Writing skill of the 11th form (003)

08. Environmental conservation is currently a big concern to people all over the world. Write about the things that you, as a high school student, can do to preserve the environment.
Notes:
1. Brainstorm what a high school student can do to protect his surroundings
not throwing trash/garbage/waste away, putting them into bins or recycling them
not harming trees in parks or on streets, planting as many trees as possible
raising other people`s awareness of protecting the environment...
2. Think of the ways to present your ideas.
Example: First, Second, Next, What is more, Finally, In summary, etc.
Suggested writing
The environment has been destroyed almost everywhere, therefore, it is necessary for human beings to act immediately to protect our Earth. As a high school student, I think there are quite a lot of things I can do to make our environment greener and cleaner. First of all, trash definitely harms the environment; hence, I would never throw it away. Instead, I would put my garbage into categorized bins. Specifically, recyclable rubbish will be put into a bin, and the unrecyclable will be placed in another one. This would make it easy for those in charge to handle the trash, as a result, the environment would benefit.
Next, I would plant more trees in my house and my garden. In my opinion, if everyone did like me, there would be a lot of trees and plants; as a result, our environment would be much greener and cleaner. Also, I would protect the trees and plants in the parks, on streets, and so on by never cutting them down or taking their leaves or plucking flowers if not allowed.
Last but not least, raising public awareness of protecting their surroundings is another thing I would do. Many people do not know clearly about the effects of what they are doing to the environment every day. If they do, they may stop what they are doing. Therefore, I would show them the possible results from their bad activities to the Earth, and tell them what they should do to protect their own lives and their future generations. These can be done by letting them watch the relevant TV or radio programs, sticking posters on public walls, and especially acting as a model to encourage them to follow, and so forth.
In summary, environmental conservation should be every single individual’s concern, with no exception of me. The things listed above are what I promise to do to make our planet increasingly greener and cleaner.
09. One day the world’s oil and gas reserves will run out; therefore, alternative sources of energy such as wind power, solar power, burning waste, and water power have been considered. However, it is said that these sources may cause as much as environmental waste as the oil and nuclear power sources that they are going to replace. To what extent do you agree with this latter statement? Do you approve the use of the listed alternative sources of energy?
Notes:
1. Brainstorm the examples for the criticism against the use of alternative sources of energy
- wind farms in European countries: ugly even far away from the coast
- burning waste: creates by-product that pollutes the air
- water power: expensive dams...
2. Think of the reasons for your approval of the use of alternative sources of energy.
- the advancement of technology --> harmful by-product is minimized
- necessary equipment --> cheaper and more environmentally friendly
- water power --> safer than nuclear energy
* Suggested writing
The idea that alternative energy sources such as wind power, etc. cause as much environmental damage as fossil fuel is reasonable, to some extent. Some people, for example, are strongly against the use of wind power. Indeed, the large wind farms in some European countries have been heavily criticized not just by environmentalists. They are very ugly, even if they are in the sea far away from the coast. Burning household waste for fuel also causes problems, because of the harmful fumes that are the by-product of the process. So while the amount of waste put into landfill sites is reduced thus preserving the environment, the air is being polluted instead! However, in my opinion, such sources need to be encouraged as a means of replacing fossil fuel as they have considerable advantages.
First of all, as the technology for using alternative sources of energy is becoming more and more sophisticated, any harmful by-product will be minimized. Moreover, the cost of producing the necessary equipment will decline. Take solar energy, for example. In the past, the panels that were needed to utilize energy from the sun were huge and not very environmentally friendly. Now, however, the same panels are small enough not to be noticed or are made to look like say roof tiles or normal parts of vehicles. The same will apply to wind farms as the giant turbines become smaller and less obvious.
Energy from water also comes in for a lot of criticism. This has come about from the many high profile