There are a lot of undeveloped plots of land in the New Territories. If all of them are used, there should be enough housing for all seven million people here. Developing existing land is more economical since reclaimed land can be costly.

Instead of building on reclaimed land, increasing the supply of public housing would be more useful, since the rent is more affordable. Also, the rise in supply could cool the property market. In order to increase land supply, urban renewal is another option. Then there is no need to destroy marine habitats for further reclamation.

Vincy Cheng, Kit Sam Lam Bing Yim Secondary School

Casino culture not good for society

Recently, people have become aware of the problem of Macau's 'casino kingdom'. Macau's government has built many casinos to improve its finances. This policy seems to have worked, as some people have started calling Macau the Las Vegas of Asia.

Yet some young people are choosing to ignore their education, and simply plan to work in a casino, because these jobs do pay well. The starting salary of a dealer is about 10,000 patacas (HK$9,500) per month.

A responsible government should not ignore the future citizens of Macau. A city's finances are important, but so is an educated population. It's high time the government takes this problem into consideration.

Lilian Chung Ka-long, Pooi To Middle School

Higher water bills will reduce waste

In Hong Kong, many children disrespect water. Some take a shower for an hour. Some people use a lot of water when washing dishes, letting the taps run for half an hour. Hygiene is important, but using too much water is irresponsible.

Although more than 95 per cent of the Earth's surface is water, most of it is not suitable for drinking. Raising water charges is one way to reduce waste.

Anson Yeung, Ma On Shan

E-books can help in various ways

E-books have a lot of benefits. First they can improve the quality of learning: they have more colourful pictures and even videos. If students come across tricky words, they don't need to check the dictionary. They can just click on the word to find its meaning and pronunciation.

E-books can also protect our environment. Traditional textbooks regularly need updating, so the old ones are just thrown away, creating waste. They also need to be transported, which creates air pollutants, too. If we use e-books, our air quality can be improved.

I suggest the government provide subsidies to poor families, to help them buy computers.

Maggie Chan, King Ling College

We are all capable of making music

I have always thought that there is something magical about songwriting. Grabbing some paper and writing down what you feel is a blissful experience.

Anyone can learn to write lyrics. However, it does take some real dedication. For example, any idea can be translated into a musical, but first it has to be written down. Some musicals are almost pure song and dance; others have more dialogue.

To people in many cultures, music is a vital part of life. Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies.

There is no universal concept defining what music might be. American composer John Cage thought that any sound could be music.

I bet you either hum a melody or sing a brilliant tune in the shower. Singing is a form of expression and when you sing, it resonates with the music of the world around us.

Dristi Gurung, St Margaret's Girls' College