The extent of the damage to the environment has become an international

issue and needs to be tackled soon and effectively. Some people consider it, as
the sole responsibility of the governments to take steps towards solving this
pressing issue. However, I disagree with this perspective. I believe that
although this issue needs to be handled at the national and international
levels, every inhabitant of Earth also needs to do his/her bit and take small
steps to contribute towards a cleaner environment.

To begin with, the major cause of the deteriorating condition of the

environment is pollution caused by the use of vehicles. This can be easily dealt
with in a better way at the individual level, than at the state level. If each
person takes it upon himself or herself to use public transport more, to walk to
short distances rather than using a vehicle or to use eco-friendly modes of
transport, like bicycles, then this issue can be easily solved. The government
should facilitate this by providing better public transport, good roads, and
separate walking and cycling lanes. However, ultimately it will work only if
each citizen contributes.

To add to it, globalization and advancement in technology have led to a

consumerist society, where the consumption of material goods has increased
manifold. An adverse effect of such a society is the "throwaway culture",
where people have stopped recycling and simply throw away things and buy
new ones. If people start recycling things, land and soil pollution will decrease
greatly.
Also, people should be conscious about buying products with less packaging
material used. Another important step that every citizen can take is to say no
to plastic and use more eco-friendly materials. It's an easy step that needs to
be taken at an individual level. The government can definitely help by making
laws against the use of plastic bags and other environment damaging
materials.

In conclusion, I reiterate that even though the problem of environmental

damage has escalated to a level that needs to be handled globally, by the
politicians and environmentalists, every person also needs to make
contributions to alleviate this situation. Only then will we be able to ensure a
good quality life for the future generations.
Education plays a key role in alleviating poverty. That is why, providing six
years of free education to children seems to be a good solution to reduce
poverty. However, I disagree that it is the best solution. I believe that primary
education alone is not enough, and steps also need to be taken to maintain the
quality of free education provided.

Admittedly, the basic skills of reading and writing, throws open many doors.
Building a skilled workforce can lift many households out of poverty. Many
economists around the globe have proposed that if all students of low-income
countries left school with basic reading and writing skills, it could eradicate
12% of the world poverty. It has been seen that the direct cost of sending a
child to school, as well as the indirect cost of losing a source of labour, deters
the poor from sending their children to school. Therefore, providing 6 years of
free education seems a viable solution to eradicate poverty.

However, delivering six years free access to education alone is not enough. All
children need the chance to complete not only primary school, but also
secondary school. For instance, in a survey in El Salvador it was seen that 5% of
working adults had only primary education, compared with 47 % who had
secondary education.

Furthermore, just providing six years free education would not be enough, if
steps were not taken to ensure the quality of such education. lt should be
ensured that children actually learn. The quality of this education should be
equitable to that of other premium educational institutes. Faculty recruitment,
infrastructural maintenance and pro-learning programs should be effectively
monitored by the authorities. Otherwise, all the government funding can prove
futile.

To sum up, six years of free education can go a long way in eradicating poverty,
but I reiterate that six years education is not the best solution, as it is not
enough, and also steps need to be taken to ensure the quality of this
education.