Nuclear energy has been a contentious point since it was founded. It has been called the most efficient non-fossil-fuel energy source, and it has been demonized as dangerously unfit for human use. Some countries like the US has a public that’s against wider implementation of nuclear power, while other countries openly welcome nuclear energy. France, for example, produces up to 75% of their energy from nuclear power. It is the highest percentage of nuclear energy in the world, and nuclear energy is the largest source of electricity in France.

Despite that, the image of a nuclear wasteland is still a popular imagine to fall back on when talking about the dangers of using nuclear energy.

Over the years, the pros and cons of nuclear energy has flitted in and out of the popular consciousness. The most recent iteration of that being HBO’s critically acclaimed TV mini-series Chernobyl. Filmed with a documentary style, the tv series showed the immediate aftermath and cleanup of post- meltdown at the Chernobyl reactor. While the ultimate theme of the show was not whether nuclear energy was good or bad, it brought radioactive nuclear fallout to the forefront of everyone’s mind again. We started asking questions: do we really want to risk the possibility of nuclear fallout for this efficient energy source?

Nuclear meltdown certainly sounds terrible — it causes radioactive fallout, and the gruesome results of cell death from nuclear radiation exposure, as Chernobyl shows in graphic detail. Exposure to nuclear radiation contaminates everything: water becomes unportable, food is inedible, and the very space unsafe to live in. Fallout can linger in the area 1 to 5 years after the accident.

In addition to all this terrible-sounding ‘if’ scenarios, there is the very real problem of nuclear waste.

Plutonium, the main waste product, has an immensely long half-life of tens of thousands of years, and they cannot be treated in any safe way other then landfills. If handled inadequately, spent fuel rods can contaminate water and soil and become a serious health hazard. If you want to learn more about nuclear waste, watch this video:

The future depicted in the Fallout series of games (promotional screenshot above) is nowhere like the clean, sterile visions of futures built on nuclear power. So why is nuclear power hailed as the cleanest form of energy? I will talk about it in the next post.

-Y

Source:
Jacobs, Harrison. (2014). The 17 Countries Generating The Most Nuclear Power.” Business Insider. Retrieved from: https://www.businessinsider.com/countries-generating-the-most-nuclear-energy-2014-3?IR=T#2-france-16

(n.d.). retrieved from: https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-a-f/france.aspx

Credit: https://medium.com/war-is-boring/why-fallout-is-the-best-nuclear-war-story-ever-told-5910918d28e4 Image credit:

Now, a trend has popped up recently – using metal straws and discarding all plastic straws. Everyone from celebrities to your cool aunt is raving about it. But still, some people stick to their guns and continue using plastic straws. 

Land pollution aside, plastic straws themselves can have detrimental effects on the human body. Most single use plastics are made from polypropylene, which is derived from petroleum. Polypropylene chemicals can actually leach into liquids and interfere with oestrogen levels in the body. In light of all these issues, restaurant chains like McDonald’s have introduced bans on plastic straws. 

Now, are metal straws better and/or healthier? Not necessarily. For one, drinking cups are still made out of plastic. As such, those using metal straws are still exposed to plastic and it’s concomitant chemicals no matter what. Furthermore, sometimes consumers go for cheaper metal straws that are not certified as food or medical grade. Non-food grade straws are more vulnerable to corrosion and scratches. These straws would then leach a metallic taste into drinks. Also, in 2016, Starbucks recalled stainless steel metal straws which are rigid as they pose an injury risk. 

Finally, does switching to metal straws greatly help reduce pollution? Honestly, more needs to be done in this area. Phasing out plastic straws is a step rather than an achievement towards further reduction of land pollution. Right now, people are not obligated to stop using plastic straws. Campaigns encouraging the use of alternative straws instead are easily ignored. Change needs to take place on a policy level – like banning all use of plastic straws for example – for society to actually make some kind of headway on this issue.

On the other hand, using fewer plastic straws may not do much to curb marine pollution. Plastic straws make up around 0.2% of the estimated 8 million tons of plastic trash that enters the ocean annually. In some way, the ban on plastic straws give companies the opportunity to appear eco-friendly without actually doing much for the environment. Costs are cut since they no longer have to provide plastic straws, and consumers will look up to them for caring for the environment. Sadly, efforts to help the environment may also cease at just banning plastic straws. Once the goal of improving a brand’s image is achieved, there remains little incentive for companies to further their efforts in reducing plastic and other types of waste. 

Overall, we still have some way to go before plastic pollution can be majorly reduced, but for now the switch to metal straws is a step in the right direction. 

– Xelyn

References:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/plastic-straws-arent-just-bad-for-the-environment–they-can-be-bad-for-your-body/2018/07/02/d682fdfe-7964-11e8-aeee-4d04c8ac6158_story.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mcdonalds-plastic-straws-ban-uk-ireland-pollution-environment-eu-rules-a8399841.html

https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2016/starbucks-recalls-stainless-steel-beverage-straws/

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/phasing-out-plastic-straws-helps-the-environment-but-more-needs-11605108

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/skipping-plastic-straws-might-not-stop-marine-pollution-10555340?cid=h3_referral_inarticlelinks_24082018_cna

The haze has let up over the weekend, and the worst seems to have passed. The NEA said Sumatra is expecting rain at its southern region in the coming days, which means the haze will clear up.

