Topic 9: E-waste recycling - India

http://www.thedirtproject.com/

Every year thousands of computers are being throwed to India to be recycled.These e-waste contains harmful chemicals like mercury, lead, flame retardants and PVC-coated copper wire.All these destroys the environment when gone into recycling.Those parts that cant be recycled are burned which released harmful chemicals in the air or dumped polluting the groundwater.People taking these jobs are exposed to many dangers when doing these processes.

However,its good to hear that measures have been taken to stop all these harm from taking place.In Europe, manufacturers will have to eliminate such harmful substances inside the machines by 2006.Some company needs to take back in what they sold and recycle their computer parts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3307815.stm

Topic 8: Mothballs; not just for humans

http://www.ehponline.org

Mothballs are used by humans to keep insects away. Termites also use one of mothballs' active ingredients, napthalene, to keep its enemies such as ants, poisonous fungi and nematode worms away from their underground nests.From this,termites can still live on with a mothball near it,meaning,it can still chew your furniture off.

These is really interesting.
If termites has the same characteristics of a mothball,
why not we use termites in our furniture instead? =)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/76115.stm

Topic 7: Pesticides.Good or Bad???

http://www.veganpeace.com/

Pesticides can both help us and endanger us.So, should we continue using it?

Advantages.
Firstly,pesticides kills pests that eats up people crops.It doesnt only help farmers,it also helps us by preventing us from seeing something unwanted in our food.It is because of pesticides that we can eat fruits and vegetables like carrots and apples fresh,by just rinsing it with water.Other then that it also prevents the growth of bacteria,weeds,fungi and viruses.

Disadvantages.
Like in this case study,a family living in a home surrounded by fields suffers health problems. The first born baby suffer from asthma and is partially sighted.And a dog and its owner suffering from cancer too.These shows the health problems that these pesticides cause to people who are near these farmsIndirectly too,pesticides can cause us health problems when we eat the food from these farms and when we eat fishes that are in a marine environment which has been already poluted by these pesticides.Another way of consuming these pesticides is when we eat animals that eat these pests or eat the grass that are around the farm.All these would cause health problems too us.

My opinion is that,we should continue using pesticides as it really does us alot of benefits.However,farmers and the government can take precautionary measures like making sure farms are away from homes and farmers disposing off their waste water properly to ensure the people safety.In this way,we can still consume food without worrying about its chemical content.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/politics_show/3873761.stm

Topic 6: Pesticides in Food.

http://www.aboutorganics.co.uk/

Nearly a third of UK food and drinks, including fruits and vegetables, contains pesticide. Out of the166 samples of food tested, 132 had chemical traces either at or below the maximum permitted levels. Another 3 samples had residues above the legal limits.

So should we stop hearing what professionals say about eating 2 serving of veges and 2 serving of fruits a day?Well, we shouldnt.

The health benefits;getting vitamins far outweigh the concerns about pesticides residue in these foods.Not only that,the chemicals that we consumed isnt that toxic as it is actually down to the level of dose.

In the first place,which is more better?
Seeing insects in your foods...
or
having these pesticides that we didnt even see...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5384138.stm

Topic 5: How healthy is barbecued food?

http://www.thebbqclub.com

Who doesnt like to eat barbecued susages,chicken wings..etc...But do people really get cancer and stomach flu out of improper cooking of barbecued food?How healthy is it?

From these case study,we can know that all these health issue really depends on how we handle and cook our food that makes how healthy the food is.In order to have a great bbq and taking our mind of these issue,here are some of the things that we need to nake note.

• Prepare food hygienically - wash hands before handling food.
  


• Keep separate tongs for handling cooked and raw foods to avoid cross contamination.
  


• Make sure that raw foods such as chicken and sausages are cooked right through.
  


• Commercial firelighters should be used with charcoal because they are easy to ignite safely - never use methylated spirits, petrol or lighter fuel instead
  


• Carry or store cold food in insulated containers in order to keep the temperature between 0-5°C.
  


• Cooking meat and meat products, such as sausages, until they are overcooked or burnt can cause a number of chemicals to be formed, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which can be harmful.
  


