. 
     Department of Energy estimates that 1.9 million gallons of 
     oil are spilled into U.S. oceans every year.
       Current studies show that the effects of climate change are 
     more severe and are moving faster than was formerly 
     predicted. What needs to happen is large scale environmental 
     programs with legal incentives such as tax breaks, as well as 
     punishments for not adhering to the plans like jail time and 
     loss of government funding or subsidies. The most accurate 
     proposal of recent years is the Green New Deal. This proposal 
     called for a World War 2 type mobilization of the country to 
     achieve 100% clean energy by 2030. This plan also looked to 
     better the economy by creating jobs in sustainable 
     industries, unlike jobs currently involved in fossil fuel 
     industries, as well as investing in renewable public 
     transportation and clean organic agriculture. The first step 
     to combating climate change would be to immediately adopt 
     this proposal, yet in March of 2019 the proposal was rejected 
     by a Republican controlled Senate.
       The very first step that should be taken is the 
     readmittance of the U.S. into the Paris Climate Agreement. It 
     is the duty of the United States to set an example for the 
     rest of the world about how to combat climate change. An 
     important idea is to make environmental agencies as 
     nonpartisan as possible, similar to the NLRB where the 
     members consist of nearly equal Republicans as well as 
     Democrats at all times. This would ensure that decisions are 
     made based on science instead of based on party ties and 
     political affiliations.
       The most important goal being to make the United States 
     completely carbon neutral. A plan for most, if not all, 
     energy produced to come from clean sources would be necessary 
     to achieving that goal. Another necessity would be the 
     implementation of programs designed to restore forests and 
     wildlife. This would mean increased regulation on logging 
     industries as well as oil industries. With an increased 
     punishment for violating these regulations. These initiatives 
     would be able to transition Americans losing their jobs in 
     fossil fuel industries into clean energy industries, which 
     would be a sustainable alternative. Green jobs would have 
     higher job security than fossil fuels due to the fact that 
     there is a finite amount of coal and oil available to be 
     extracted, once the planet no longer has these resources 
     available all of these millions of workers will lose their 
     jobs with no replacement. With a program like the Green New 
     Deal, these workers will have jobs that do not have an 
     expiration date. It is important to remember that those first 
     and most heavily affected by this crisis, are people with 
     lower incomes. This is not only an environmental issue, but 
     also a human rights issue.
       It is up to all of us now to be able to preserve this 
     planet and create a stable system which will allow all 
     generations moving forward to prosper in a healthy 
     environment.

