You are now going to answer some questions about the topic of ‘last’ in your own country. After you have given your opinion, please say why you think that, and give me examples from your own experience, ok?
In your opinion, who in your country should care more about saving energy for future generations: the government or individuals? Why?
Well, we’ve actually had big problems recently about energy; our government is being accused of not spending enough money on renewable sources. I think that if someone doesn’t take control, then we’ll run out of energy pretty soon so I’d definitely say the government should be doing more. I think that if they tried a bit harder to teach people about energy consumption then I’m sure some people would start changing their habits. Of course, individuals do have a part to play but I just can’t see people being willing to make big changes without being told to do that by the government!
How do you think this could be done?
Well, I honestly believe that big companies and corporations should be given laws about how much energy they can use. Obviously, there have to be some exceptions but generally I think this would make a big difference. Another thing they could do is spend more of their big budgets on wind-farms, solar power and things like that. That would help a lot! In addition to this, they should spend some of that money on TV commercials about how everyone can save energy at home and in the workplace.
Do you think people are becoming more aware of global warming these days?
Yeah, absolutely. When I was a kid I don’t think we even heard about it. Since I’ve been older, say from age 12, I’ve heard more about it and the more I learn, the more scared I get about the future. This year alone, we’ve had loads more rain and freezing cold weather in my country and the news is calling us a ‘greenhouse’. It’s terrible!
How does your country compare to other countries in terms of carbon emissions?
I’m not exactly sure but I think one of the reasons we are so bad for the environment is because we live on an island and we rely on a lot of boat traffic, which uses so much oil. So I think we’re not as bad as countries with big cars and factories but we’re still really high on the worldwide scale I’ll bet.