RESPONSE TO ARTICLE: Aren't We Contributing to the Global Environmental Problems?

This is indeed true. Ever since the industrial revolution which occurred and affected countries all over the world, humans almost could not care less about the environment. Humans abused the environment and took advantage of it as they pleased and now there is a sudden diversion of attention to the environmental problems we are facing.

This raise in awareness of the damage done to our environment, namely Mother Earth, is being brought up worldwide in many countries. This is especially significant in countries who can afford to take action to salvage Mother Earth. Technology and resources in these countries put them in a very beneficial role because they can easily do their part to help the environment with what they have. However, how the technology and resources are being used in countries is solely the decision of the country. Every country has to play their part as a member, as a citizen of the Earth. Some countries that do not have the resources or the same advancement in technology which we have are probably those which do not produce as much harmful gases as we do. Technology can be used for both good and evil. All along, technology had more or less been used to damage the Earth rather than to save it.

This is a global problem which every country worldwide will face in the near future. Countries have to help each other out to do something about this problem and take action. Our global problems can affect us very badly and there are many areas which we need to work on. Still, we should strive for the betterment of the environment which is constantly being tortured, destroyed and harmed by humans. A global effort is needed, something like the Kyoto Protocol, it just has to be more successful and with the cooperation of major countries in the world like the USA.

Health and Environmental Expert: Lee Chi Hang Angel

ARTICLE: Aren't We Contributing to the Global Environmental Problems?

Aren't We Contributing to the Global Environmental Problems?

In this country of ours, everyone knows that there has been a transition from a focus on individual problems to a broad emphasis on preserving the global environment. That is because, from comparatively localized problems of pollution, environmental problems which must be dealt with on an "earth-wide" scale have arisen as a more important issue.

The "global environment problem" includes: depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, acid rain, deforestation (destruction of tropical rainforests), land becoming desert-like, ocean pollution, pollution in developing countries, transportation of hazardous waste across borders, extinction of wildlife species, etc. The "global environment problem" is characterized by a larger scale in terms of both space and time-regarding the latter, its effect may extend across generations-and by the increasing complexity of cause and effect. Thus, its character is quite different from local environmental problems such as pollution.

Along with researching the global environment problem and proceeding with study of countermeasures, the relationship with the activities of companies has become more and more clear. Due to the nature of the global environment problem, the faster countermeasures can be implemented, the more effective they will be. In Japan, due to efforts on the government side, recently, a variety of countermeasures have become law in quick succession.

One major example is work to halt depletion of the ozone layer by stopping the manufacture and use of certain freons and undertaking measures to recover freon from existing products. Likewise, to arrest global warming, emission restraints on carbon dioxide, methane, sulfurhexafluoride, etc. are necessary.