"Hongkongers must do their bit to save planet"

A great deal of concern is now rightly being expressed over the world's depleted natural resources.

Our consumption of resources had already exceeded the Earth's production capacity by an alarming margin of 30 per cent in 2005. It has been projected that by 2030 the world will need another planet Earth to sustain its resources.

We can all help, even by looking at how we live from day to day. We need to think about the resources we are using on a daily basis. For example, if you keep a light on in your flat while you are sleeping you are wasting energy. Some families keep electrical appliances plugged in even when they are not using them, which is unnecessary. Why have a television still plugged in if no one is watching, or allow a tap to keep dripping when it can be easily fixed? The bad habits of Hongkongers have to change. Education is extremely crucial in this regard. Schools should teach pupils the importance of saving natural resources and launch programmes to get students involved. For instance, they could bring their own cutlery for eating school meals.

Car owners should take more public transport rather than use their own vehicles. Some sort of scheme should be adopted restricting the numbers of vehicles on the road each day. It could be based on odd and even numbers on registration plates. The government should come up with some form of financial inducement in order to get the drivers to use public transport.

It is important to reduce oil consumption globally.

I would also like to see more rooftop gardens on Hong Kong buildings.

I believe this could help lower the overall temperature in the city (which has been rising).

Hongkongers should try and reduce their consumption of electricity, in particular of air-conditioners, so that less carbon dioxide is produced.

If we can all work together to cut our use of natural resources, then there is a chance that the Earth can recover slowly.

Florence Wu, Shan Shui Po."