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"When I was in kindergarten and elementary school, I was constantly taught the importance of conserving water, cherishing food, and caring for the environment. This led to certain behaviors, like turning off taps when I saw them running, picking up a single grain of rice from the table and eating it, or picking up litter from the street and putting it in the trash can.
This mindset persisted until yesterday when I came across a post on social media. The post made me reflect a bit. It mentioned how the efforts of an individual to save water or food might seem insignificant when compared to the wastage in affluent households. For example, a wealthy family changing the water in their private swimming pool once, or the water used to irrigate the golf course they frequent, could be equivalent to leaving a household tap running for 24 hours straight.
The post also questioned the impact of such actions when it comes to protecting the environment. It pointed out that advocating for environmental conservation and protecting the oceans might not necessarily be connected to the daily lives of many people.
This article made me realize that my efforts to conserve resources might not have as significant an impact as I thought. It challenged my perspective and even felt a bit distorted. The message seemed to be that my individual efforts, while well-intentioned, might not be enough to fill the gaps created by larger-scale resource consumption.
It reminds me of a saying I heard in college: ""The water you save doesn't have any impact on the world's water resources; it just saves you some water bills.""
So, it's an interesting topic to ponder. Are our individual efforts to conserve resources making a meaningful difference in the grand scheme of things, or is there more we should consider in terms of collective action and systemic change?" |
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