• Although overcooking meat may produce harmful chemicals, it's very important to make sure you don't undercook meat otherwise any bacteria in the meat could survive and cause food poisoning.
  


• It's especially important to make sure that chicken and minced meat products, such as burgers and sausages, are piping hot all the way through with no pink meat left.
  


• Finally, when cooking make sure any juices run clear - cook evenly over a steady heat.

SAFETY COME FIRST BEFORE DELICACY.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/breakfast/4585353.stm

Topic 4: Pearl River Delta and Yellow River

http://www.carto.net/

China is having more then 210,000 chemical factories located along its rivers and shorelines.These hae posed a threat towards the marine life in the 2 major rivers;Yangtze and Yellow River.Although being progressive economicaly,China have been more protective and over their water resource.Due to this,thier water quality are above standards and the fish in these rivers are safe to be eaten.

These is good news to the world.China,being a big country that is growing drastically towards being a developed nation have took a step forward by thinking about the enviroment.All these may have been related to topic no 3,now that they are more careful after what happened during the Harbin leak.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4642090.stm

Topic 3: Harbin Leak in China

http://english.people.com.cn/

A chemical leak does not only affect other coutries but also affect the environment badly.In these case,the explosion at a petrochemical plant in Jilin have caused the rivers to be contaminated by oil, resulting in a cut off of water supply for up to 40 hours and closure of schools, childcare and restaurants in Russia.The 80km long toxic trail might stay there for another 2 weeks and affect some 500,000 Russian citizens.Tonnes of marine life would definitely be dead because of this problem.

In this issue,these 2 countries should not associate whats happening between them politically and asking the one in the wrong position to apologised or something.For me,these is totaly childish.Instead,they should look forward and work together to prevent more environmental problems from taking place.Other then informing their citizens of the danger of using the river water now,they should also in no time control the spill,making sure it doesnt spread further affecting more marine lifes and humans.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4474284.stm

Topic 2: Moses and 10 plagues

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

The first plague - river water turned to blood
The second plague - frogs
The third plague - gnats
The fourth plague - flies
The fifth plague - death of livestock
The sixth plague - boils
The seventh plague - hail
The eighth plague - locusts
The ninth plague - darkness
The tenth plague - death of the firstborn

Some believes that it is just the acts of God working trough nature.But can it be explain scientifically?

In the pfisteria theory,millions of gallons of pig-waste got into the river from a pig farm further up that river. It caused a genetic mutation in a marine micro-organism called pfisteria. The river turned red, all the fishes died, the frogs were chased to land and died.Then from the frog to the flies and finally the livestock,killing one by one naturally.This is actually a chain reaction starting from the first issue;pig manure poluting the waters.

Some other volcanist believes that in the volcano theory;Ash columns that were ejected into the atmosphere from an eruption triggered the plagues.These ashes causes darkness and hail and acid rain which causes an outbbreak of other plagues.

From all the evidence in these case study, the pfisteria thoery is definitely the best reason that might lead to these 10 plagues.These is further supported by the case study in topic 1.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/moses_4.shtml

Topic 1: Intensive Agriculture

http://www.scienceclarified.com

Countries in Europe are pushing their way trough economic growth.Increasing demand for cheap food have lead countries like Poland towards intensive agriculture.Without realising it these countries are actually polluting the environment badly.Smithfield Foods which slaughters 20 million hogs a year are boosting the country's economy by creating alot of jobs in their pig farms.What they did not know is that their farms have greatly damage the environment.Firstly the huge ammount of waste from the farms does not only polute the air surroundings,but also can cause a risk to marine life and indirectly to human beings.Antibiotics realeased from this farms also can cause harm towards other pigs and humans.The people there are complaining that they dont mind about the high price of these pigs but what is more important are the long term effects towards the environment.

These case study is one example of what is happening to our earth when countries put economic growth first rather then the environment.These cause not only harm towards their own citizens but the whole world food supply especially when these companies are the ones that are competing in the global market.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4035081.stm

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