essay - GMAT: Issue 14

"Responsibility for preserving the natural environment ultimately belongs to each individual person, not to government."

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
I generally agree with the idea that each individual has ultimate responsibility for the natural environment, but at the same time I want to emphasize the importance of government's role for preserving the natural environment.

Although what one person can do is quite small, human beings consisting of each individual are harming the earth at this present moment. Greenhouse gas that human beings are producing is rapidly causing global warming. Wild animals are facing extinction owing to various activities of human beings. Although what one person can do is tenuous, one can try to save the earth through the actions, like using his own bag instead of plastic bags, riding a hybrid vehicle instead of an oil-consuming SUV, or restraining the use of air conditioners by making the temperature lower or higher than usual. The most important thing to preserve the earth is to believe the power of things that one can do for the earth.

Furthermore, I believe that the government is just representing its constituents. That is, we choose senators or councilors, and basically the government acts based on the climate of public opinion. Therefore, ultimately, individuals have responsibility for the natural environment even through the government's actions. Thus, what we should bear in mind is that if the government's action is not appropriate in terms of saving the earth, we should make a big voice to change the course of the action.

On the other hand, we cannot ignore the importance of the government. The representatives of the government attend a meeting of environmental commissions; the people do not. The governments sometimes make decisions without consent of the people. I can cite Bush administration in US as a typical example. I believe that Bush administration has not ratified Kyoto protocol based on the backing of the industries, not the people. Therefore, that we should keep a close eye on the government is very important so as to save the earth.

In conclusion, I believe that ultimate responsibility for saving the earth lies in individuals, not the government. Therefore, we need to have a sense of responsibility and then take actions to save the earth proactively.