Our earth

　　　Last weekend I read an article called “A Faustian Pact” which is actually talked about the climate change in the Earth. But what’s make this article unique is that the author used the story of Faust to be a metaphor of this serious issue. This is my first time to access Faust’s story. Faust is a brilliant doctor, who strikes a bargain with the devil. The devil gave him twenty-four years to live in all voluptuousness, and Faust will surrender his soul to hell at the end of that period. But in this article, the Faust is humankind – restless, curious, and unsatisfied. The devil is fossil fuel. Faust’s miraculous abilities are the activities fossil fuel permits. We live in the environment which is full of senses and luxurious, but later we need to pay for it.
　　　
　　　The article provided some examples which I never thought about it. Now people would no longer just die because of the rising sea level, but because of the disease, water shortages, and droughts etc. The rising temperatures could give rise to many other problems. The diseases would spread easier than before because of the temperatures. The increasing temperature would cause the decrease of mountain melt waters and the decline of the waters from the leaves. Not only the human beings but also other species and the oceans would suffer a lot. For example, the water could be too acid for shells to form, and this would be devastating to sea life.
　　　
　　　I believe that we all know that the environment is severe and need to be protected, but the truth is that most of us would not really put our thoughts into practice. We wrinkled our brows every time we heard the news about the greenhouse effect. We then told to our friends and ourselves that: oh, how terrible! We need to shelter our earth! But next moment we took the elevator, drove our own car, and turn on the air conditioner. To say is one thing, to do is another thing. Some people even thought that the situation is not worst enough. They are still waiting and watching. After all, they are already die when the destruction of the earth. Protect our earth? Come on, it’s not their business! Just leave the worry to the offspring and they’ll have solutions!
　　　
　　　Actually my classmates talked about this issue in our oral training class. Only the minority are willing to give up all the factors such as handiness and protect our environment. Handiness is an important consideration. We don’t want to walk so we take the elevator instead of climbing the stairs, drive cars or scooters instead of waiting for buses. In addition, privacy is also a top priority consideration. We don’t want to take the public transportations or the car pool because we want our privacy. I, myself is the same. I’ll be mad at my boyfriend if he can’t ride the scooter when we’re going out. But now I want to have some change after seeing a movie named An Inconvenient Truth. Recently I’ll climb the stairs in the main library and our department building. Instead of feeling upset, I’ll think I am helping the earth and at the same time, saving my life. It can be an exercise, too. And what’s more, it sometimes saves more time because I don’t have to waste my time to wait for the elevator. I really hope I can keep this good habit for a long time.