INTRODUCTION

Today, the world is in a precarious state, our sea levels are rising, our flora and fauna are declining, our temperatures are increasing and our environment is being desecrated and becoming hideous year after year. Despite investing so much into preserving the environment, efforts by various governments have achieved limited success. It is safe to say that humanity has created too severe an environmental damage, to a point of no return.

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THESIS 1

POINT:
Efforts by many governments are woefully insufficient and many states have failed to fulfil their climate and environmental promises.

ELABORATION:
Many international agreements rely on the cooperation and the participation of all or nearly all member states, and when big countries do not wish to participate, the agreement is as good as dead and of no use. This has led to many negative ramifications (a complex or unwelcome consequence of an action or event) for us.

EXAMPLE:
An example would be the Paris Climate Agreement that was hobbled by the refusal of states to participate in it. US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement under which the Obama administration had set the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions levels between 26 to 28% from the 2005 levels. It is almost impossible for the US to meet their goals at their current pace of decarbonisation. The Kyoto Protocol was met with similar problems, and also further problems from countries that did not meet their emissions-reduction goals.

EVALUATION:
Hence, as these two cases infamously illustrate, politics, bickering between states, and weak political will, have crippled any effort to steer the Earth away from its dangerous course.

LINK:
This shows that governments clearly do not prioritise environmental preservation and the Earth is en route to a state of irreversible damage.

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THESIS 2

POINT:
The main cause of climate change and global warming is widely accepted to be anthropogenic – caused by mankind itself.

ELABORATION:
With rapid urbanisation comes the inevitable environmental repercussions. People are also getting richer and richer, and thus they can more easily afford the items and services which are culpable (deserving blame) for the bulk of carbon emissions in the world.

EXAMPLE:
Air-conditioners use so-called “F gases” (such as hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs) as refrigerants. When — as is common — the machines leak in use or on disposal, these gases escape, doing vast damage. HFCs trap between 1,000 and 9,000 times as much heat as the same amount of CO2, meaning they are much more potent causes of global warming. Airlines and cruise companies are also extremely notorious for the sheer amount of greenhouse gases they emit while sending holidaymakers and businesspeople from place to place.

EVALUATION:
Hence, humans’ materialistic desires, coupled with their increased purchasing power, have driven the consumption of goods and services to a level far beyond what is effectively sustainable and replaceable by the Earth.

LINK:
Technology, its resulting contraptions and inventions have become an indispensable part of everyone’s lives, posing a definite threat to the environment. One can only surmise, therefore, that human actions will be the undoing of the Earth.

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ANTITHESIS 1

POINT:
My critics would argue that efforts by several countries to curb environmental degradation have been efficacious in reducing damage to the environment.

ELABORATION:
Plastic bags are now the most prevalent debris in the oceans, and with eight million more tonnes added each year, they may be more prevalent in weight than fish by 2050. Howbeit, more than 40 countries have been implementing strategies to limit the use of plastic bags and had achieved significant progress in reducing pollution.

EXAMPLE:
Even modest policy interventions have had significant impacts, such as in Britain, where the usage of plastic carrier bags fell by 83% after the introduction of a five-pence-per-bag charge in 2015. Some governments are going further by instituting outright bans. In July 2017, Kenya banned the production, sale and use of plastic bags, with violators subject to imprisonment for up to 4 years or fines of up to US$40,000.

EVALUATION:
Thus, one can see that the winds of change are beginning to blow, and not all hope is lost as governments are beginning to wise up to, and take action to try to stave off the damaging effects of our past conduct.

LINK:
Though humanity did cause some damage to the Earth, it is not beyond repair as measures have been taken by governments to effectively mitigate environmental damage.

SHORT-REBUTTAL:
However, it is to be noted that our past conduct has been inflicting harm on the environment for a very long period of time. It is likely going to be extremely difficult to repair the entirety of the damage we have already caused to the Earth, and only drastic action will be able to help stop the Earth from turning into a shadow of its former self.

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CONCLUSION

Our Earth is soon to be irreparably damaged, no thanks to all the greenhouse gases and the anthropogenic activities humans have done to cause environmental degradation. Unfortunately, governments still prioritise economic growth over environmental preservation and currently implemented measures are simply insufficient to bring climate change to a halt. It is crucial for all to strike a balance between the two before the Earth truly becomes damaged beyond repair.

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