Protection of the Environment

Nowadays， environmental problems are so common and are so big that not just for individual country or individual person to address. That’s to say， we have already reached the time that environmental problems could only be solved from the international view. In recent years， several nations have become more and more aware of these serious issues that are faced by every nation， such as air pollution， water pollution and resource shortage issues， which are so huge that need international cooperation.

As we all know， the situation of the environment around us is getting worse and worse， which could be found everywhere. First of all， the water is polluted by acid rain and household waste， including the underground water. Meanwhile， air pollution is worse. We can only live under the haze and never enjoy the clear sky. It’s estimated that haze and smog would extremely do harm to our health for there are many hazardous substances in the smog. If we never think about the protection of our homeland and continue to hurt her， human life on earth will no longer survive.

We see that if we still waste all the resources， there’s would be no energy for us in the coming years. Yet， waste products are still put into rivers， trees are getting cut and resources are wasted to a great extent. We know that the earth is so crowed， however， the population is still increasing. In the coming few years， there won’t be enough food for human beings. Therefore， it’s the time for us to make some changes.

First of all， the problem of “white pollution” caused by plastic is quite serious， in which plastic shopping bags play an important role. Here in China， there are nearly three billion plastic shopping bags are consumed every day， which leads to a great waste of resources and serious environmental problems. Fortunately， the government has published a ban on the use of plastic bags， which requires that all the shopping malls and supermarkets should not provides customers with free plastic bags. I agree with that for people won’t get free bags so that people possibly will use cloth bags and baskets. It’s an environmental-friendly measure.

In addition， we have to talk about water and air pollution. In 21st century， a new term came into being， low carbon， which contains the hope of all mankind. However， recently melting glaciers and rising sea levels are all due to carbon. Carbon dioxide is the main culprit of the greenhouse effect. The earth surrounded by carbon dioxide is like a greenhouse with rising temperatures. In this way， the glacial continents of the Antarctic and Antarctic begin to melt. When dissolved water is injected into the sea， the sea level will rise， thus， some coastal cities， such as Shanghai and Tokyo， will be inundated. Although sea level rise is irresistible， we must do something to ease the speed of sea level rise.The main source of these problems is energy， and the ultimate solution is to search for new energy sources and depend on them. Although solar energy is recognized as a clean energy for its great potential， there is a lot of carbon emissions in the process of converting solar energy into electric energy. When it comes to better energy， wind and tide energy can be cleaner， but they all have geographical constraints. Therefore， we can just rely on ourselves to make our every effort to explore the ideal energy. Perhaps developing new energy sources， developing new means of transport， and reducing carbon emissions from factories will be the useful ways to eliminate water and air pollution.

By the way， low carbon embodies in water saving， electricity saving， oil saving and gas saving， which are the low carbon lifestyles we advocate and the smallest thing we could do. Things from as big as household appliances， to as small as toys， books and furnishings， will consume resources and energy， which will bring about carbon emissions. Conservative use of each item and unlimited reduction of purchasing new daily necessities will naturally reduce the consumption of resources and energy and reduce carbon emissions. Changing ordinary light bulbs into energy-saving lamps can save electricity.These seemingly casual things are contributing to carbon reduction and achieving low carbon results.

Nowadays our country has publicly committed itself to reducing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide， and has decided to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% to 45% by 2020 compared with 2005. The era of low carbon has arrived and is changing our lives.

The missions are calling us to protect the environment. It’s urgent for us to take some useful measures， however， it needs people from all over the world to work together to curb the behaviors which do harm to our homeland. As part of the same earth， it’s our responsibility from each nation to protect our environment. Only in this way can we figure out effective measures and find back our beautiful living environment.

【作者簡介】王延，河北正定中學。