I-FLASH
H C R A M S I N O I ON T U TI L L LU 7 O 1 0 O 2 P S ST S S LE BE E
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I-FLASH EDITOR’S NOTE
Hello fellas! We’re back again this month with a smoky theme. That’s right, this two month’s release is about pollution. What is pollution? How it’s made? How bad is it?. This edition will satisfy every last drop of your Curiosity on this matter. Design are made by us. We hope you guys enjoy our design and articles. Lastly,don’t forget to put your trash in it’s place, keep clean, and stay healthy
Happy reading, I-FLASHers! JOAN and TEAM
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I-FLASH TABLE OF CONTENTS 3
KNOWLEDGE 4 One of Greatest Problems : Environmental Pollution 5 Disadvantage of Pollution for Human Health and Envoronment PREVENTION Pollution Control Regulation and Monitoring of Pollution
8 9 11 SCIENCE BULLETIN Types of Pollution and It Causes Dillema : Need to Feed vs Need to Breathe
17 PHOTO STORY UNICEF Project in Mopti, Mali
6 7 IAAS EVENT IAAS Conversation Club IAAS Back To Nature I-Class
12 15 UN NEWS UN Health Agency Reports
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I-FLASH KNOWLEDGE
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ONE OF THE GREATEST PROBLEM: ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
One of the greatest problems that the world is facing today is the increase of environmental pollution. With every passing year the the amount of pollution we produces multiplied, causing grave and irrepairable damage to the earth. Awareness of atmospheric pollution spread widely after World War II, with fears triggered by reports of radioactive fallout from atomic warfare and testing. Then a non-nuclear event, The Great Smog of 1952 in London, killed at least 4000 people. This prompted some of the first major modern environmental legislation, The Clean Air Act of 1956. Pollution began to draw major public attention in the United States between the mid-1950s and early 1970s, when Congress passed the Noise Control Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. A much more recently discovered problem is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge concentration of plastics, chemical sludge and other debris which has been collected into a large area of the Pacific Ocean by the North Pacific Gyre. This is a less well known pollution problem than the others described above, but nonetheless has multiple serious consequences, such as increasing wildlife mortality, proliferating invasive species and human ingestion of toxic chemicals. Organizations such as 5 Gyres have researched the pollution and, along with artists like Marina DeBris, are working toward publicizing the issue. Pollution introduced by light at night is becoming a global problem, more severe in urban centres, also affecting large territories, far away from towns. Growing evidence of local and global pollution and an increasingly informed public over time have given rise to environmentalism and the environmental movement, which generally seek to limit human impact on the environment.
I-FLASH KNOWLEDGE
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DISADVANTAGES OF POLLUTION
For Human
For Environment
Adverse air quality can kill many organisms including humans. Ozone pollution can cause respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, throat inflammation, chest pain, and congestion. Water pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths per day, mostly due to contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage in developing countries. An estimated 500 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, Over ten million people in India fell ill with waterborne illnesses in 2013, and 1,535 people died, most of them children. Nearly 500 million Chinese lack access to safe drinking water. A 2010 analysis estimated that 1.2 million people died prematurely each year in China because of air pollution. The WHO estimated in 2007 that air pollution causes half a million deaths per year in India. Studies have estimated that the number of people killed annually in the United States could be over 50,000.
Biomagnification describes situations where toxins (such as heavy metals) may pass through trophic levels, becoming exponentially more concentrated in the process.
Oil spills can cause skin irritations and rashes. Noise pollution induces hearing loss, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep disturbance. Mercury has been linked to developmental deficits in children and neurologic symptoms. Older people are majorly exposed to diseases induced by air pollution. Those with heart or lung disorders are at additional risk. Children and infants are also at serious risk. Lead and other heavy metals have been shown to cause neurological problems. Chemical and radioactive substances can cause cancer and as well as birth defects.
