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Schule > Englisch > Ausarbeitungen, Interpretationen und Zusammenfassungen > Summary > Environmental awareness - Statement

Environmental awareness – not laws – is the only sure way of preventing humanity from destroying the environment (it needs in order to survive).
At first glace, this statement reveals a rather idealistic than realistic point of view concerning the preservation of nature.
Laws are the easiest way to force people to behave in a certain way, that is – in this case – eco friendly, and maybe to make them becoming involved in environmental issues. Most people are too comfortable and only thinking of their personal advantages so they won’t start doing something themselves. Those who break the laws are punished and those who are willing to do even more for the environment by using alternative energies receive governmental financial support.
But on the other hand an environmental awareness is the precondition for making laws. Politicians have to be aware of nature-related problems and willing to solve them – otherwise there wouldn’t exit any laws. Also, a sufficient number of voters have to support these politics. Of course there are laws, but many are broken regularly. Without people’s awareness the laws will not be enforced and put into practiced. Laws are restricted: it is impossible to control everybody and everything all the time. Therefore, the “real” awareness is more efficient because people who have really understood that saving nature is important will change their behaviour in daily life, e.g. less car driving.
It might be possible to change their minds by education on the long-run.
Laws are not everlasting - future generations can reverse them.
Strict laws or programs on polluting are useless when they are ignored because of people’s or countries’ lacking awareness. For example, the USA rejected to participate in the Kyoto protocol which regulates the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. Nobody is able to force them to join in. There has to be a change of the leading politicians’ attitude that is quite indifferent concerning those topics.

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