That had me thinking, what is the relationship between haze and cloud formation?

In simple terms, rain comes from rain clouds and rain clouds are formed when water vapour condenses around an aerosol particle — a bunch of coagulating water vapour forms a rain cloud, and when that clump gets too heavy for the air to keep them up, they fall as rain.

Rain is important because it is an important part of the precipitation cycle in returning water to the environment after evaporation.

Cloud formation plays a part in the regulation of surface temperature and water vapour is one of the big sinks for carbon dioxide.

I’ll quote the study I found on this issue:

“By modifying clouds, aerosols indirectly but powerfully affect the climate. Clouds forming in polluted environments with more particles tend to have a higher concentration of droplets than clouds in cleaner air. […] The formation of clouds that are both bright and long-lived results in more sunlight reflected over longer periods of time.”

Rain clears haze, but haze, throwing aerosols into the air, extends the lifetime of a cloud, which decreases rainfall. This means that, unfortunately, haze creates a positive feedback loop of dry weather.

In addition to affecting human health, air pollution affects cloud formation which disrupts the natural water cycle and the Earth’s ability to regulate its temperature.

If you would like to learn more about how aerosol particles in the air affects cloud formation, you can read this study, which not only explains in greater detail, but also graphs several extrapolations.

-Y

Sources:
Tan, Audrey. (2019). 1 Singapore Grand Prix Looks Set to Rev off to Clear Skies, but Haze Could Still Cloud the Weekend. The Straits Times. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/f1-looks-set-to-rev-off-to-clear-skies-but-haze-could-still-cloud-the-weekend

Rothenberg, Daniel. (2017). Seeing through the Haze to Learn How Clouds Shape Climate. Physics Today.

Maloney, Lisa. (2019). How Does Rain Come Down From Clouds? Sciencing Retrieved from: https://sciencing.com/rain-come-down-clouds-12082593.html

Credits: https://geography.name/precipitation-2/

As I went home yesterday I realized the setting sun was a hazy red blot in an oily, hazy sky.

There is a patch of empty space beside where I live, wide and empty of lights enough that in clear nights when the moon is not full, I can see a smattering of stars. Knowing on an intellectual level that air pollution causes all sorts of visual changes with a sunset is a different thing than to seeing a distinctly polluted sunset. Of course, the PSI was much higher in the night, and moon was obscured.

As the map shows, because of the direction of the wind, Singapore is in the route of the haze, and as the rainfall distribution shows, precipitation isn’t here to help. The PSI that day was 90 at the time I went home, and it rose to 112 at night.

Documented health effects from haze includes a range of respiratory problems, from asthma to rhinitis (Emmanuel, 2000). The main issue stems from the fact that the particulates in haze is small enough to easily enter the alveoli of the lungs and wreck havoc.

Aside from its adverse health effects for humans, the pollutants in haze has been studied and determined to contribute to global warming and rainwater acidity (Radojevic, 2003). In short, the benefits of controlling haze is will give us better health and cleaner air, regardless of natural systems like wind.

That said, the most depressing thing about all of this is that there’s not much we can do. The haze is a systematic problem with roots in several industries that Indonesia’s GDP depends upon. But Haraway (2016) tells us that a defeatist attitude is terribly unhelpful, and that even the smallest sliver of effort will become something big, even if it seems futile in the moment. I’m going to trust her, and keep studying.

-Y

Sources: Emmanuel, Shanta Christina. “Impact to Lung Health of Haze from Forest Fires: The Singapore Experience.” Respirology, vol. 5, no. 2, 2000, pp. 175–182., doi:10.1046/j.1440-1843.2000.00247.x.

Radojevic, M. “Chemistry of Forest Fires and Regional Haze with Emphasis on Southeast Asia.” Pure and Applied Geophysics, vol. 160, no. 1-2, 2003, pp. 157–187., doi:10.1007/s00024-003-8771-x.

Haraway, Donna Jeanne. “Introduction.” Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene, Duke University Press, 2016, pp. 3–4.

This blog is run by Xelyn (X) and Yilan (Y), NUS students taking the module GE3246: Environmental Pollution under Prof. David Taylor.

We will post interesting insights and articles relating to how pollution affects humans on a weekly basis.

A little bit about our blog name – POLLUTO.

When you say it quickly enough, it sounds like PLUTO, which is a planet that has recently lost its planetary status.

Sometimes people treat pollution as if its Pluto – inconsequential and so minor that it doesn’t matter at all. This thus gave us the inspiration for this blog name.

Our posts will all link to how pollution affects the human experience – with regards to the 5 senses and each body part.

Should you have any questions, leave us comments on the relevant posts.