Carbon dioxide emissions cause ocean acidification, the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans as CO2 becomes dissolved. The emission of greenhouse gases leads to global warming which affects ecosystems in many ways. Invasive species can out compete native species and reduce biodiversity. Invasive plants can contribute debris and biomolecules (allelopathy) that can alter soil and chemical compositions of an environment, often reducing native species competitiveness. Nitrogen oxides are removed from the air by rain and fertilise land which can change the species composition of ecosystems. Smog and haze can reduce the amount of sunlight received by plants to carry out photosynthesis and leads to the production of tropospheric ozone which damages plants. Soil can become infertile and unsuitable for plants. This will affect other organisms in the food web. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides can cause acid rain which lowers the pH value of soil.
I-FLASH PREVENTION POLLUTION CONTROL Pollution control is a term used in environmental management. It means the control of emissions and effluents into air, water or soil. Without pollution control, the waste products from overconsumption, heating, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transportation and other human activities, whether they accumulate or disperse, will degrade the environment. In the hierarchy of controls, pollution prevention and waste minimization are more desirable than pollution control. In the field of land development, low impact development is a similar technique for the prevention of urban runoff.
PRACTICES RECYCLING
MITIGATING
PREVENTING
REUSING
WASTE MINIMISATION
COMPOST
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I-FLASH PREVENTION
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REGULATION AND MONITORING BY REGION
CANADA In Canada the regulation of pollution and its effects are monitored by a number of organizations depending on the nature of the pollution and its location. The three levels of government (Federal – Canada Wide; Provincial; and Municipal) equally share in the responsibilities, and in the monitoring and correction of pollution. CHINA China's rapid industrialization has substantially increased pollution. China has some relevant regulations: the 1979 Environmental Protection Law, which was largely modeled on U.S. legislation, but the environment continues to deteriorate. Twelve years after the law, only one Chinese city was making an effort to clean up its water discharges. This indicates that China is about 30 years behind the U.S. schedule of environmental regulation and 10 to 20 years behind Europe. In July 2007, it was reported that the World Bank reluctantly censored a report revealing that 750,000 people in China die every year as a result of pollution-related diseases. China's State Environment Protection Agency and the Health Ministry asked the World Bank to cut the calculations of premature deaths from the report fearing the revelation would provoke "social unrest" UNITED KINGDOM In the 1840s, the United Kingdom brought onto the statute books legislation to control water pollution. It was extended to all rivers and coastal water by 1961. However, currently the clean up of historic contamination is controlled under a specific statutory scheme found in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Part IIA), as inserted by the Environment Act 1995, and other ‘rules’ found in regulations and statutory guidance. The Act came into force in England in April 2000. Within the current regulatory framework, Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) is a regime for controlling pollution from certain industrial activities. The regime introduces the concept of Best Available Techniques ("BAT") to environmental regulations. Operators must use the BAT to control pollution from their industrial activities to prevent, and where that is not practicable, to reduce to acceptable levels, pollution to air, land and water from industrial activities. The Best Available Techniques also aim to balance the cost to the operator against benefits to the environment. The system of Pollution Prevention and Control is replacing that of Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) (which was established by the Environmental Protection Act 1990) and is taking effect between 2000 and 2007. The Pollution Prevention and Control regime implements the European Directive (EC/96/61) on integrated pollution prevention and control.
I-FLASH IAAS EVENT
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IAAS CONVERSATION CLUB (ICC) On 20th of February 2017, the first ICC of this year was held on 5 pm in GKA corridor. The theme that we talked about this time is Chili: The Tragedy of Rising Price. There was about 20 people who attended the ICC. First, all of the participants gathered in circle then Faris as the MC opened and gave some brief explanation about the topic. After that, the crowd were split into two groups. The first group was moderated by Muhammad Adillah and the second group was held by Dio Khoirul. The event was running well. Everyone speak up their thought about the rise of chili price. ICC ended at 6 p.m. and the moderator gave a conclusion as closing. After that, all participants gather again, and we chose 2 participants to talk about their impression after joining icc. That lucky two participants got merchandise as a reward. On 6th of March 2017, the second ICC was held on 5 pm as usual in GKA corridor. This time we collaborated with Himpro HKSA (Hewan Kesayangan Aquatik dan Eksotik) and the theme for this discussion was Animal Testing: Human Welfare or Animal Welfare? The ICC was opened by Dio Akbar as the MC, and then the participant was divided into two groups. The first group moderator was Lalu Faris and the second one was Shafira Meidina. There was a lot of participant from HKSA who joined this ICC including the head of HKSA himself. The discussion went well and because we had a lot of participant that is expert on this topic, we also got a lot of new knowledge about animal testing. The discussion was closed with a conclusion from each moderator. And then the two groups gathered together to hear final conclusion from the closing MC, Lalu Faris. The MC also gave merchandise to two participants from HKSA. After that, the MC gave a certificate to the head of HKSA. On Monday, 20th March 2017, IAAS Conversation Club (ICC) was held at 5pm in GKA corridor. There was about 30 participants who attended this ICC. We had four guests who came from Japan and Germany. In this ICC, we disscused about "The Quality of Indonesian TV Shows Nowadays", we talked about the bad quality of Indonesian TV shows, which program we like or dislike, and how to improve the quality of that. We hope after this event we can sort out the TV show we watch.
