14 million liters of water get wasted every year, just through the water we leave behind in restaurants. Are you shocked? Yes, but what can you do with it? The same question concerned Garvita Gulhati. But unlike the rest of us, who gave a shrug and moved on with our lives, she refused to let the fire in her die down.

She started by setting up Why Waste?, a non-profit organization with the help of four friends in 2016. They worked with restaurants by persuading them to serve half-full glasses of water. The Glass Half Full concept aims to help prevent wastage of water left in glasses while also educating the public as well as restaurants about the need of taking care of the limited water resources.

However, persuading restaurant owners was challenging. Most owners said it was against the basic rules of welcoming guests to keep a half-filled glass at the table where customers sat. But Gulhati refused to give up and came up with new strategies to try to persuade restaurant owners and staff to change their ways. Several campaigns (活动) were organized in public spaces to increase awareness.

“So far, the campaign has been successfully launched by over 80,000 restaurants across India. People have become more aware and this simple step has helped save millions of liters of water across the country,” says Gulhati, adding, “Next time you eat out, make sure your glasses are empty before leaving the food joint.” Gulhati further says, “After launching the Glass Half Full campaign, we wanted to design a module, which would attract more people to save water.”

Global warming is the increase of the earth’s average surface temperature due to the effect of greenhouse gases, for example, carbon dioxide, which traps heat that would otherwise escape from the earth. After the trees are cut down and more greenhouse gases are released, the “blanket” around the earth called the ozone layer（臭氧层）, will get thicker. This catches more heat and makes the earth hotter. Luckily, there are many things that every citizen of the earth can do to help reduce the effects of global warming, and it’s never too late or too early for children to take action.

The children should learn what a carbon footprint is. A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon and greenhouse gases people make as they lead the daily life and go about the normal activities. In other words, the carbon footprint is a measure of the environmental impact the life has. To live an environmentally friendly life that doesn’t contribute to global warming, people want to have the smallest carbon footprint possible.

Almost everything people do contributes to global warming and is related to fossil fuel consumption. These can be direct uses of fossil fuels, like riding in a gasoline-powered car, or indirect contributions to greenhouse gases, such as eating fruits or vegetables that have to be shipped from far way to reach their tables.

If a child wants to make a contribution to reducing global warming, he should ride a bicycle to the near park, school, his friend’s house, or anywhere else instead of taking the car. Or he may try to walk or jog, which is also helpful. In addition, although trains and buses often run on fossil fuels, on average, each person uses less energy and produces less pollution to run. Next time if children with their parents have to get around town or it’s too far to walk or bike, take the bus or other public transportation instead of asking for a ride.

A．The ozone layer.

B．The effect of cutting down trees.

C．The harmful effect of greenhouse gases.

D．The increase of the earth’s inner temperature.