Valerie's Story: We ── students, are important

Every day, we see polar bears struggling to climb up the tiny piece of ice, only to fall back into the cold Arctic sea.

Everyday, we see glaciers crumble and tumble down Into the sea and dissolve. Everyday, we see horrifying stats going round the world, telling us that the world rose by 1 degree Celsius. However, day after day, we dismiss the horrifying images and say it’s beyond our power to help.

Our self-doubts

We can’t stop pollution. We can’t stop global warming. We can’t force people to take action. We comfort ourselves and go about our daily life. But is that true? Perhaps. But what if we stopped thinking globally, and instead focus on little acts that we CAN do? What if we stopped saying that we can’t force others to take action, but instead, take action ourselves? What if we stopped telling ourselves that we cannot achieve god-like power, and instead tell ourselves that we can achieve little things, starting from ourselves.

As Mother Teresa once said, If each of us would only sweep our own doorstep, the whole World would be clean. If we stopped using our insignificance as an excuse, the world would be spotless.

Hong Kong saw its warmest year on record in 2019, which is the second or third warmest globally, according to the Hong Kong Observatory. Luckily, the government saw a need for action, and worked with a NGO Greensense to hold the Let’s cool the Earth –– Green Sense No Air Con Night annually, raising awareness of the importance of saving the Earth. But if we do not cooperate, all government actions will be in vain. We should start from our homes.

Switching off the appliance when they are not in use. Using the fan instead of the air-conditioning. Reuse paper. Take shorter showers to save energy used to heat water. It’s as simple as that.

When we’re out and about, walk instead of riding a private car. Bring your own bottles and cutlery. Use your own handkerchief. Even if you have rubbish, save it until you see a recycle bin. Remember the three classic Rs : recycle, reuse, reduce. Start from daily things, such as plastic cups, or even your newspaper. According to research done by “The world counts”, if every American recycled 10% of the newspapers they buy, we can save 25 million trees every year. This is how impactful each of our little actions can be.

We are students- a unique role which can play a major part in influencing global warming.

There are infinite things we can do. For example, use both sides of the paper to save paper. Switch off the lights and turn off the AC when there’s no one in the classroom to save electricity. If possible, arrange a carpool with your friends, or even take the bus or MTR together. Motor vehicles collectively cause 75 percent of carbon monoxide pollution in the U.S, according to the EPA.

If we all took little steps forward and tried to save ourselves, our future and the world, I believe, that one day, we will see polar bears lounging on vast pieces of sea ice, majestic and well-fed. One day, we will see towering glaciers forming once again, thriving.

It was the power of every one of us who broke a little of the blue-green glass orb until it shattered into pieces, and it takes the strength of every one of us to piece it back together.