I-FLASH IAAS EVENT
Project Department recently held its annual event called IAAS Back To Nature 2017. This event was held on Sunday, 26th of March. The activities of IBTN 2017 are designed for the participants to be actively involved in adding more value to agricultural product: sweet potato. There were 13 committees and 37 participants from IAAS members. This event could not be held without help from Gapoktan (Gabungan Kelompok Tani) Mandiri Jaya dan KWT (Kelompok Wanita Tani) Melati. 2017 in Cikarawang Village. In this year, the theme of IAAS Back To Nature is “Sweeten Up Your Muffin With Sweet Potato”. This event began at 08.30 am until 15.30 pm. The event started by speech from Moh. Yusril as Project Officer, speech from Siti Hediningsih as Local Committee Director IAAS LC IPB, and speech from Mr. Bastari as liaison unit from Gapoktan Mandiri Jaya and KWT Melati. Mr. Bastari as chairman of Gapoktan Mandiri Jaya welcomed us by presented video and explained about the process of making sweet potato flour.. After that, the participants were divided into four group, then mobilized to sweet potato field and sweet potato factory. In the field, the participants were trained how to plant sweet potato well. In the factory, the participants were taught how to process sweet potato from the newly harvested potato became sweet potato flour.
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I-FLASH IAAS EVENT
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I-FLASH IAAS EVENT
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2017 Find Your True Power by Deepen Your Expertise
On Saturday, 18th of March 2017, Science and Technology Department (STD) has successfully held I-Class “Interview and Essay”. This event placed at GKA Faperta with theme “Find Your True Power By Deepen Your Expertise”. This event got a good appreciation and enthusiasm from the participants. We got 142 registrants, both from online and offline registration. I-Class started at 09.00 a.m and finished at 12.00 a.m. The event began with opening speech from Fahri Sinulingga as Project Officer and Wahyu Inayah as Deputy Local Director (DLD). Our speaker Yuni Nur Raifah and Muhammad Irvan Herviansyah, gave us more knowledge about how to make a good essay and how to do a proper interview. Irvan Herviansyah as the first speaker gave some scholarships information before start the topic. Then he told about how to make a great first
impression in interview like what things were necessary to do, things we should paid more attention to and much tips in doing a great interview. This session was held in 45 minutes. After that Yuni Nur Raifah explain much about how to make the essay as interesting as we can make and participants got a copy of her essay which is used as the example. She also told some tips which could be used to develop our idea in writing, the usual mistakes, and the important things we needed to note in writing the essay. This session was held in 45 minutes. As an ice breaking, our friend, Ariqoh, gave his performance by sang the songs. Finally I-Class was closed by giving the nice door prizes to participant who came on time to the event and to participant who asked the best questions.
I-FLASH SCIENCE BULLETIN
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TYPES OF POLLUTION AND IT CAUSES
Air Pollution Our atmosphere mostly comprised of neutral harmless gases like nitrogen (70%) and oxygen (21%) with small amount of carbon molecules and other elements (9%) . Other than that, air also carries a mixture of solid particles in the air. Car emissions, chemicals from factories, dust, pollen and mold spores may be suspended as particles. But, some of these particles aren’t suppose to be there. They are called air pollutants. These contaminants are causing lot of troubles. Accumulation of greenhouse gases from factories and other sources suspected as a major player in global warming. Airborne bacterias and viruses could cause a fatal flu epidemic. Even something as little as a speck of dust could kill people with hiperallergic condition.
