6 December 2009

Our World / Environmental awareness

“A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.”

“Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species – man – acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world.”

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”

Rachel Carson
Biologist, Writer, Ecologist, 1907-1964



When we fight against a country, we fight together, when we win a prize, we celebrate it together, so the whole humanity has to work together if we want to defeat global warming.
No man is an island, no man can reach his aims alone, he always needs somebody else to help him. We can’t be selfish or egocentric when it comes to climate change or there will be calamitous disasters that will affect all of us.
We have to work out solutions for global warming, but we have to act together or we will reach a standstill which will take us to an abyss.

Catarina Lemos, 1105


What is an island? Geographically speaking, an island is a piece of land surrounded by water. But to me, it is more like a safe place. It is a place where you can hide and be sure that your problems will not bother you. It is a refuge!
The climatic changes that are invading our world are like a tsunami. They come without warning, they damage us and our things, and when they disappear our world is plunged into a catastrophe.
That’s why these catastrophic events are so bad and no man is that safe place, that island. No man is safe!


João Pedro Silva, 1104








Nowadays we see that because of human actions climate is changing and the seasons are not the same anymore. One day we see strong storms and lots of rain and the next day we see droughts. Man has been poisoning the air, water and soil. We think that there are natural resources which will never end, but that thought is wrong. We should promote a sustainable development in order not to compromise the environment.
The future of our planet is in our hands. We should do everything that we can to save our home. There are lots of things that we can do – we should avoid the use of aerosols, buy organic food, buy hybrid cars, plant trees, recycle materials and the most important thing: we should use renewable resources (“clean” sources of energy). If we follow these steps, our environment will be preserved and we will have a better place to live in.
Paula Martins, 1105

We should do everything we can to fight for the protection of the environment. If temperatures rise even more, we will all be affected, it will not be just one or few individuals that will be guilty… we will all be!
Humans should stop working alone and only for themselves. People say that we live in society but we do not… Humans still think that throwing a paper to the floor will not cause an effect, but it will, because we are not alone on planet Earth. So we need to start taking care of OUR HOME because it is OURS and not mine.
José Miguel Silva, 1105

We have reached a crucial point and if we do not do anything now, we will suffer the consequences of our acts… much worse, the next generations will “inherit” all the problems that we have caused.
Simple things like saving water, recycling waste, saving energy, reducing the emission of CFCs and the use of cars can be done by everyone. The problem is that people are so busy with their own lives that they do not think deeply about the biggest problem, “the future of our planet”, and our future because we cannot forget that our life is also at stake. So let’s start doing something now, let’s teach children, act as role models by doing the right things and let’s call the attention of the government to make them reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and to decrease pollution and to support renewable sources of energy.
We cannot forget that our life depends on Mother Nature

Débora Nogueira, 1105








Talking about climate change, I think we should have in mind, that we are responsible for it! Our actions have an impact on the Earth …with all industries, the revolution of development, wars… we are creating the scenario for our own destruction. We are responsible for our own destruction; it’s like killing ourselves, or even worse, killing our children, our future! No man is an island, no man is alone in the world… We have to take care of our brothers and sisters and save the planet. That’s not about religion, that’s not about weird people, it’s about us! Everyone has to promote the best for everyone. We have to stop being selfish. Together we can make a better world, with civilised people. The environment depends on us and we depend on everyone.
José Diogo Silva, 1105

We have to change; we can’t say we don’t care about the weather in 2050 just because maybe we won’t be alive. What about our sons and grandsons? We can’t be so selfish. Every action we take will affect the future and if we keep on wasting natural resources, the Earth will become uninhabitable in less than half a century!
Reading texts about environmental issues in my English classes made me think: “I have no time to waste, I’ll change the world and I’ll begin now, because tomorrow it may be too late!”
So I leave a request to anyone who will read this: “Please, help me change the world!”

Filipe Fernandes, 1105

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