As COVID-19 is being prolonged, the economic downturn has continued and people have been enduring hard times. Many countries are struggling to recover from the economic recession. Through a summit meeting with the president of Colombia, Korea discussed economic cooperation plans to prepare for the post-COVID19 era. In addition, many efforts have been made for economic recovery. However, we have another serious problem that humans need to keep an eye on and overcome. It is a global environmental problem that is getting worse day by day. So, why should we pay attention to environmental issues in a difficult time due to the CORONA virus?
1. There is room for countries to neglect environmental protection to escape the economic downturn. Actually, there was a tendency to ease environmental regulations, such as delaying the payment of environmental protection taxes in China.
2. As the consumption of delivery food and services increases due to COVID-19, the problem of using disposable items is serious. The use of disposable products increases carbon dioxide emissions, which accelerates the deterioration of the global environment.
3. Our Earth is continuing to send warnings about the environment. For example, there have been a number of abnormal climate phenomena around the world this year, such as the 47degree heatwave in Spain and forest fires in Australia. This abnormal climate phenomenon has caused damage to residents in the area.
Moreover, according to the 6th report of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the global average temperature is expected to rise 1.5 degrees more by 2040. This has turned on a red light for the future of mankind. The earth is constantly warning us about the climate crisis.
It's time to pay more attention to the global environment and climate crisis. We can no longer ignore the Earth’s alert.
The cause of the abnormal weather is climate change caused by global warming. In fact, even if the global temperature rises by only 1 degree, it increases the evaporation of seawater and the amount of water vapor in the air, increasing the likelihood of flooding like a flood in Henan Province, China. The continuous heat wave phenomenon is also caused by the ‘blocking phenomenon’. The blocking phenomenon is related to global warming. Originally, heat exchange occurs when cold air and warm air meet. And as they are mixed, the air flow becomes faster. However, because of global warming, the polar temperature has risen. The temperature difference between high and low latitude has decreased. As a result, air circulation diminishes. To put it simply, the blocking phenomenon is when the air doesn’t circulate and is stagnant.
Efforts to reduce greenhouse gases are essential to prevent abnormal climates that threaten our lives and to slow global warming. After all, the most important thing is to reduce carbon emissions. However, according to the Meteorological Administration's Earth Air Monitoring Report, annual average carbon dioxide emissions are increasing. But that doesn’t mean we don’t protect the environment. There are movements to protect the environment all over the world. Also in Korea, environmental protection is being practiced in many ways. The government has announced 2050 carbon neutrality and 2030 national greenhouse gas emissions targets. In addition, through cooperation between regions, abandoned ice boxes were recycled. Companies pursuing sustainable development are also emerging, and ‘Be brave’ challenge spread and became popular through SNS. This challenge is that people use multi- use bowls instead of disposable things when they go to market or eat delivery food. Like this Challenge, environmental protection can be practiced in our daily lives.
From now on, Indigo will introduce four environmental protection methods that students of KNUE can practice in their daily lives.
1. Waste sorting
Many of the students live in KNUE dormitories. When living in a dormitory, students have to sort out recyclable products frequently. Separating discharge correctly is a way to practice environmental protection at dormitories. However, some students recycle trash in the wrong way or don’t know how to recycle. For example, students discard bottled water as they don’t remove the label of the bottle. Let’s learn about waste sorting methods to practice in our daily life!
Waste sorting methods
that people often get confused about.
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<Plastic> Remove the label from the plastic bottle and crush it before throwing it away. White Styrofoam is classified as plastic, but invoices and tapes must be removed. As a result, when you throw away plastic, you have to remember that all plastics and plastic bags should be washed clean and discarded without impurities.
<Paper> Milk packs and paper cups cannot be thrown away with regular paper. This is because the milk pack is a special paper made of imported pulp, and the paper cup is coated so as not to get wet. Wet paper cannot be recycled and should be thrown away after drying. All coated paper, such as photos, receipts, and leaflets, cannot be recycled and must be thrown away in general waste.
<Food waste> It is easy to throw away food waste based on whether it can be recycled as livestock feed. So, animal bones, fish and shellfish, eggshells, and hard fruit shells are not food waste.
<Other categories> Drugs that have passed the expiration date must be thrown away in the waste drug collection box.
Batteries must be disposed of separately in the prepared battery box.
Fluorescent lamps should also be discarded separately in the prepared waste fluorescent box.
Empty ! rinse ! do not mix ! separate ! Let's remember these four principles and methods of environmental protection in our daily lives. |
2.Plastic diet
When living in a dormitory, disposable items such as paper cups, paper bowls, disposable spoons, and wooden chopsticks are often used for convenience. Even if it's a little uncomfortable, why don't you diet the use of plastic by preparing multi- use containers and multi-use spoons instead of disposable items? We can reduce plastic emissions through our practices and efforts. Let's go on a plastic diet in our daily lives!
3.Plogging( plocka up + jogging)
○exercise for environment
Why don’t we try plogging to protect the environment instead of jogging? KNUE is a must- jog place. If you are a student of KNUE, you might see many people who jog for morning exercise in the school. Also, our school has nice walking courses. Plogging is a compound word of the Swedish word 'plocka up' which means gleaning grains and ‘jogging’. Thus, it means picking up trash while jogging. It first started in Sweden in 2016 and spread rapidly around Northern Europe. There are several reasons why plogging is better
than jogging. The movement to pick up trash is similar to the squat posture. So, it consumes more calories than jogging. For example, jogging consumes 235 calories in 30 minutes and plogging consumes 288 calories in 30 minutes. And most importantly, the environment can be protected by plogging. Plogging is being carried out in various places in Korea. The National Park held a plogging encouragement event by implementing a point accumulation system that allows users who collect garbage generated from national parks to use it like cash through the Green Point System. One of the department stores in Seoul is holding a plogging event with pets. Through the SNS plogging Challenge, both individuals and organizations are participating in various forms of plogging. How about students of KNUE participating in plogging on various walking courses around the school? It will be a great opportunity to catch both rabbits: health and environmental protection.
So far, we have looked into environmental protection methods that can be practiced every day. Let's practice small actions one by one for the earth we live in! Let's dream of a better earth!