Page 186 - Diocesan Boys' School-MINI STEPS 2018

Eamon Lee (6S)

Nature or Resources

Arctic, the most northern part of the Earth, has 84% undiscovered oil and natural gas.
However, is it worth it to destroy nature to get resources?

First of all, Arctic is the main habitat for polar bears whose number is reduced to 25,000.
Different human activities like oil extraction destroy their habitat and eventually lead polar
bears to extinction.

On the other hand, people may argue that oil extraction will not impact the environment.
As mentioned by WWF, oil deposits and leakage are the main problems for polar bears. If the
workers handle it carefully, leakage can be prevented.

Second, living on the ice will make the global warming situation more serious. Experts
mentioned that as early as 2030, the Arctic’s ice will start to melt. Living on it will generate more
heat which will accelerate the melting of ice.

However, global warming is a broad issue and may not be solely due to activity in the Arctic.
Smoking and air pollution are also reasons for global warming. Also, using greener materials
when extracting may lower the impact.

To conclude, even though there are great natural resources in the Artic, in my opinion, I
think it is not a suitable place to live as oil leakage and global warming may still affect the polar
bears and the environment of the Arctic.

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