As Paul Claudel once said: “Nature is only an immense ruin”. Clearly, individuals need to become more aware of the consequences of their actions and should act more responsibly. Only if people do so the Earth will be saved from further destruction and the world become a healthier, safer place to live in.

            People should not expect governments to provide all the solutions. Citizens must begin to recycle goods and packaging whenever possible, as well as buy only environmentally friendly products. Nonetheless, domestic food scraps should be recycled; for example, potato peelings and melon rings can be turned into substances that enrich the soil. By doing this, we can reduce the amount of non-biodegradable waste being dumped at rubbish tips, thus ensuring that material such as glass and plastic are not left in earth which could be used as farmland in the future.

            Despite this, individuals can help protect the Earth by using public transport whenever possible. Where such facilities do not exist, sharing lifts is recommended to reduce traffic congestion, noise and vehicle emission on the roads. The less petrol our societies burn, the better the air quality will be. In addition, if there were fewer cars in circulation, there would be fewer road accidents.

            Another, possible measure to combat industrial pollution would be the imposition of strict fines on wicked, greedy corporations and unfeeling, ignorant businesses which contaminate land, air or water. To be effective, the fines should be heavy enough to deter potential polluters; if they are too small, they could simply be regarded by industries as “the cost of doing business” and they might be ignored.

            Finally, governments should be far more responsible. All governments have the funds and technology to provide solar, wind, geothermal and tidal power. The problem is that many governments couldn’t care less and wouldn’t lift a finger to help their countries by funding research to develop such sources or to discover new ways to produce energy. If, however, this were to happen, the consequence would be that depletion of finite resources such as oil and coal would be slowed down, or even halted altogether.