Level 7

Effects of Higher Education

 Can you imagine how I have changed since I got married to my husband? He got his doctorate degree in China, and then he applied for a job in the United States. After seven year’s hard work in the United States, he found a good job in Beijing, China. The institute he works in now helps us solve the difficulties we faced in Beijing, so my husband can focus on his work. These difficulties for a lot of people in Beijing are hard to solve, even though they are rich. Before I knew him, I believed that ability is more important than higher education, but from his experiences, I changed my mind. Higher education can give you more choices, can give you a possible chance to get a high income, can broaden your mind and give you the ability to think independently.

Before I got married, I had never imagined I would have a chance to go abroad. My husband helped me make this come true. Because of his higher education, he can apply for a visa and receive it easily, or we would only have had one choice, which is to stay in China. After spending seven years in the United States, he still has the chance to choose to stay in America or move back to China, or go to a company or university. He has the right to choose the one that he likes the best. When he applied for a job in China, he got several offers. He compared each offer and chose the one suitable for him and his future development. So we can see higher education gave him more opportunities to choose the one he likes not to choose by job. At last, he chose to be a scientist, and this brought a chance for him to get a high income.

Higher education can give you a chance to be a scientist like my husband, to be a manager, to be a doctor, to be an engineer, to be a teacher, to be a lawyer and so on. All of these positions can bring a chance to get a high income. If you are a scientist, you can put your research results into practice, and that will help you make a lot of money. If you are a manager, you can make a high salary when you lead the company and get good performance. If you are a doctor, you can earn a high income by helping sick people recover from disease. All of these incomes are stable and increase with time passing because you are using your knowledge to make money.

Higher education can make a person broaden his or her mind and be able to think independently. My doctor, Tom, worked in a women's health center. When I was pregnant, I faced a lot of problems. Every time I asked him, he always gave me the right answer and helped me solve them. I was impressed by his professional skills. Another example is my husband’s boss in the United States. He told me every time when he did an experiment and had no idea what to do in the next step to solve the problem he faced. When he asked his boss and explained what he did, his boss always found the solution for him. When you get higher education, you can think independently and be yourself, not influenced by other people.

From my husband’s experience and all of the examples, we can see higher education brings us a lot of advantages. It gives your life more chances and makes it possible to be a rich man or woman, and you can extend your knowledge and be your own master. So I would suggest everyone to get higher education if you have a chance. You will get a different life after you make it. And it is amazing.  

Written by: Lin Gao 

 Most Single Use Plastic Should be Banned

“By 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish,” the Ellen MacArthur Foundation provides in their new report. Albeit, we continue to drink coffee and soda from disposable cups, buy multi-wrapped products and order food in single use plastic. Obviously, we are trapped in this cycle. It is critically important to change the role of plastic in our lives and find less risky materials for daily use. If we do not want to be buried under tonnes of plastic, we should rethink our attitude to it.

We live in a plastic world. The biggest part of the surrounding objects are made from plastic. A substantial amount of plastic materials are used for logistics and packaging. Due to this, plastic will be thrown away when the product finds its buyer. When single use plastic is thrown away, it enters water, soil, air, and it is harmful for our planet. It is important to remember, pollutants affect water quality, kill aquatic lives, and destroy the soil. “Degradation of plastic waste due to its chemical composition releases different gases that can affect the atmosphere in different ways; when carbon dioxide and other gases are released can cause different problems like climate change, global warming, acidic rain, and nosocomial infections,” scientists explain in a recent survey. 

Another negative plastic impact is connected with our health. This field is permanently investigated and proved. “Plastics may serve as efficient delivery systems of toxic pollutants, like plastic additives from the manufacturing process (e.g., heavy metals, plasticizers) or chemicals that have adsorbed to plastic from the surrounding environment,” Turner and Gallo et al. warn. Annually, humans consume up to 52,000 fragments of plastic, and it is potentially harmful for our health. When pieces of plastic get into food they include chemicals, additives and pathogens. Then, we eat it and our immune system has to cope with it. Eating and drinking from plastic carry risks and we should realize it as soon as possible.

Opponents may say that single use plastic is convenient for many reasons: it costs little, it helps to keep products fresh, it prevents people from germs, etc. In reality, millions of tonnes of plastic that equal billions of dollars contaminate our planet. It burns, leaks into the environment and a substantial part of it rolls in landfills. It costs the lives of animals and marine life. Instead of idealizing plastic, we should find tools to reduce their negative impact.  

We have to change our approach to plastic generally. Most single use plastic should be banned. We need single-use plastic systems to change to reusable circular systems, where plastic waste will be minimized.The world population should be aware of the negative plastic impact on our health and environment, and should use it consciously. Governments of all countries should make plastic issues as important ones. We have to act now before the situation becomes unsolvable. 

Written by: Valeriia Heorhiieva

 Works Cited

https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics-and-catalysing

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020320225 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666016421000645