How can we protect our planet?

Sopheaktra
Anglo Chinese Junior College
Singapore

In order to protect our planet, everyone must acknowledge that even though we do not own this planet, we are the ones responsible for its welfare. Otherwise, our planet will turn against us.

Pollution has caused much damage to our planet. Some people are not very aware about what harm pollution can do to the environment because they are not informed about the impact of pollution on humans' and animals' lives. On top of that, people in poor rural areas are too busy earning money to feed their families, to care about the environment at all. On the other hand, some are aware of pollution and its impacts but are still oblivious to the fact that their daily activities are killing our planet. For example, they drive unnecessarily, litter wherever they want, cut down forest trees for commercial reasons and hunt animals for pure greed.

There are many ways to protect our planet before the damage we have caused reaches an irreversible stage.

First of all, people must practice the three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. If we practice this, we can easily play a part in saving the environment. Germany, for example, has been very successful in its fight against rubbish. In Germany, manufacturers and retailers have to pay extra for the more packaging there is. This leads to less paper, thinner glass and less metal being used. As a result, there is less garbage to be recycled. This system has reduced the annual amount of rubbish in Germany by one million tonnes. This approach would be a good strategy for other countries to adopt in the global battle against pollution. Recycling is important because it uses up less energy and resources than processing new raw material. For example, recycling aluminium can save up to eight kilograms of bauxite (aluminium ore), four kilograms of chemical products and 14 kilowatts of electricity. Anything made of aluminium, like aluminium cans, window frames, aluminium foils, plates, furniture and automobile components, can be recycled.

Paper should also be reused and then recycled. We should not waste paper because trees are cut down to make it. Students in particular must be more conscientious about their paper use because they use a lot of paper each year. As we all know, trees carry out photosynthesis, which is very significant to life on Earth. This process causes plants to absorb carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, while giving out oxygen to sustain life on Earth. Paper recycling can save trees and this would be an important way of saving the planet from global warming.

Furthermore, industries and households should also reduce their waste. For example, industries can invest in Research and Technologies (R & D) to find a more effective and cleaner method to produce the same products with better quality and that are more environmentally friendly. Households can cut down the use of electricity by only rarely using air-conditioners and turning off fans and lights when they do not need them.

In order to make recycling possible in a country or town, recycling bins must be available because, without them, people would not know where to put their recyclable items. There should be different recycling bins available for different items such as paper, glass and aluminium products. Since the items will be sorted out by hand, it is advisable that people help to rinse the items before putting them into recycling bins. Some hazardous wastes like acids, pesticides, disinfectants and insecticides cannot be recycled and require proper disposal. Thus, they require a separate bin. Not all waste can be incinerated because some produce poisonous gases when they are burnt. Therefore, people must be careful of which bin to put their waste into.

In addition, water pollution destroys aquatic fish and plants. Some farmers in rural areas discharge untreated domestic waste and pesticides into the water system. Oil spills kill marine life and so do illegal methods of fishing, like drift nets, dynamites, breaking coral reefs and destroying the coral habitats. Strict punishment and fines should be imposed on people who do illegal fishing. However, this can be a problem when corruption is everywhere. Corruption makes money the 'king', which means that the ones with money win and can do whatever they want.

All countries should adopt tradable pollution permits, which is a system that sets limits on how much a company can pollute and gives them a permit to pollute only at that level. Factories that pollute less can sell the permits to other companies that cannot cut down their pollution level as much. This is effective because the pollution limits remain the same no matter what. As a result, we can control the pollution level each year. However, it can be a problem if corruption is widespread. We can say that if corruption were not there, it could be somewhat easier to curb pollution. When laws, rules and regulations are obeyed, controlling pollution is less of a headache.

Furthermore, we should also eliminate the 'not in my backyard' attitude. Many countries do not cut down their own forests, but buy logs from other countries, like Indonesia. They keep the forests in their country well protected while the logging rate is increasing lightning fast in Indonesia, due to the high demand from overseas. If a country protects its environment well, while its neighbouring countries do not, the impact is still the same because pollution and its impacts affect the whole world. For example, when sea levels and global temperatures are rising, everyone is affected. Therefore, the 'not in my backyard' attitude should be eliminated.

We can protect our planet by practicing the three Rs, eliminating the 'not in my backyard' attitude, eliminating corruption, treating waste before discharging it into the water system and adopting tradable permits.

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