Prompt: What man calls civilization always results in deserts, Man is never on the square- he uses up the fat

and greenery of the earth. Each generation wastes a little more of the future with greed and lust for riches. Don Marquis Assignment: With our modern awareness of ecology, are we likely to make sufficient progress in conservation, or are we still in danger of damaging the earth beyond repair? Plan your essay and write a response ESSAY: Droughts, famines, landslides, avalanches, extinctionthe list is endless. The result of mans blasphemy is not only the evident destruction of other living beings and natural landforms, but his own race is now posed a serious threat as well. Owing to the recent increase in awareness about the gradual destruction of the earth, the number of ecology-related programs and articles on the internet, television and radio, have burgeoned suddenly. But have we seen even the slightest attenuation in reports about the dire consequences of mans actions on nature? Definitely not. In fact, the actual effect of these thoughtless deeds of large-scale deforestation, building large dams, constructing human settlements on hills, etc, has only multiplied tenfold. There are only a handful of individuals out of nearly 7 billion on this earth, who are convinced of the need to make drastic changes on lifestyle. A still fewer group of people actually believe in making some tangible difference in the present situation. How far these few people will succeed in saving the planet, only time will tell. Surprisingly, some of the most ingenious lessons in nature conservation can be taken from the ancient civilizations that inhabited the earth some hundreds of years ago. They seemed to have a better idea of the finite nature of most of our resources. Sustained use of these resources was a tenet that was essentially intertwined in their daily lives. The Great Bath from the Harappan civilization or the Indus Valley civilization is proof of how people, even in those days, cherished water as a precious resource. The culture of defending local vegetation and wildlife, with a defiance, originated through the Chipko Movement, or the Hug the Trees Movement in Rajasthan, India, 400 years ago. Thus, I feel that although there are many efforts towards nature conservation being taken in little pockets around the world; a real difference can be made only through an atavism to the earlier concerted efforts of entire communities working towards environment conservation.

Prompt: Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. Usually, people look to others around themordinary peoplefor their heroes. They define heroes as decent citizens who make sacrifices or try to make a difference. For example, people name streets after local war veterans, parks after teachers, bridges after local politicians. Rejecting historical, literary, or national figures as heroes, people tend to believe that anyone can be a hero. A hero does not have to be superhuman. Adapted from Peter H. Gibbon, A Call to Heroism Assignment:

Should ordinary people be considered heroes, or should the term "hero" be reserved for extraordinary people? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations. ESSAY: She toiled away tirelessly every single day of her life, working hard for the people around her. The mental, emotional and sometimes even physical stress had little effect on her will to go on, her admirable perseverance. She is my hero, my mother. I believe that for a person to truly earn the title hero, he or she must prove themselves not only through one small act of heroism or through one instance alone. A real hero is one who convinces everyone, through his actions or words, that he they deserve to be hailed as a hero. Heroes neednt always be popular, well-known people, as mentioned in the extract, they are often ordinary people. Teachers, politicians, war veterans etc dont usually become celebrities at the prime of their lives. A relevant example can be taken from the history of India. In the long struggle against the British colonizers, there were, no doubt, many mainstream nationalists like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, etc, who became revered heroes across the country. However, even the smallest divisions of the British colony in India had their own heroes. These heroes had led their respective followers, and unlike the mainstream nationalists, had only carried the movement on a small- scale. Nevertheless, their continued efforts brought them respect and admiration from their own communities, making them the heroes there.

In the present century, there seems to be a dearth of popular heroes like Gandhiji of his time, Winston Churchill, and even the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. People seem to have no social figure to worship; there seems to be no one who has gained the trust and admiration of large numbers of people around the world. However, there is no decrease in the number of small-scale heroes even today. Every individual still has someone to look up to, just as my hero has always been, is, and will always be my mother.