Jointly reported by:
Goh Li Lian Sr2ScA
Grace Low Shing Wei Sr2ScA
In conjunction with Earth Day, Kuen Cheng High School Environmental Society organised a webinar on 16th April 2022. The speakers of the webinar were Woon Wei De from Sr1ComE and Chuan Dick Yee from Sr1ScF.
Earth day was first celebrated in 1970 and falls on the 22nd of April every year. The 53rd Earth Day in the year 2022 is themed “Invest in Our Planet”. The theme for 2022’s Earth Day is to encourage youth to take much more responsibility and participate in the care of Earth. “Invest” has the meaning of being more mindful of the Earth’s overall condition and willing to take personal action to combat environmental and sustainability challenges. 2022’s Earth Day also puts emphasis upon solutions to various environmental issues including climate change, plastic pollution, protect and conserve biodiversity.
Firstly, speaker Woon introduced us to microplastics. Microplastics are plastic debris that are less than 0.5cm in diameter. It is the main environmental concern in plastic pollution. He explained that microplastic pollution was the second most environmental problem in 2016. Then, he shared the daily products we use that consist of microplastic such as toothbrushes, plastic bottles and scrubbing cream. It is also terrifying to find out that some toothpaste, facial cleanser and shower gel contain microplastics because the toxins in plastic might link to cancers.
Common life products which contain microplastics
Furthermore, a tiny but deadly cigarette butt can pollute the environment badly. You might be wondering how the tiny cigarette butt does so. As far as we are concerned, cigarette butts are the most dumped rubbish by citizens. A cigarette butt will be broken down into thousands of microplastics and they are sent into the environment. Consequently, microplastics seep into the aquatic ecosystem and are consumed by marine animals, as a result the microplastic will end up in our food.
The white particles found in our blood are microplastics
In a recent research done in Poland, 17 out of 22 healthy participants were found to have microplastic in their veins. Microplastics are even found in human placenta. How do microplastics enter our body? Microplastics are found in the air, along with our drinking water and food. A study from Austria’s Medical University of Vienna revealed that people are eating the equivalent of one plastic credit card every week in their diet. As a result, it may change the composition of the gut microbiome, which is made up of trillions of useful bacteria.
People are consuming a “credit card” every week
Moreover, speaker Woon explained about the disadvantages of rubber and electronic products to the environment if they are not handled properly. When electronic products are buried, the poisoning lead element will seep into the soil and cause pollution. On the other hand, emissions from the incineration of electronic products are carcinogens. It can destroy the human nervous system, circulatory system and kidney.
Subsequently, rubbers that can be found in our daily life are the elastic loob of the mask and also tyre. If waste tyres are not handled well, they will collect rainwater. As a result, mosquitoes breed in the waste tyre and thus lead to various mosquito diseases in the nearby area. Additionally, refining oil from waste tyres is also an unwise act. The process releases large amounts of toxic gasses, whereas disposal of solid waste and waste oil by the factory destroys the organic substances in the soil and affects agriculture.
Up next, speaker Chuan touched on the various ways of handling the three types of pollutants (microplastics, rubber, electronic products). For microplastics and rubber, humans should implement the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle) and to not dispose of them as one pleases. For electronic products, humans are encouraged to purchase high energy efficiency products with 5-star labels. These include fridges, washing machines and microwave ovens. Another way is to utilize solar-powered gadgets such as solar-powered calculators and electrical chargers.
Handling electronic products
She shared that although old phones are small in size, they contain around 10 rare metals. In 2006, the Japanese recycled 6.622 million old phones and from there extracted 186kg of gold, 1324kg of silver, 66220kg of copper and 66kg of palladium.
Next, a Conservation International documentary film entitled “Nature is Speaking” was screened. Narrated by water, sky and nature respectively, the film was an epitome of phenomenal photography and expressive description. Nature was portrayed in its intimidating yet awe-inspiring grandeur, chilling the audience to the bones with the accompanying majestic soundtrack. Waves crashed, thunder boomed and nature flourished throughout the documentary film, allowing the audience to witness the tremendous power of nature. The film emphasised a central message: “Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature.”
Speaker Chuan proceeded to recite an excerpt from a film entitled “A Letter from Year 2070”, and shared a quote by William Ruckelshaus: “Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we control our appetites.”
Next came a quiz on Quizizz platform which asked questions regarding the aforementioned information presented. The questions came in objective and subjective forms, the likes of which were: What are your thoughts after watching the documentary? What is the date of Earth Day? How do we reuse an old rubber tyre? What is the diameter of microplastics?
Quizizz
The final question required the audience to illustrate their vision of how the future planet Earth would look like. After 5 minutes of illustration, the speakers Woon and Chuan picked out a couple of extraordinary illustrations, and asked the illustrators to explain the meanings behind them.
One such illustration was of a rocket leaving a crossed planet Earth. The illustrator explained that he drew inspiration from science fiction movies where humans leave Earth in search of another inhabitable planet once Earth becomes the opposite. Another such illustration consisted of three colours: blue for rising seas, red for burnt forests, black for the absence of humans.
Leaving Earth
Blue, red and black