Saturday, March 29, 2008

Environmental Problem

Air pollution has become one of the most serious problems in China. With higher living standard, an increasing number of people are able to have their own cars. However, the exhaust produced by these cars is a big threat to the environment as it contains not only green house gases but also toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide. In addition, China's economy depends heavily on heavy industry and many factories simply release waste gases that have not been dealt with properly. More often than not, chemicals contained in the gases will do great harm to both human beings and other living things. In the past few years, there have been quite a few cases in which industrial waste leads to diseases and deaths. Moreover, due to deforestation, China's largest "air cleaner" has got into trouble. With much fewer trees, less carbon dioxide is "replaced" with fresh oxygen. All these factors contribute to air pollution. Before the problem becomes too big to handle, measures must be taken to reduce air pollution. For our government, strict laws and policies must carried out against releasing industrial waste directly. Forests must be protected and a certain number of trees must be planted every year. For individuals, using public transport should be encouraged. People should be aware of the present situation of air quality in China and know what they can do to improve the situation. In a word, we must unit together and solve air pollution problem for the benefit of, in fact, ourselves.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Revision of Timed Paragragh

With the development of economy, more is being produced every day and as a result, waste disposal has become a serious problem. Compared to landfilling, zero waste is definitely a much better waste disposal scheme for China. In the zero waste system, more efforts are made to recycle and reuse products. Waste, as a matter of fact, can become useful resources to us if dealt with properly. As is known to all, the total amount of natural resources is limited. Since China has such a large population, which makes a large demand on resources, it becomes even more significant to save energy and resources. If we just throw away the waste, our next generation may face a lack of resources. Moreover, landfilling is harmful to our environment. Some waste, such as plastic, takes millions of years to be degraded. Worse still, some waste contains poisonous chemicals that may become a threat to soil quality. Once these chemicals dissolve in underground water, water pollution results. On the contrary, in the zero waste system, there is little pollution to our environment. Though China is still a developing country and it may not seem economical to adopt the zero waste scheme, we can not sacrifice our environment for temporary profits. In China, environmental problems have already had a bad effect on social and economic development and we can no longer ignore these problems. However, the good news is that money can be made by recycling. According to a US survey, in 13 out of 14 cases, people are able to make a profit by recycling (Collins, 2002). Thus, we will benefit from the zero waste system in the long run both economically and environmentally. In conclusion, China should adopt the zero waste scheme and encourage sustainable development.

Reference: Collins J. (2002, Oct 3rd). Radical plans for waste could herald a big clean-up. The Guardian Weekly. p.25