LETTER FROM HAPPY ENGLISH SCHOOL June 4th,2019

LETTER FROM HAPPY ENGLISH SCHOOL

How are you doing? It’s getting hotter and hotter. It is a problem caused by global warming. It is summer time, but these days with CO2 trapped in the air, the temperatures have got even higher and we end up having searing hot summers. It is a well-known fact to everybody, except for Donald Trump!

In addition, we have to note that plastics pose a serious problem to the environment, too. Why don’t we stop using many plastic bags here in Japan when we can just carry reusable bags to the shops? We know that a lot of plastic waste is harming the environment, don’t we? Outrageous amounts of plastic garbage is washed up on the shores around the world. We see images of a straw sticking out of a sea turtle’s nose and the massive amount of plastic rubbish found in a whale’s stomach. Fish swallow micro plastics, which end up in people’s stomachs. Those ecological hazards happen not only in the sea but also on land. Deer and other animals’ stomachs contain plastic products. Wild animals eat plastics and they are hurt by people’s irresponsible behaviors.

China and other South East Asian countries won’t accept any more plastic litter for recycling from developed countries such as Canada, the US and Japan. They refuse to clean up our mess. Dirty plastic waste which cannot be recycled is also sent from these countries and it is dumped in the sea and on the land ultimately. The Basel Convention is concerned over the ubiquitous transboundary movement of plastic wastes and micro plastics.

We mustn’t put this problem on the back burner. We can do more about it at a personal level. We can just simply say, “I do not need a plastic bag because I carry my own bag when shopping.” We can clean up the street, collect garbage, separate it and get plastics reused and recycled. This only may not solve this problem, but we are really responsible for the clean earth, where we live with other creatures sharing natural resources. We have to be aware of how important it is for each person to work to protect the environment for ourselves and for the future generations. We can make a difference.

地球温暖化と言われて久しいですが、ＣＯ２の排出減は、アメリカのパリ協定撤退もあり思うように進まず、さらに暑い夏が見込まれます。台風、豪雨、洪水、旱魃、山火事が頻発しないように祈るのみです。

温暖化とともに最近はプラスティックごみも深刻な問題になっています。大量のプラスティックゴミが世界の様々な海岸に打ち寄せられています。鼻にストローがささり、けがしているウミガメ、たくさんのプラスティックゴミを食べていたクジラ、マイクプラスティッを飲み込む魚、それを私たちが食べるのですから。‘You are reaping what you have sown.’　因果応報ということですか。

レジ袋を受け取らないことでプラスティックゴミを減らす。エコバックをいつも携帯し、レジ袋入りませんという。これはできるでしょう。ゴミを拾い集め,分別し,再び使えるものは使い,リサイクルできるものはリサイクルに出す。こういう個人レベルでできることをしっかりしていくことが、地球のため、私たちのため未来世代のためになることだと思います。

Take action, starting with a small thing and keep on doing it. It will amount to a big difference made in the world.