Environmental protection is no doubt a major issue confronting the modern society with the developme
nt of new technologies and the explosion of world population.
While the issue is certainly relevant to each individual citizen and all the companies, some people
contend that only the government should be concerned about protecting the environment.
I concede that the government should lead the efforts in addressing the environmental problems. Nev
ertheless, cooperation and participation from the corporations and individual citizens are essential
as well.
There is no doubt that the government is the agency that should play the leading roles in solving th
e environmental problems.
To begin with, with the power to collect taxes from individual citizens and private companies, the g
overnment have the financial resources that are necessary to deal with environmental issues.
In addition, the government may formulate policies to provide incentives for the companies and indiv
iduals to reduce the amount of pollution caused by their activities.
Finally, the government is the only institution that may enact laws related to environmental problem
s.
On the other hand, without the cooperation and participation of individual citizens and private comp
anies, the government's efforts to protect the environment would not be effective.
For example, the government may launch a campaign to educate the public about the desirability of dr
iving compact cars for reducing the air pollution.
The campaign would make little difference if the individuals pay little attention to the informatio
n or do not care about the environment at all. Nor would the government's goal be achieved if the ca
r manufacturers do not produce more compact cars for the market.
In other words, the government alone cannot solve the problem of environment. It takes the collabor
ative efforts from individual and corporate citizens to improve the situation.
In conclusion, I agree that the government should take the responsibility to lead the society in add
ressing the problems of environmental pollution as it has the power and resources necessary to do so
.
Nonetheless, individual citizens and private companies have to be engaged if the government is to ac
complish anything.