Water Pollution Over two thirds of Earth's surface is covered by water. As Earth's population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet's water resources. In a sense, our oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being "squeezed" by human activities—not so they take up less room, but so their quality is reduced. Poorer water quality means water pollution. Water gets murky and foul smelling. People who used this contaminated water will get symptoms ranging from mild skin rashes, to a terrible diarrhea.
I-FLASH SCIENCE BULLETIN
Soil Pollution
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Soil pollutants comprises from undegradable junk like plastics to chemical leach from household or agricultural uses. It changes soil acidity, kill plants, poison animals, or just piling up for decades, an unpleasant sight to see.
Radioactive Pollution High energy elements like plutonium, uranium, etc. pose a great risk of radiation. Although useful for energy plant and some medical treatments, It would cause a dangerous radioactive pollution if not handled properly. What we must cautious about is gamma ray radiation. Those high energy particles would shred our DNA if exposed for too long. The change of DNA will eventually lead to degenerative diseases, genetic disorder, autoimmune disorder, birth defects, and cancer
Light Pollution When the amount of light produced by artificial lighting like lamps disrupting the biological process and behavior of organisms. It considered as light pollution. light pollution has a wide range of negative effects on human health such as disrupting our circadian rhythms, messing with our melatonin levels, and generally contributing to sleeping disorders. It also affecting the well being of other creatures. Sea turtle hatchling relies on moonlight as a natural guideways to enter the ocean. Todays, when the city light brightly covers the night sky, turtle hatchlings will easily mistaken the city lights as their objectives. Many of them will march forward to the cities, and keep them away from the ocean.
I-FLASH SCIENCE BULLETIN
Noise Pollution
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Outdoor noise can be caused by machines, construction activities, and music performances, especially in some workplaces. Noise-induced hearing loss can be caused by outside (e.g. trains) or inside (e.g. music) noise. High noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects in humans and an increased incidence of Coronary artery disease. In animals, noise can increase the risk of death by altering predator or prey detection and avoidance, interfere with reproduction and navigation, and contribute to permanent hearing loss, noise pollution affects both health and behavior. Unwanted sound (noise) can damage psychological health. Noise pollution can cause Hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effect. Noise can have a detrimental effect on wild animals, increasing the risk of death by changing the delicate balance in predator or prey detection and avoidance, and interfering the use of the sounds in communication, especially in relation to reproduction and in navigation. Acoustic overexposure can lead to temporary or permanent loss of hearing. When one species begins speaking more loudly, it will mask other species' voice, causing the whole ecosystem eventually to speak more loudly.
I-FLASH SCIENCE BULLETIN 15
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Need to Feed Need to Breathe
Agriculture has been humanity’s best effort in fulfilling their ever growing needs of food. Farms established in villages and countrysides providing nice green scenery, a pleasant sight to see. However, hiding behind the lush green ricefields and bright red strawberries, harsh chemicals and other pollutants slowly emerge and eats away our planet. Here are, the dark side of agriculture
Greenhouse gas
Agriculture activities contributes 14% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. This mostly comes from rice fields and livestock manures which produce a lot of methane. Methane are more potent than any other greenhouse gases. Another source of GHG emission from agricultural sector are nitrous oxide (N2O) which is a byproduct of nitrogen based fertilizer. Farmers also often burning forests to acquire more land to plant on. Releasing heaps of Carbon Dioxide in the process
Pesticide contamination
Nowadays, pesticide industry have grown rapidly. Farmers from around the world can access pesticide easily, leading to an extensive usage of pesticide. Of course, more pesticide means less crop damaged by bugs, improved production yield, and happier farmer. But, using pesticide (literally pest-poison) to handle the production of our foods brings yet another problem, our food is coated with pesticides. If consumed by people, this toxins will cause symptoms from mild ones like nausea and dizziness, to life threatening one like food poisoning or even nerve damage.
