National Writing Project Resources for Letters to the Next President 2.0

Some of the largest problems our next president will face are not a regular part of civic debate in the United States. The growing crisis of climate change, including rising sea levels, radically shifting agricultural conditions, ocean acidification, human rights violations such as the forced migrations in the Americas and the Middle East, access to clean water and sanitation facilities, and a host of other global issues affect millions and in some cases billions of people worldwide -- including Americans. Yet these issues are rarely highlighted with any depth in the national news media, and are consquently under-emphasized in national discussions around American national and foreign policy priorities.

Our next president will have an opportunity to give these global issues the attention they deserve, but only if he or she understands that they are critically important to the citizens of the United States. Browse a sampling of the Pulitzer Center's resources (in the Resources section at right and embedded in the links here in the text and below) for ideas on important global problems to highlight in Letters to the Next President 2.0.

Climate Change (overview)

• Rising sea levels: Kiribati: Casualties of Climate Change
• Ocean Acidification: Sea Change: The Pacific's Perilous Turn
• Agricultural Crises: Food Security in India

Forced Migrations and Other Population Problems (overview)

• In the Americas: Between Borders: American Migrant Crisis
• In the Middle East and Europe:  Lesbos: Island of Hope and Despair for Refugees Desperate to Enter Europe

Water and Sanitation (overview)

• Pumped Dry: The Global Crisis of Vanishing Groundwater
• Open Defecation in India