▶ Your Answer :
Protecting
the environment is of increasing concerns of people these days, and for this
reason, it is important to consider different ways we can conserve our surroundings.
Some people are of the opinion that there is nothing that individuals can do to
make a great impact because the environmental issues are complex. In my
opinion, however, there are many ways we all can contribute as an individual to
the environment, which I will explore in the following essay.
To
begin with, individuals’ collective efforts can become powerful enough to save
energy resources. I initially thought that there is nothing I can contribute to
the environment as an individual. However, after having read many expert
opinions from major newspapers, I changed my view. I realized that if billions
of people make an effort together, the impact can become substantially big enough
to make a change. To take my own experience as one of the examples, during my
time at university, there was a competition among different dorms on campus in
which all students were asked to take a shower in less than 5 minutes of time. Then
the dorm with the highest number of people who had succeeded with 5-minute
showers was given some awards. Even though the amount of water one can save
from taking a short shower was minimal, the cooperative effort of 10,000
students on campus resulted in an enormous difference. According to the
university, the amount of water saved from this competition was the amount that
people in water-scarce countries, like African countries, could live with for a
month. This led me to learn than small changes can indeed contribute to a big
difference.
On
top of that, not only can people save natural sources but they can also reduce
the pollution. To be specific, one of the most serious contaminations of the
environment is the air pollution. Many developed countries all over the world suffer
from high levels of fumes and fine dusts in the air. The main cause of this
phenomenon is because of the growing use of cars, which excretes various harmful
substances into the atmosphere. People can, however, improve the quality of air
by dwindling down their dependency on cars. By commuting in public
transportation, they can reduce the rate at which fossil fuels are depleted and
the levels of air impurities. For example, Seoul have been implementing a
policy to make a car-free day once a year. On this day, all citizens are
encouraged to use public transits such as bus or under-railway systems instead
of their private vehicles. According to research, putting their own cars at
home for one day led to a significant drop in the levels of fumes in the air
that day in Seoul.
To
sum up, each of us can contribute to protection of our habitats through
collaborative efforts such as by reducing the time to take a shower and relying
more on public transportation. Therefore, I am strongly against the assertion
that individuals acting alone have no power to affect the surroundings.
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