Some people think that environmental problems are too big for individuals to solve, while others think that the government cannot solve these environmental problems unless individuals make some action. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

The environment has become a major concern over the last couple of 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 for establishing where the responsibility for the protection of the environment 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 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.