The Lorax Persuasive Essay

Michael Stevens

Mr. Dreves

AP Environmental Science

19 May 2023

Unless We Care

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better” — Dr. Suess, The Lorax (1972). The Lorax is a book and cartoon that tells the story of a greedy businessman who destroys the environment for his own profit. This famous quote by Dr. Suess expresses the idea that we as humans have to take responsibility for our actions. In other words, if we want to make the world a better place, we must first care about it. The world today faces many challenges such as land, air, and water pollution, all factors that can jeopardize its future. Land pollution is an ongoing issue that is increasingly detrimental to the environment. This issue can be seen in the 1972 cartoon version of The Lorax when the Lorax wanders around the gothic landscape that was once the Truffula Tree forest. Land pollution is mostly composed of litter, waste, urbanization, construction, mining, extraction, and agriculture. In The Lorax, the waste includes discarded tree stumps and industrial waste from the Thneed production. These forms of land pollution can kill fertility in the land by polluting soil, destroying animal

Air pollution is shown in the cartoon through the factories releasing copious amounts of smoke and pollution into the air. The same thing happens in the real world from planes, cars, factories, and more. Air pollution can cause many health problems for humans and other species alike. They include but are not limited to respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung cancer (WHO). To reduce air pollution, governments can reduce emissions and follow WHO guidelines, while individuals can hold their governments accountable and try reduction in their everyday lives. Although, for this to happen people have to start caring more about it and make sure that something does get done to help save in the