Some people say that protecting the environment is the government’s responsibility. Others believe that every individual should take responsibility for it. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

The

environment

has become a major concern over the

last

couple decades, resulting in several debates on who should be responsible for ensuring its sustenance for our future generations. In

this

essay, we will discuss the point of views of establishing where the responsibility for the protection of the nature lies. There is a strong argument that individually we cannot contribute materially to the cause of preserving our

environment

because it encompasses several areas where individual efforts become futile. Some examples are factories that are emitting hazardous gases in our air or dumping dangerous materials in our rivers. If we want to take

this

up as an individual we cannot be expected to be able to prevent

this

from happening. One could argue that if each shareholder puts pressure on the companies that they own

this

could lead to building up of pressure for being more responsible,

this

, unfortunately, is not workable because usually the companies are mostly owned by funds that are managed by professionals, seeking profit and the

environment

is very low on their priority list. The above leads us to deduct that if

this

movement of preserving our

environment

is a collaborative effort by the

government

and general public we stand a better chance of being successful. The

government

should provide the legal infrastructure to control the natural instinct of profiteering, of all investment institutions; with

this

, the individual efforts could start making the difference. Continuing the above example, if an individual member of the society notices that same happening in his or her surroundings, he or she can call on an implementation agency that would tackle the factory emitting hazardous gases and dumping dangerous materials. Examples of these implementation agencies include

Environment

control desk in the city office, environmental inspectors who randomly visit

such

factories and are empowered under the law to impose a fine or completely seal the production facility found in violation of the rules. The responsibility surely seems to be tilting towards the actions of individuals supported through

government

agencies and legislative framework,

thus

, in my opinion, the combined efforts of the

government

and public would be more effective.

This

should not,

however

, be interpreted as being absolved from keeping our

environment

clean and we can through cans and other non-degradable materials on the beach.