Fertilizer runoff
In plantations or crop fields, fertilizers are essential to supply crops nutrient needs. But if applied excessively some nutrients will seep through soils and contaminates the groundwater or river streams. This particularly dangerous, because it could change the pH of the water, harmful to the organisms who lives inside. Another outcome from fertilizer runoff is eutrophication, a massive population increase of algae or aquatic plants. This usually caused by too much phosphate entering the water bodies. The algae and plants would eventually cover the water surface, blocking sunlight, reducing overall water quality.
I-FLASH SCIENCE BULLETIN
WHAT WE CAN DO Implement Sustainable Farming Method
Sustainable farming utilizes side products or wastes from conventional farm into source of energy or high value products. Increasing total production yield while reducing waste and cost at the same time. Such as processing cattle feces in a bioreactor to produce biogas. the resulting biogas could be used to power the electricity of the farm. and what’s left from the feces could be use as organic fertilizer.
Use Fertilizer wisely
Balance is what we are looking here, the amount of nutrients should be enough for the plants to grow optimally, but not too much to be considered a threat for the ecosystem. To achieve that combo, plenty of things must be evaluated. Do your research before planting, calculate how much nutrients your crops need. Find a suitable fertilizer for your crops, follow the instructions and carefully check the nutrient contents, and apply it just enough.
Utilize biological pest control
Like people said, “The enemy of my enemy, is my friend”. Instead of using harmful toxin to kill pests, it’s better to consider the help from it’s natural enemy to get rid of it. Take a ladybug for an example. It naturally eats aphids as it’s main diets. Aphids sucks nutrients from many plants, reducing plants productivity. When a lady bug present, they would kill the aphids without causing damage to the plant. It also won’t bother other organisms and doesn’t produce any harmful chemical to the ecosystem.
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UNITE D NATIONS’ JOURNAL
SUPPORTED BY: UN INFORMATION CENTER IN JAKARTA
I-FLASH
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UN NEWS
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POLLUTED ENVIRONMENTS KILL 1,7 MILLION CHILDREN EACH YEAR Health Organization (WHO). “Their developing organs and immune systems, and smaller bodies and airways, make them especially vulnerable to dirty air and water.”
6 March 2017 – Unhealthy environments are responsible for one-quarter of young child deaths, according to two new reports from the United Nations health agency, which reviewed the threats from pollutants such as second-hand smoke, UV radiation, unsafe water and e-waste. According to the latest information, polluted environments take the lives of 1.7 million children under the age of five. “A polluted environment is a deadly one – particularly for young children,” said Margaret Chan, Director-General of the UN
In one of the two reports, Inheriting a Sustainable World: Atlas on Children's Health and the Environment , WHO announced that many of the common causes of death among children aged between one month and five years of age are preventable with safe water and clear cooking fuels. These include diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia. The main pollutant is in the air, resulting in 570,000 deaths each year among children under five years old. Air pollution can stunt brain development and reduce lung function and trigger asthma. In the longer-term, exposure to air pollution can increase the child's risk of contracting heart disease, a stroke or cancer. counter such exposure, WHO recommends reducing air pollution, improving safe water and sanitation, and protecting pregnant women and building
I-FLASH UN NEWS safer environments, among other actions described in Don't pollute my future! The impact of the environment on children's health . “Investing in the removal of environmental risks to health, such as improving water quality or using cleaner fuels, will result in massive health benefits,” said Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health . One of the emerging environmental threats to children is electronic and electrical waste according to the second WHO report. Applia n c ,
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es such as old mobile phones that are improperly recycled “expose children to toxins which can lead to reduced intelligence, attention deficit, lung damage, and cancer,” the UN agency r e p o r t e d . At the current rate, the amount of such waste is expected to increase by 19 per cent between 2014 and 2018, up to 50 million metric tonnes. The reports also point out harmful chemicals that work themselves through the food chain – such as fluoride, lead and mercury, as well as the impact that climate change and UV rays have on children's development.
I-FLASH PHOTO STORY
Y R O T S O T O PH
UN CHILDREN’S FUND (UNICEF) PROJECT Peter Drennan (centre), Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security, at a UNICEF (UN Children’s Fund) project in Mopti, during his visit to Mali.
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EARTH PROVIDES ENOUGH TO SATISFY EVERY MAN’S NEED
NOT EVERY MAN’S GREED ~MAHATMA GANDHI~ Think Globally, Act Locally