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 In most places, we have to wash our windows regularly. Why? Because they get clogged with pollution from the air. But that is the same air we breathe – and we can’t wash our lungs. Sometimes, the dirt in the air can kill us.
When
the clouds get so dirty and brown,
It is not a nice thing: it makes us all frown!
All the cars and buses put smoke in the air
Don’t they know that it’s not really fair?
All the rubbish that people throw on the ground
After a few years will become a big mound –
A mound that gives out the most terrible smell
Which is what makes this planet a living hell.
Instead of this hell that we’re all living in
Let’s now work together to make sure we all win!
Instead of a car, why not buy a bike?
And instead of a drive, why not take a hike?
From now on, don’t you dare ever litter the floor
Just try to remember you’d be breaking the law.
Forget throwing waste away – just recycle, re-use!
Then share with your friends the good news!
Arouge Chaudhry, Tajmnia Chaudhey, Aimee Rebdon
and Debi Moncur, England, UK
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click picture to enlarge
Avohpo, Benin
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If I were Head of State, I would control enterprises and make sure they
obeyed environmental laws strictly. I would punish them severely if they
broke the laws.
Boris Medvedev, Ukraine
The accident at the Union
Carbide factory in Bhopal, India was one of the worst industrial disasters
in history. One December night in 1984, a Union Carbide worker noticed
gas escaping from a 70,000 litre tank of methyl isocyanate – a deadly
gas. As it escaped into the atmosphere, it caused the almost instant death
of 2,500 people. Another 350,000  became
very sick with breathing problems and stomach aches – some of which continue
to this day!
The accident was bad enough. What happened afterwards was almost worse:
Union Carbide has never admitted responsibility for the disaster and has
not apologised to its victims. They have paid minimal compensation to
those who lost loved ones and have done little to provide medical care
to the 50,000 or so who still suffer and cannot earn as much as they might
have done had they not been injured in the accident. Government needs
to be tougher on companies like Union Carbide. When charged with homicide,
the company did not bother to appear at the court, only appearing when
the charges were reduced to negligence.
Neha Smriti, India
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