           Meredith Jackson, Burlington High School, Freshman

       One issue in Vermont that doesn't get enough recognition is 
     the cost of eating healthy. It isn't affordable for many, and 
     the expenses can even discourage people to eat healthily. If 
     the prices are discouraging people to eat healthily, then 
     they might resort to unhealthier foods because they are 
     cheaper and in more of the average price range for most.
       Healthy Living and City Market both have a goal to provide 
     local farm-fresh produce including prep items for healthy, 
     nourishing, meals, and a selection of ingredients to cook 
     vegan or gluten-free meals. Healthy living and City Market 
     are great in that they provide fresh local produce, and for 
     the quality that it is the prices make sense. On the Healthy 
     Living website, the price for a container of raspberries can 
     range anywhere from $4.29-$5.69. That may not seem like a lot 
     but at McDonald's, you can get an entire meal for that much. 
     That is just what many people choose to do, resort to cheaper 
     options such as fast food.
       Unlike fresh produce and wholegrain-rich foods, fast food 
     is quick, easy, and very cheap, making it ideal for people 
     who can't afford to shop at places like city Market or 
     Healthy living.
       According to Gallup, 80% of Americans eat fast food on at 
     least a monthly basis, and 96% of Americans eat fast food 
     annually. Fast food isn't bad unless a person has it often, 
     say at least once a week. Eating unhealthy foods, too often, 
     can cause people to become overweight or even obese. Over 
     99,000,000 adults in the U.S. are overweight and over 
     70,000,000 are obese.
       Obesity can cause many health issues that could have been 
     prevented if that person were of a healthy weight. Some risks 
     include high blood pressure, diabetes, gout, breathing 
     problems, such as sleep apnea and asthma, Gallbladder disease 
     and gallstones, Osteoarthritis, Heart disease, stroke, and 
     even cancer. Maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle will 
     reduce the risk of many of these health problems.
       It's not guaranteed that people become obese overtime 
     because healthy food is too expensive, eating unhealthily 
     isn't the only factor that causes obesity, but it could very 
     well be. If healthier foods were cheaper, it would be an 
     option for more people and would encourage them to eat 
     healthier reducing the risk of obesity. Having the 
     availability of healthy meals is important.
       A healthy diet is beneficial to your everyday life in so 
     many ways. Some benefits to eating healthy are a maintained/
     healthy weight, reduced risk of chronic illnesses such as 
     cardiovascular disease and cancer, more energy, and an 
     increase in happiness. Also, a recent study has proven that 
     having a diet consisting of plenty of fruits and vegetables 
     and limits highly processed food, can reduce certain signs of 
     depression.
       This issue is very real and very important but thinking up 
     solutions to this problem can be quite the challenge. There 
     are a few solutions that seem doable and not too farfetched 
     or unrealistic.
       First, expanding the fresh produce area in stores like 
     Hannafords to give more options and kind of push out some of 
     the unhealthy, overly processed items in the store. This 
     wouldn't necessarily make it less expensive but having more 
     options might encourage people to shop in that section more 
     often.
       Second, doing some more advertising for the Farm Share 
     Program. The Farm Share Program provides limited-income 
     Vermonters with access to high-quality produce on a weekly 
     basis. The program helps hundreds of families get access to a 
     season's worth of farm-fresh produce by reducing the cost of 
     the shares. The program itself is already a solution to this 
     problem, but I feel like advertising would be good because it 
     would inform more people that they have that option. All they 
     have to do is sign up.
       Third, and last, is more of something people could do 
     themselves or with a group of people, but people could start 
     their own gardens or start a larger neighborhood garden. This 
     would provide people with plenty of fresh fruits and 
     vegetables. All they would have to do is chip in a little 
     hard work and time, then they could have all the free produce 
     that was grown.
       Eating healthy is expensive because a lot of work goes into 
     growing, and getting, that local farm-fresh produce into 
     stores. Farmers spend countless hours growing the crops from 
     which it all comes from, people need to pick, sort, and wash 
     everything, then, there is packaging and delivering. The list 
     goes on. Another part is due to the fact that it is high 
     quality, locally grown, and fresh. A lot of money goes into 
     providing it, so a lot of money needs to be made in order for 
     them to keep providing the produce to stores for everyone. 
     The problem is big, the solutions are limited, but something 
     needs to be done in order to provide farm-fresh products to 
     the people of Vermont at a more reasonable and affordable 
     price.

            Caleb Matosky, Rice Memorial High School, Junior

       As citizens of one of the wealthiest nations in the world, 
     we have an inherent responsibility to set an example for 
     others to follow. America has failed to take action and 
     address what is perhaps the greatest threat our world has 
     faced since the beginning of recorded history: climate 
     change. If Americans continue to deny its effects, the future 
     of our country will be put into jeopardy. Rising sea levels, 
     more severe weather events, rampant wildfires, devastating 
     droughts, and disappearing winters are just a few of the 
     effects of climate change we are already experiencing. 
     Skeptics and deniers might argue that America is taking 
     enough action to fight global warming: this sort of lazy and 
     selfish thinking is what has caused the American people and 
     our government to allow climate change to occur uninhibited 
     until the very end of the last century. If our government 
     does not make drastic changes within the next several years, 
     America as we know it could be forever changed. We have the 
     money, we have the ability to implement changes, and all that 
     remains is for lawmakers to place the future of our planet 
     over their allegiance to fossil fuels.
       I propose widespread legislation to ensure that America is 
     powered by 80% renewable energy by 2030, which would be a 
     large step in the right direction for the future of our 
     planet. We need to penalize those who profit off of 
     destroying the environment through fossil fuels, as these 
     energy producers produce more emissions per day than many 
     people produce in a year. Through new laws which put a price 
     on CO2 emissions, and government tax relief for those who 
     produce renewable power, we can work to rid the earth of 
     harmful coal burning. According to the U.S. Energy 
     Information Administration, coal fueled power generation 
     produces 1.15 billion tons of CO2 each year. It is also the 
     most carbon rich fossil fuel, producing 2.5 tons of CO2 per 
     ton of coal burned. Despite this, coal is still being used as 
     the primary source of energy in America. This needs to 
     change. Additionally, we need to take action to crack down on 
     other nations who disregard the state of the world's climate, 
     and ensure that nations such as China and India take 
     responsibility for their role in the issue.
       The United States is the wealthiest nation in the world, 
     and if only a fraction of our military budget was used to 
     invest in the future of our environment, the future of 
     younger generations and the future of our species as a whole 
     we might be able to prevent many of climate change's worst 
     effects. There is no time left to wait, or to deny the 
     challenges before us: we must take urgent action and do 
     everything we can to lower CO2 emissions before it is too 
     late.

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