Hello, I'm in 8th grade, and I have enrolled myself in a contest relating to sustainability at which if I won, I would go to Africa to debate on the subject in general. PLEASE HELP ME!
Prompt: Write an essay specifically pointing out who is responsible for changing what our world is like at the moment, what do they have to do to change it (like invest and etc.) and what sustainable ideas should be implemented.
25% of grade counts towards creativity by the way! (MAX OF 600 WORDS***)
A Chance to Change
"(..) ustainable development is a development that meets our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."(Sustainable Environment.org). A sustainable world is definitely not what we maintain at the moment, which is very unfortunate, as sustainability is key to change our future. As a matter of fact, sustainability is and has been a concept we have been reluctantly attempting to grasp due to risk-posing problems. Obviously with some effort, these problems can be solved with decent amounts of awareness and cooperation from powerful sources, such as wealthy countries' governments. It is specifically the American and Chinese governments who can provide a chance to change what past generations have recklessly done. In addition, it is by using clean energy, reforesting, and recycling, that a positive destiny can be assured to us.
Another aspect concerning the world lately, has been the massive deforestation produced by industries. "The development of civilization and industry in general has always shown itself so active in the destruction of forests that everything that has been done for their conservation and production is completely insignificant in comparison."(Karl Marx). Karl Marx died in 1883, when the situation regarding deforestation was already concerning civilization. Nowadays, the ratio of trees cut down to trees planted is just ridiculous. A solution would be enforcing reforestation. It would not only provide benefits relating to Earth's well being, but it would also truly provide a bigger amount of jobs as more work requires more effort, proving to provide economical benefits towards society. Therefore, the process of reforestation must be regarded as one of high importance, and must be exerted.
Myth of fact, global warming is still an aspect influencing fear. Causes to global warming include the colossal carbon emissions worldwide (33,376,327 tonnes worldwide in 2011). Whether produced by cars, factories, or even human respiration, carbon dioxide is and will always be a harmful gas, slowly deteriorating our planet, and augmenting its temperature until we boil. Clean energy is an obvious solution to it, providing a less harmful, if not flawless way of feeding our energy-based needs, proving to be a definite winner when comparing clean and "dirty" energy, but to successfully provide the world with clean-based energy, the previous mentioned governments would have to invest in such production.
Since the start of the century, we have been facing a decrease in commonly-used materials such as paper, plastic, and aluminum, due to the huge growth in production of products that contain those materials. Something that should be implemented more in society is the process of recycling, which would reuse the materials suffering a decrease, meaning that instead of gathering the raw materials, industries could produce with recycled materials, decreasing the need to diminish important resources to us. It is reasonable to counter this argument by saying that the production of such products would be far more expensive, as industries would have to buy the recycled material, but in fact, what is produced expensively can be sold expensively; simply increasing the price of the products would cancel out this problem, so, recycling would be a favorable option.
It is a choice that we have to make. We can still have a future, but only if we act upon our ideas, or else, a doomed world will emerge. There is time to change our destiny, but we need help. The American and Chinese governments are the ones who can provide a chance to change what our world has become. Furthermore, it is by using clean energy, reforesting, and recycling, that we can assure that the Earth will last the most it can.
Bibliography -
Epa.gov. "Common Recyclable Materials." EPA. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. epa.gov/smm/wastewise/pubs/commonmats.pdf
"Future Generations." Sustainable Development | Future Generations. Sustainable-Environment.org, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. sustainable-environment.org.uk/Principles/Future_Generations.php.
Hi,
A nice bit of writing. Well done.
However make a note on these,
"carbon dioxide is and will always be a harmful gas"
It is not always harmful, infact excess carbon dioxide is the one that causes problems.
"we have been facing a decrease in commonly-used materials such as paper, plastic, and aluminum, due to the huge growth in production of products that contain those materials"
The idea in this sentence is controvertial.
It is reasonable to counter this argument by saying that the production of such ITEMS would be far more expensive, as INDUSTRIES HAVE to buy the recycled material, but in fact, what is produced expensively can be sold expensively; simply increasing the price of the products would cancel out this problem, so, recycling would be a favorable option.
