As matter of fact, we are still polluting our homeland, the earth. Air quality gets lower and lower. Fresh water is never clean enough for us to drink without purifying. We can never see little stars twinkling in the sky, but neon lights that make the night bright. Without being aware, we are destroying our environment that we live in. If we do not take actions now, we are going to pay soon. Thus, we’d better start doing now. Being environmentally friendly, then we can survive on this planet.
Many people still do not know what this phrase means. Actually there is no international standard for this concept till now. Usually, environmentally friendly, eco-friendly, and nature friendly are synonyms used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal harm on the environment.
Some people claim that we do not need to be environmentally friendly sedulously since we have been living on this planet for hundreds of thousands of years.
Nonetheless, the problem that we meet now is much more serious than any time in history. Research done by scientists around the world all showed the same conclusion: resources that we used up during the last 50 years are much greater than resources that we used up in 500 hundred years in the past. We are emptying our own treasure house. It also showed that there will be no petroleum on earth in 50 years. If we continue destroying our environment, we will become extinct finally.
Fortunately, many have recognized the seriousness of the situation, and a lot of them actually did take actions to prevent our motherland from being polluted.
For instance, Energy Star, a program with a primary goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, has different sections for different nations or areas, including the United States, the European Union and Australia.
Moreover, we are looking for new forms of energy which is clean and safe, such solar power or hydrogen energy.
Some may ask, “how can we join them? It seems too far away.”
As a normal citizen, we can do more than we thought. There are many international, governmental and private organizations that work on this area, such as Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). What we could do is participating activities held by those organizations, and we can learn how to be environmental friendly from them.
It is not the end, but the beginning. To make our planet a better place to live, we have a long distance to walk. However, as long as we hold our hands together and never give up, we have the confidence that we will succeed sooner or later.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Democracy Creates Stability in a Society
As we all know, democracy is now performed in most of countries in the world. In addition, it is always considered as the best form of government system as well. However, many argue that democracy may not create stability in a society, but only constant arguments or conflicts. In my own opinion, democracy does create stability in a society, relatively.
Firstly, let me introduce the definition of democracy. Democracy is a system of government by which political sovereignty is retained by the people and either exercised directly by citizens or through their elected representatives. In democratic society, citizens have rights to make decisions on civil issues, and the major authority is controlled by the public. In conclusion, it means that citizens controlled their own country.
Democracy often considered as the symbol of freedom because the country is controlled by the public but not the authority. People like freedom. Therefore, they like democracy. They may spend some time on discussion or even argument. However, after deciding, they would definitely do what they had decided because it is their own decision but not others’, and this may avoid the conflicts or misunderstanding between the government and the public. Hence, it contributes to create stability in the society.
On the other hand, despite the conditions of the countries, it also concerns democracy itself.
As a matter of fact, there are various types of democracy. Different type of democracy should be applied appropriately in specific countries; otherwise, it will not work.
For instance, direct democracy, classic termed pure democracy, is a political system where the citizens participate in the decision-making personally. Representative Democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of popular sovereignty by the people's representatives. Basically, these two forms of democracy are contrary to each other. Direct democracy is applied in countries such as Switzerland while representative democracy is applied in Canada, UK and USA. If these two groups of countries exchange their form of democracy that they apply, it will not work. Hence, it is important for government to choose a suitable form of democracy for the country in order to create a stable society.
In conclusion, democracy has both advantages and disadvantages. It depends on how we apply it. Hope the appropriate use of democracy can build a better future.
Firstly, let me introduce the definition of democracy. Democracy is a system of government by which political sovereignty is retained by the people and either exercised directly by citizens or through their elected representatives. In democratic society, citizens have rights to make decisions on civil issues, and the major authority is controlled by the public. In conclusion, it means that citizens controlled their own country.
Democracy often considered as the symbol of freedom because the country is controlled by the public but not the authority. People like freedom. Therefore, they like democracy. They may spend some time on discussion or even argument. However, after deciding, they would definitely do what they had decided because it is their own decision but not others’, and this may avoid the conflicts or misunderstanding between the government and the public. Hence, it contributes to create stability in the society.
On the other hand, despite the conditions of the countries, it also concerns democracy itself.
As a matter of fact, there are various types of democracy. Different type of democracy should be applied appropriately in specific countries; otherwise, it will not work.
For instance, direct democracy, classic termed pure democracy, is a political system where the citizens participate in the decision-making personally. Representative Democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of popular sovereignty by the people's representatives. Basically, these two forms of democracy are contrary to each other. Direct democracy is applied in countries such as Switzerland while representative democracy is applied in Canada, UK and USA. If these two groups of countries exchange their form of democracy that they apply, it will not work. Hence, it is important for government to choose a suitable form of democracy for the country in order to create a stable society.
