Sustainable living for a better planet

Commended Entry: "Sustainable living for a better planet" by Zimeng Tian from China

This article was submitted in the Kids World Travel Guide Essay Competition 2023 in the Senior Category 12 - 15 years.

Sustainable living for a better planet

During the past centuries, human activities have altered the planet in such an unprecedentedly fast speed. Not only does this accelerate climate change, but also brings great challenges to wildlife. Therefore, certain action should be taken immediately in order to provide the wildlife with a sustainable living.

Firstly, stop buying products that are made from wild animals, especially endangered species. However, it is easier said than done. This literally requires enormous sacrifices, because animal-made products cover nearly all aspects of our daily lives. For example, the warm coats that we usually wear on chilly winter days are mostly made from minks or foxes, which are rare animals with thick fur.

Also, in Japan, it is reported that millions of sharks are slaughtered each year and therefore become the delicacies on our food table, widely known as shark fin. It is such a shame for many people not knowing that the entire sea adjacent to Japan is stained with red blood when they’re joyfully enjoying the delicious shark fin.

What’s more, several human activities that does great harm to the inhabitants of wildlife should be strictly prohibited. Research shows that from 2020 to 2021, the destroyed area of the Amazon rain forest reaches 13235 square kilometers, which is approximately two times larger than the total area of Shanghai.

One of the most manifested reasons of such tragedy is the large-scaled deforestation. Since plenty of trees are felled, loads of species lose their home to live. This leads to the mass extinction of a variety of animals. And due to the loss of biodiversity, the biological chain is destroyed, and therefore the ecosystem is out of balance. Regulations on ceasing the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest must be made as soon as possible, or the situation will only go worse.

In addition to banning deforestation, a more effective way to protect the habitats of the endangered species is to establish nature reserves for them. Nowadays, with the timely support of our government, many nature reserves are well-founded. Many places in China have even become famous for animal-habitat protection, like Sichuan and Xinjiang province. I think that more nature reserves should be established in more places in China, so that the endangered animals from all places can be equally protected.

Finally, the whole society should be of one mind and actively publicize the significance as well as the urgence of saving animals, appealing to more people to take part in the protection of endangered species. People can do this through making advertisements or posters in public places, inviting prestigious biology professors to male important speeches about endangered animal protection, making interesting TV shows and so on. Once there is strength in numbers, the day when we succeed in saving the endangered wildlife can be expected soon.

In brief, although saving wildlife takes plenty of time and efforts, there’re still several easy steps to for us to take, like purchasing non-animal-made products, making a stop to the destruction of animals’ habitats, establishing nature reserves and raising people’s awareness of wildlife saving and so on.

I believe that since every step count, we’ll eventually make our due contribution for a better planet, providing a sustainable living habitat for all animals existed.

Congratulations on your essay "Sustainable living for a better planet", Zimeng. You are so right, every little deed counts as small as it may be. If we all make our contribution in living more sustainably, then the world will become a better place for all living beings. Well done!

Zimeng Tian is from Guangzhou/ China. English as Additional Language. Home Language is Chinese.