40 write a brief essay of 150 words. your essay will have three parts: 1. describe the region's most pressing environmental issue. 2. explain why you think the issue you selected presents the biggest problem. 3. discuss steps that can be taken by individuals, businesses and/or governments to reduce this threat.

1.Pollution, deforestation, climate change. The causes of species loss are mostly manmade. They range from climate change, to pollution, to deforestation and beyond.

2&3. would probably go the opposite route. Most of North America's pressing environmental problems have either been solved or have markedly declined. Ask some of your elders about how Lake Erie was a cesspool. That's right; one of the great lakes was a pit. It's has been dramatically cleaned up.  Lead paint was once a huge issue, causing illnesses in children. Aerosol cans have been replaced with pump spray bottles. Recycling is a profitable industry for many companies. We learned that asbestos is actually less harmful when it's not stirred up, and have markedly cut down on its use.  Car emissions are nowhere what they were in the past. You can't burn leaves or fires with the city limits.  Anything else done now would mostly be a diminishing return or would, more likely, have negative effects on the economy and even the atmosphere. You're going to have some emissions, but we are in much, much better shape than China and their air.