Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Governments should focus more on natural environment and less on economic development. Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer.
你是否同意以下观点?相对于经济发展,政府应该更重视自然环境保护。请用具体的理由和事例来说明。
I do not agree with the statement that governments should focus more on the natural environment than economic development. To me, it is clear that both issues are equally important. Economic development is important because so many people are living in poverty; protecting the natural environment is important for people's health and quality of life. Therefore, focusing on either one and neglecting the other will lead to a bad result. As far as I am concerned, the best approach is to focus on both.
Most countries focus on economic development because this enables the population of a country to become richer and have better lives, and it makes the country stronger. The problem is that the current form of economic development is destroying the natural environment. For instance, CO2 from fossil fuels is causing global warming, factories are polluting the air and the water, and resources, like oil, are running out. If governments continue to focus on economic development, it will soon be too late to save the environment, and future economic development will be impossible without natural resources.
Currently, most governments are pursuing economic growth for short-term gain but they do not see the importance of protecting the environment for long-term economic growth. It is clear then that governments need to focus on both issues equally because they are inextricably linked. The current form of economic development must be changed so that, instead of seeking only short-term profits, governments and corporations look at economic development from a long-term perspective. Governments cannot choose to focus on one or the other because both are vital to future humanity.