A Talk on World Environment Day

Good morning to our beloved principal , Mr Yap Chong Guan , dear teachers and students of Chung Hua Middle School No.1 . Thank you for giving me this opportunity to say a few words on this auspicious day. I would like to focus on the importance of rainforests and why we must save them. We all know that Malaysia has the oldest rainforest in the world , but do we really understand what rainforests do? Rainforests safeguard our existence on this planet because they help maintain the environmental balance within the ecosystem. This is because rainforests contain many trees and plants. These absorb the carbon dioxide in the air and release oxygen for us to breathe. When rainforests are destroyed, there is nowhere for the carbon dioxide to go but into the atmosphere. This cause the Earth to heat up, and the ice caps to melt. This in turn creates all sorts of problems such as drought, flood and famine which are now happening in various parts of the world.

Another reason why rainforests are essential to man is that they contain the Earth’s greatest diversity of plants and animals. Thus, they also represent giant gene banks that can provide the cure for many diseases. Medicinal substances already discovered in rainforests have provided new drugs, foods and other products. These include reserpine, used to treat cardiac problems, and curare, used in heart and lung surgery. Yet Man and his almighty dollar are threatening the very existence of the rainforests. The alarming truth is that, since the 1970s, the rate of deforestation has accelerated greatly. Indeed, many rainforests are being destroyed at the rate of football field each second. As a result, total populations of primitive tribes living in the forests have been reduced or even wiped out. In our greed, we are destroying the world for future generations. Stop cutting the trees right now and let us return the Earth’s temperature to the equilibrium that nature depends upon to thrive. Let us take definite steps right now to save the environment, not only for ourselves but for our future generations.