Source: CCTV.com

11-09-2007 12:00

Wang Ting, Xi’an International Studies University

A strategy for saving the world sounds like such a dramatic topic that I cannot help but think about the predictable Hollywood scenario in which a hero saves the world within 24 hours. “Boom!”, the world is saved. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately too, saving the world in reality is not like that. It is a massive long-term project.

So what are we saving the world from? I can give you a long list of things that endanger our world today: war, crime, disease, poverty, lack of resource, and pollution. All of these are major problems, but stemming from their sources is a common root: ignorance. Ultimately, it is ignorance that we have to save the world from. Therefore I believe that education is the weapon that we should use.

Education is a powerful tool and serves several purposes in society. First of all, besides telling us what we have already achieved, it also raises awareness about the problems we face and what solutions exist, yet might be commonly neglected: Caring more for our neighbors, not carelessly littering, driving cars less, and not wasting water. These are everybody’s responsibility to help saving this world.

The second purpose education serves is as the foundation of further development. There are so many things we do not know about this world that limit our development. We need to be educated to think out of the box and find new ways to solve problems. But without education, it is impossible to achieve this. It is an inevitable start for saving this world.

Education might sound like a simple strategy for such a complex mission. Yet, education is without doubt the foundation upon what we need to do to save this world, since the more we know about ourselves and the environment we are in, the more successful we can be.

 

Editor:Liu Fang