(this my writing is the 1st winner in The British Institute - TBI Writing Competition)
Imagine these conditions: dry land without any trees is everywhere, number of skin cancer cases increases, people cannot go out without wearing jacket although it is a sunny day, number of active volcano is higher than before, floods are everywhere, there is only big island left (say goodbye to many famous beautiful small islands), and there is snow in tropical countries on the night while the day is very hotter than before. Do you think all of them are only hyperbola fantasy? I do not think so. If we still do not give more attention to the earth now, they are possible to happen in the future. They are not only fantasy!
I am not scaring you all, but usually people will not start doing some action if they do not suffer the cause first. So, imagine that you can see the future, and what you see is more or less same as the conditions I told you in the beginning. It is possible, you know, because there are many evidences exist around us that you actually can find out sooner if you are more curious about the earth. The first evidence is the numerous of weird and horrible disasters. In Indonesia, some of us suffered tsunami in Aceh, terrible earthquake in Yogyakarta and Padang, and mud disaster in Sidoarjo. Moreover, there are apocalyptic hurricanes in USA, big forest fires in Australia, and terrible floods in Nepal. The next evidence is number of diseases such as malaria, cholera, and asthma that are increasing. Those diseases are influenced by the global warming. Asthma comes because if air pollution, malaria is spread by the warmer condition of world, and cholera is caused by water pollution. Furthermore, you can feel by yourself that sun is becoming hotter. At last, final evidence is the increase of extinct animal number.
It’s time to do some actions. You should not think about some hard actions like using environmentally friendly products, especially the electronic machine such as computer, refrigerator, washing machine, and dryer. Some of you maybe still cannot afford them for this moment. So, let’s start thinking about simple activities that everyone surely can do those. I’ll give you some examples of simple activities. First, stop throwing rubbish everywhere, although it’s only a candy wrapper. You also can begin to advise people that you meet in the street. Stop them from polluting the earth! However, it needs some courage from you. Then, stop using plastic as long as possible. For example, you can bring your own bag when you go shopping so you do not need the plastic bag from the shop anymore.
The next simple activity is avoiding cigarette. I know it is hard for some cigarette addicts to stop smoking instantly, but please think about the future. Furthermore, you can start taking bicycle or mass transportation instead of motorcycle or car. I do not forbid you to have a car or motorcycle. You still can have them as long as you want. I only ask you to do not use them for daily or routine activities, like for going to school, campus, or office every day. Moreover, reduce the use of paper. You can ask your teacher or lecturer whether you can print the assignment in two sides of paper. If they allow you to do it, you can tell to your classmates to do same thing. Then, the last example of simple activity is saving energy. Unplug the cable of electronic appliances whenever you stop working with them. Drive your vehicle 55 mph instead of 65 mph because it can reduce emissions.
So, you now can choose two kind of future: the bad or the good one. Do not wait until the disaster comes to you to start being green. Do it right now! Remember, we only have one world. You cannot move to another new world after break the old one.
Imagine these conditions: dry land without any trees is everywhere, number of skin cancer cases increases, people cannot go out without wearing jacket although it is a sunny day, number of active volcano is higher than before, floods are everywhere, there is only big island left (say goodbye to many famous beautiful small islands), and there is snow in tropical countries on the night while the day is very hotter than before. Do you think all of them are only hyperbola fantasy? I do not think so. If we still do not give more attention to the earth now, they are possible to happen in the future. They are not only fantasy!
I am not scaring you all, but usually people will not start doing some action if they do not suffer the cause first. So, imagine that you can see the future, and what you see is more or less same as the conditions I told you in the beginning. It is possible, you know, because there are many evidences exist around us that you actually can find out sooner if you are more curious about the earth. The first evidence is the numerous of weird and horrible disasters. In Indonesia, some of us suffered tsunami in Aceh, terrible earthquake in Yogyakarta and Padang, and mud disaster in Sidoarjo. Moreover, there are apocalyptic hurricanes in USA, big forest fires in Australia, and terrible floods in Nepal. The next evidence is number of diseases such as malaria, cholera, and asthma that are increasing. Those diseases are influenced by the global warming. Asthma comes because if air pollution, malaria is spread by the warmer condition of world, and cholera is caused by water pollution. Furthermore, you can feel by yourself that sun is becoming hotter. At last, final evidence is the increase of extinct animal number.
It’s time to do some actions. You should not think about some hard actions like using environmentally friendly products, especially the electronic machine such as computer, refrigerator, washing machine, and dryer. Some of you maybe still cannot afford them for this moment. So, let’s start thinking about simple activities that everyone surely can do those. I’ll give you some examples of simple activities. First, stop throwing rubbish everywhere, although it’s only a candy wrapper. You also can begin to advise people that you meet in the street. Stop them from polluting the earth! However, it needs some courage from you. Then, stop using plastic as long as possible. For example, you can bring your own bag when you go shopping so you do not need the plastic bag from the shop anymore.
The next simple activity is avoiding cigarette. I know it is hard for some cigarette addicts to stop smoking instantly, but please think about the future. Furthermore, you can start taking bicycle or mass transportation instead of motorcycle or car. I do not forbid you to have a car or motorcycle. You still can have them as long as you want. I only ask you to do not use them for daily or routine activities, like for going to school, campus, or office every day. Moreover, reduce the use of paper. You can ask your teacher or lecturer whether you can print the assignment in two sides of paper. If they allow you to do it, you can tell to your classmates to do same thing. Then, the last example of simple activity is saving energy. Unplug the cable of electronic appliances whenever you stop working with them. Drive your vehicle 55 mph instead of 65 mph because it can reduce emissions.
So, you now can choose two kind of future: the bad or the good one. Do not wait until the disaster comes to you to start being green. Do it right now! Remember, we only have one world. You cannot move to another new world after break the old one.
