Describe something you can do or are presently doing to protect the environment?

Answer 1

Our planet is in trouble! Almost every day we seem to hear of yet another problem affecting the environment - and what a list of problems! - pollution, acid rain, global warming, the destruction of rain forests and other wild habitats, the decline and extinction of thousands of species of animals and plants....and so on.

Nowadays, most of us know that these threats exist and that humans have caused them. Many of us are very worried about the future of our planet and unless we can find a way of solving the problems we have made then the environment will suffer even more.

It all sounds so depressing - but we certainly mustn't despair! Every one of us, whatever age we are, can do something to help slow down and reverse some of the damage. We cannot leave the problem-solving entirely to the experts - we all have a responsibility for our environment. We must learn to live in a sustainable way i.e. learn to use our Natural Resources which include air, freshwater, forests, wildlife, farmland and seas without damaging them. As populations expand and lifestyles change, we must keep the World in good condition so that future generations will have the same natural resources that we have.

Here are just a few examples of the threats to our environment and some ideas to help you to do something about them.

Waste

We humans create such a lot of rubbish! Each household in Britain produces about 1 tonne of rubbish every year! Most of this is taken away by dustmen and buried in enormous landfill sites or burned in incinerators - both of these actions can be dangerous for the environment. Is all our rubbish really rubbish? If you think about it, much of what we throw away could be used again. It makes sense to recycle and not just to solve the problemof where to put the rubbish. Much of our waste is made up of glass, metal, plastic and paper. Our natural resources such as trees, oil, coal and aluminum are used up in enormous amounts to make these products and the resources will one day be compl etely used up. We must cut down on energy use.