Plastic bags and environmental damage

[Kristian Mihaylov Krastanov (Kristian1E), Maíra Pereira de Oliveira (MairaP1E)]

Environmental damage is the most evident consequence of having free plastic shopping bags. The law that prohibits its uncontrolled use at supermarkets is an important measure, which is announcing that we should immediately modify some of our destructing attitudes. Furthermore, it is also a sign that we are getting more aware about the ecological issues of our days.

One of the biggest problems in relation to this subject are the floods in many big cities all over the world. Here, in Sao Paulo, we have an evident example, since it happens with every stronger rain. The habit to put garbage in plastic bags and leave it on the streets is inappropriate, since these bags break easily and spread their content, which clogs gutters and grates. The specific bags for garbage are more resistant and made with recycled material. However, people need to pay for it. The positive side is that if more people buy these “correct’’ bags, the price will get lower.

Plastic takes over 100 years to be decomposed and, since it is widely consumed by people, the pollution of our environment is becoming dangerous for the life in the planet. Being weightless, these disposable bags fly around and pollute our cities, rivers, lakes and forests, causing the death of many animals that mistake them for food, thus dying by asphyxiation. We must accept the fact that its uncontrolled use is unethical, wasteful and potentially deadly for the life in our planet.

According to Thays Prado, reporter for the Brazilian magazine Super Interessante, each brazilian family discards around 40 pounds of plastic per year, while 80% of them were used only once, and only 20% is recycled. This apparently simple issue takes enormous proportion.

The best solution still may be to produce only biodegradable plastic bags, which take only two years to decompose. This would be positive for keeping the planet habitable in the future, but not enough. For this reason, another solution appears easier in order to achieve faster results - the existence of reusable bags is oftentimes forgotten by people, even though they are better in any possible way than the disposable ones. They are stronger, bigger, can be used many times, and their cost is generally low, just a few coins. It is important to mention that the government should reward supermarkets for removing all their plastic bags and those that sell reusable bags must not obtain any profit from it, for they should pay a fine.

A good example happened in China – since 2008, the country reduced the usage of plastic bags by half, when the supermarkets banned their free distribution. The key is to find a way to reduce drastically the amount of wasted plastic, therefore reducing the harm which is done to the planet.

We must have in mind the idea that we cannot live like in the past, the damages on the planet are accumulating, and thus the change is imminent. The right path is to keep our minds open and stop being selfish. While we agree that many establishments will use this opportunity to their own profit, we think it is absolutely necessary to change our ways of consumption, even if we have to face some necessary evil on the way.

Reference: http://bit.ly/9o1LsY

Quotas are a positive way to give better life conditions to the part of the population that face difficulties in paying for quality education. The public schools in Brazil are in precarious state of existence and not good enough to prepare the young person for the evaluations that ensure a place in free universities, that provide a high quality academic formation. Not only that - the students who live in families with financial problems are required to work from early age, facing the necessity to bring some money home, to help paying taxes. Thus, these young citizens does not have the same opportunities and time to prepare and be qualified for the universities. The quality of education that they receive in public schools is extremely low, and there is no time to compensate for that because of their jobs. The quotas may not be the most efficient way of ensuring equal chances for all, but is at least a promise that the people in need will not be forgotten, and that the problems of ours society will be given attention. There is much more to be done though, this has to be just the beginning, or else all this is in vain. It is important to mention as well recent studies that show us that once in a university, the students that entered by the quotas system have the same or even better efficiency in comparison with the rest of the undergraduates.

I agree that teachers and students should maintain a close and friendly relationship, if they want to create a more successful and pleasant way of learning. When the atmosphere of a classroom is too severe, the learning experience becomes uncomfortable, harder, more stressful. The teacher should not put himself above his students, the results are better when he acts as their friend, giving attention to all of them. When lessons are given in a fine environment, with amicable feelings from both sides, the studying becomes more enjoyable, and the effects of that are extremely positive. When people, or even children, work on something that is considered fun, the results are always richer. And this is exactly what should be aimed – close and friendly relationship with the professor makes the work in class more productive, less traumatizing. And the students have many advantages in starting a friendship with their mentors, they receive valuable information about many different aspects of life, coming directly from the knowledge of experienced and reliable person. The learning expand to outside the classroom, to real life, when children treat their teacher with respect, and accept his advises.