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1. CAUSES/EFFECTS AND SOLUTIONS
Explain some of the ways in which humans are damaging the environment. What can
governments do to address these problems? What can individual people do?
Humans are responsible for a variety of environmental problems, but we can also take steps to
reduce the damage that we are causing to the planet. This essay will discuss environmental
problems and the measures that governments and individuals can take to address these
problems.
Two of the biggest threats to the environment are air pollution and waste. Gas emissions from
factories and exhaust fumes from vehicles lead to global warming, which may have a
devastating effect on the planet in the future. As the human population increases, we are also
producing ever greater quantities of waste, which contaminates the earth and pollutes rivers and
oceans.
Governments could certainly make more effort to reduce air pollution. They could introduce laws
to limit emissions from factories or to force companies to use renewable energy from solar, wind
or water power. They could also impose ‘green taxes’ on drivers and airline companies. In this
way, people would be encouraged to use public transport and to take fewer flights abroad,
therefore reducing emissions.
Individuals should also take responsibility for the impact they have on the environment. They
can take public transport rather than driving, choose products with less packaging, and recycle
as much as possible. Most supermarkets now provide reusable bags for shoppers as well as
‘banks’ for recycling glass, plastic and paper in their car parks. By reusing and recycling, we can
help to reduce waste.
In conclusion, both national governments and individuals must play their part in looking after the
environment.
In many countries, people do not recycle their rubbish as much as they could. Why do
you think this is? What can be done to change this?
With an increasing world population and subsequent environmental concerns, it is important to
dispose of trash in an eco-friendly manner, yet there are a significant number of places around
the world that fail to do so.
There are a number of reasons that mean that recycling is not done as effectively as it could,
the primary problem being the attitude of the general public. Lethargy or lack of knowledge
leads people to throw all of their rubbish into one place, meaning that material that could have
been sorted and reused is buried in landfills. In the UK, for example, over 20 million tonnes of
waste is buried whilst less than 1 per cent of that amount is actively recycled. There is also the

2. matter of availability, as there are situations in which recycling facilities are either extremely
limited or nonexistent.
In order to combat these issues, the first step would be educating the general public about the
facts of waste disposal and recycling, perhaps even enforcing participation by levying a fine
against those who do not separate their rubbish into different types. Hand in hand with this,
making recycling centres more available would also help, or perhaps adopting a system used in
some Asian countries where households are given a number of different containers into which
to sort their rubbish for collection.
Overall, it seems that a change of attitude is needed as well as more resources to manage
different recyclable materials. This can be achieved through a combination of education and
penalties, as well as ensuring better access to facilities.
(261 words)
Traditional methods of food preparation are becoming less popular. Why do you think
this is?
Meals made in a time honoured fashion are not as common these days for a number of different
reasons, as will now be explained.
The primary factor is that more modern variants of traditional dishes are often less time
consuming to prepare. It is not uncommon for both parents to work outside of the home,
meaning that there is less opportunity for people to spend the hours required in shopping,
preparing and cooking, so opting for a quick and easy meal is often preferred.
Another significant cause for this decline is that the skills that in previous generations were
handed down from parents to children are no longer considered as valuable, and as such, many
younger people simply lack the required knowledge. Already many traditional skills such as
bread making are no longer passed on, and this is illustrated in the rising consumption of
convenience food among younger people.
A third contributor to the fall in traditional food preparation is also related to the modern global
nature of most societies. Historically, traditional meals were common because the required
ingredients were all that was available locally. These days, however, most large cities have
shops and restaurants with food from all over the globe. A clear example of this influence is in
the United Kingdom, where the most popular takeaway food is Indian cuisine.
Ultimately, there are many factors both societal and economic that are leading to the decline in
traditional meals, and this is a trend that is likely to continue into the future.
(254 words)
Traffic problems are increasing in most cities. What can be done about this?

3. Increasing urban populations have led to a corresponding increase in the number of vehicles on
the road, resulting in rising congestion in city centres. There are a number of potential solutions
to the problem, as will now be discussed.
Perhaps the first step to take would be to improve the availability of public transport and install
bus lanes throughout the city. Whilst this would, in the short term, increase the pressure on the
roads, it is likely to result in more people using public transport and leaving their vehicle at
home. One way of encouraging people to adopt buses and trains is to lower the price and
expand the timetable.
Following that, local councils or the government could make it more difficult for car drivers to
use their car by either charging a levy or only allowing certain vehicles in city areas on certain
days. A similar system has been running in London for some time, and has resulted in fewer
vehicles on the roads.
An alternative idea, one which is more extreme than levies and selective use, is to simply
prevent private passenger vehicles from entering the city at all. By having only public transport
options, there would be no problem with congestion and would allow for more pedestrian areas
in the metropolitan areas.
To sum up, there are a range of options available to reduce the number of cars in the centre of
cities, but ultimately they all rely on an increased public transport system and encouraging
drivers and their passengers to use it.
(256 words)