Nowadays, there is an increasingly serious phenomenon in people's daily lives. Rows of lights shine in empty classrooms, the residue of rice and dishes fill up waste buckets, intriguing and extravagant banquets are left uneaten in restaurants, and water taps weep without anybody washing anything.

Such sights are common yet so serious that it is high time that they were eliminated; now we are living in a world short of fresh water and it is not exaggerating to say that every drop of water is precious. And although many of us do not have to worry about lack of food anymore, there are still millions who are staving in other parts of the world. If we do not cherish the things we have today, sooner or later we will be short of them, since many resources cannot be recycled.

To reduce waste in our daily lives, everyone must be responsible. Turn off the lights when you are the last to leave the classroom. Use metal or plastic chopsticks instead of disposable ones and eat up! Keep a teacup in your school bag rather than throwing each bottle away after it becomes empty!

Please note: This article first appeared in the in the 2004 edition of Colourful Day, a Kangding Teachers College student newspaper. It reappears here under the guidance of the author, Wu Zhang Ling, who is now a teacher at the school.