In conclusion, democracy has both advantages and disadvantages. It depends on how we apply it. Hope the appropriate use of democracy can build a better future.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Commentay:Do the youth really need 'Dr Love'?
Text: Facing heartship? See the love doctors.
Publication: The Straits Times
Newslink:http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-INF%2Fjsp%2Fuser%2Fsearch_type_result.jsp&month=05&year=2006&date=14&docLanguage=en&documentId=nica_ST_2006_4059242
Who are ‘Dr Love’s?
Basically, these doctors are all young men. Most of them are from universities. The authors, Eugene Tan , Chelestiar Kong Jing Wen and Chung Pin Soon, are all medical students who aged 25 or 26. Actually, none of them is an expert on psychology. These young men didn’t have any experience, and one of them did not even have a girl friend himself. However, three boys gathered and produce a book and a website, and become popular and fashionable amongst the young people.
What are they doing?
Till now, they have already written a book and set up a website dispending skills such as dating strategies. They teach people how to create opportunities, dating strategies, communication skills and how to maintain the relationship. This detailed and well-organized information can all be found on their website and book.
Why are they popular and successful?
The book and website have been great successful since they were produced, but why are they so popular among the youth, and even the middle-aged people?
These young authors are really hard working. Because there lack of credentials, they talked to over 100 other people about their relationship and read a lot of works of authors like Barbara De Angelis instead. They said that they have been gathering examples since their secondary school time which was in Raffles Institution. They also took down their friends’ dating records and analyzed. By using this method, they were able to invent their own method of approaching those they liked. Due to the detailed and careful preparation, the book is considered to be effective and efficient.
Ms Anna Goh, deputy director of the Social Development Unit, said it gives informal, personal and relevant examples young people can identify with.
Furthermore, there are a great amount of young people who need such kind of guidance.
Mr. Tan, who shared his experience in the book, said it is good to organize his idea and share with others. He and his girlfriend also found the way to maintain their relationship in the book.
Do we really need them?
As the book and the website become more and more popular, it leads to more reflection on this issue: Shall we solve the love problem ourselves or always ask love doctors?
Mr. C.K. Goh, 25, who is doing national service, says he would not use the book as a guide.
He said it’s too clean and unrealistic. Love can never be so simple like that, but a lot more complex.
Personally I think that the young people should try to deal with problems by themselves.
As Mr. C.k. Goh said, life is full of complexities and challenges. Not everything can be listed in the book or on the website. The youth must have the capability to solve new problems instead of depending on books.
Publication: The Straits Times
Newslink:http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-INF%2Fjsp%2Fuser%2Fsearch_type_result.jsp&month=05&year=2006&date=14&docLanguage=en&documentId=nica_ST_2006_4059242
Who are ‘Dr Love’s?
Basically, these doctors are all young men. Most of them are from universities. The authors, Eugene Tan , Chelestiar Kong Jing Wen and Chung Pin Soon, are all medical students who aged 25 or 26. Actually, none of them is an expert on psychology. These young men didn’t have any experience, and one of them did not even have a girl friend himself. However, three boys gathered and produce a book and a website, and become popular and fashionable amongst the young people.
What are they doing?
Till now, they have already written a book and set up a website dispending skills such as dating strategies. They teach people how to create opportunities, dating strategies, communication skills and how to maintain the relationship. This detailed and well-organized information can all be found on their website and book.
Why are they popular and successful?
The book and website have been great successful since they were produced, but why are they so popular among the youth, and even the middle-aged people?
These young authors are really hard working. Because there lack of credentials, they talked to over 100 other people about their relationship and read a lot of works of authors like Barbara De Angelis instead. They said that they have been gathering examples since their secondary school time which was in Raffles Institution. They also took down their friends’ dating records and analyzed. By using this method, they were able to invent their own method of approaching those they liked. Due to the detailed and careful preparation, the book is considered to be effective and efficient.
Ms Anna Goh, deputy director of the Social Development Unit, said it gives informal, personal and relevant examples young people can identify with.
Furthermore, there are a great amount of young people who need such kind of guidance.
Mr. Tan, who shared his experience in the book, said it is good to organize his idea and share with others. He and his girlfriend also found the way to maintain their relationship in the book.
Do we really need them?
As the book and the website become more and more popular, it leads to more reflection on this issue: Shall we solve the love problem ourselves or always ask love doctors?
Mr. C.K. Goh, 25, who is doing national service, says he would not use the book as a guide.
He said it’s too clean and unrealistic. Love can never be so simple like that, but a lot more complex.
Personally I think that the young people should try to deal with problems by themselves.
As Mr. C.k. Goh said, life is full of complexities and challenges. Not everything can be listed in the book or on the website. The youth must have the capability to solve new problems instead of depending on books.
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