作者：北美考试教学中心 托福写作组 叶建萍

Environmental degradation and global warming are the result of harmful effects of human activities. Therefore, it is time for human beings to figure out a solution to global warming and combat climate change. Fortunately, if people are willing to make a few eco-friendly changes, such as commuting by riding a bike or walking on foot, recycling the useless objects or buying organic products, it is likely to see the ripple effect of our actions in the near future. Considering the feasibility and effectiveness, I believe most people are capable of traveling by bicycle or walking to reduce the carbon footprint.

On the one hand, the majority of serious environmental problems are related to the pollution of air, water and soil. If private car users are encouraged to take more public transportation vehicles or ride a bike as an alternative, the air quality will be improved and ameliorated. To be specific, a large number of car owners, especially those who possess the environmentally friendly awareness, may give up driving private cars. The reduction in the number of private cars not only helps to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, but also helps decrease the demand for fossil fuel, leading to a drop in the the exploitation and utilization of these conventional energy resources. As a result, the water and soil contamination can be controlled to some degree. It is, therefore, clear that taking public transportation or commuting by bike is conducive to protecting our environment.

On the other hand, motivating residents to  recycle whenever possible is not advisable, due to the fact that many people in my city lack the knowledge of sorting daily garbage into those which can be recycled and which can not, let alone taking advantage of reusable products and materials. It is common phenomenon that most of people are used to automatically tossing items into the trash. Plus, it is not feasible to require local residents to purchase the organic vegetable or fruits because of high food price and low yield. In other words, restricting pesticides and fertilizers in organic farming slow down the growth of vegetable, for the sake of food health, making them less accessible and available to common citizens.

To sum up, traveling by bike or walking to our destination is the most practical and popular for most people, compared to other two options.