23 FEB 2012 DIRECTED WRITING ARTICLE SAFEGUARDING THE ENVIRONMENT Your school has organised various programmes in conjunction

n with World Environment Day and one of the programmes is an essaywriting competition. You decide to take part in the competition. Based on the following notes, write your article. AT HOME Plant trees and other types of plants Cut down on electricity consumption Switch off lights and fans when not in use Use compact fluorescent light bulbs Avoid open air burning WHEN SHOPPING Buy products which can be reused and recycled Reduce purchases of products which generate wastes Buy recycled products Bring your own shopping bags ON THE ROAD Use public transport whenever possible. (e.g. MRT, buses, trains) Use your car less. Walk or cycle if its a short distance. A good way to exercise Carpool. You can save on petrol and the wear and tear When writing the composition, you should remember to: Provide a title [1] Give a suitable introduction [1] Include all the points given Write in paragraphs [35 marks]

SAFEGUARDING THE ENVIRONMENT by Ali bin Abu Bakar Everyone wants to stay in a clean and healthy environment. However, our world has been undergoing a lot of development and modernisation in the recent years and this has led to massive destruction of natural ecology as well as serious cases of pollution. All of us have our individual roles to play in order to safeguard and protect our world from further destruction for ourselves as well as for our future generations. We can change our lifestyles to suit the needs of our environment at home and also at our workplace. We can plant trees and other types of plants .This will provide us with fresh and clean oxygen as well as beautify the spaces we dwell in. We should also cut down on electricity consumption. Switch off the lights and fans when they are not in use. We can always opt to limit the use of air conditioning and the release of the CFC gasses will cause the thinning of our ozone layer. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of the ordinary incandescent light bulbs as they would help to save energy. We should also avoid open burning because it will pollute our air badly. Instead, we can bury our rubbish or send them to be recycled. Besides doing our parts at home, we have to change our lifestyles when we go shopping also. Always buy products which can be reused and recycled such as the plastic containers, bottles and tissue papers. Reduce purchases of products which generate toxic wastes. The government has also encouraged us to buy recycled products. Many shopping complexes and malls in Malaysia have implemented the policy of bringing ones own shopping bags on every first Saturday of every month. It is part of the effort of keeping our environment clean and green. We can also bring our own bags every time we go shopping to extend the effort. There are ways to preserve the environment also when we are on the road. Road users are encouraged to use public transport whenever possible. Our country is well-developed with LRTs and monorails, and our public transport system is also efficient enough to cater to all the residents especially the ones in the urban areas. Besides, we should also use our car less. It is advisable to walk or

cycle if we are only travelling a short distance. For example, if we stay near the school, it is good if we can walk or cycle daily to school. Not only it is environmentally friendly, it is also a good form of exercise for us. Another way we can practise in order to keep our environment healthy is to carpool when we go to work or school. We can save on the petrol and also the wear and tear of our vehicle. Car pooling would not only ease traffic congestion on roads but it would also mean less carbon monoxide being released into the atmosphere. Reusing and recycling products will not only contribute to less waste but will reduce the purchases of unnecessary goods. Organic waste can be recycled to make compost or organic fertilizers for plants. We should also refrain from other practices that harm the environment. Safeguarding the environment demands sacrifice and responsibility. We need to play our individual roles in this great fight for environment cleanliness not only for ourselves but also for our future generations. As one famous native American Indian once said, we do not own the earth; we merely borrow it from our children, we have the responsibility to keep and preserve a beautiful world so that the future generations can also enjoy it. Then only the world will become a better place for everyone to live in.